written by christy perry tuohey
Tucked away on a leafy street in Morgantown’s First Ward, this gymnastics center may not jump out at you. But inside, the place is jumping—bursting with championship energy. Young athletes of Champion Training Academy, the only cheer competition gym of its kind in West Virginia, are prepping to win.
CTA is an All Star cheer gym. All Star cheer is different from traditional school cheer teams, the U.S. All Star Federation explains on its website: While school cheer involves crowd-leading and other school roles, the primary purpose of All Star is competition.
CTA has nine cheer teams, says All Star Director Shelbie Straughn. “We’re considered a D2 gym, which means that you have under 125 Elite-level athletes,” she says. Division II teams at CTA include Novice, Prep, and Elite. All Star Novice athletes practice one day a week during the season and go to four or five competitions. All Star Prep requires a bigger time and travel commitment, with longer weekly practices. All Star Elites practice twice a week and travel to seven or eight events a year.
The CTA High Flyers have brought home top awards from recent national competitions. The Mini Elite team won first place at The Celebration competition in Tampa, Florida, in April 2024. The gym’s Youth team placed sixth out of 60 teams in the Youth Summit end-of-season event, also in April. And at the sport’s D2 Summit in Orlando, Florida, in May, CTA’s Junior Team landed among the top 5% of best cheer teams.
In addition to the national summits, CTA High Flyers compete in regional contests in Columbus, Ohio, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland, and Morgantown.
Athletes commute from Maryland, Pennsylvania, and across West Virginia to train at Champion Training Academy. The students are a mix of school cheerleaders and All Star competitors. “Our biggest age range right now is ages 3 to 10,” says Straughn.
CTA is more than a cheer gym, Event Manager Valerie Erb notes. The 20-year-old gymnastics center, started by owner Lisa Burtner, also offers recreational tumbling, an array of fitness classes, and summer camps.
The competitive cheer season for all levels runs from September to April. 2024–25 season tryouts were held in May, but Straughn says that, as of July, there were still slots open, and private tryouts may be scheduled.
930 Parkway Drive, ctahighflyers.com, @ctahighflyers on FB
READ MORE ARTICLES FROM MORGANTOWN LOWDOWN
READ MORE FROM THE FALL 2024 ISSUE