On Sunday I helped cutie write a short bio for the Second Life Cheerleading Squad (SLCS) for the Spoonful of Sugar Festival. Then on Monday I worked with Christi on what the SLCS logo & colors represent.
About the Second Life Cheerleading Squad (SLCS) Logo
The Second Life Cheerleading Squad (SLCS) logo features a single large star and the stylized letters SLCS in the squad colors blue and gold. The star represents the light we shine on our virtual world. The one large star represents the light of everyone who comes together at SLCS. The whole is greater than the sum of our parts. SLCS Blue represents the sky and space beyond. The limitless possibilities that we explore every day. SLCS Yellow represents the many human skin tones, and the many ways of being, that our members inhabit. Diversity is our greatest strength. Our logo represents SLCS’ many stars coming together in light, hope, and possibilities.
Short SLCS Bio
Cheer! Dance! Joy! Life! SLCS (Second Life Cheerleading Squad) brings SL to life with high energy dance, cheer, acrobatics, killer uniforms, and bigger-than-SLife outgoing personalities! We are the-girl-next-door who can also dance on the world’s biggest stages. We’re cheer sisters who believe in hard work, and throw the best parties! Our work raises charity funds for causes like RFL. Come by Skytower Stadium and visit us!
SLCS Links
- Website: slcheerleadingsquad.com
- Cheer posts @KateNova: katenova.uk/category/cheerleading
- Posts @iRez: irez.uk/category/worlds/second-life/slcs
- Our Flickr Group: flickr.com/groups/slcs
- SLCS History Timeline: padlet.com/aerobigboots/slcs_timeline
A little SLCS History
Adapted from the notecard “SLCS History revised V2” by Charlize Bellic.
Second Life Cheerleading Squad – 2007
DALLAS/FORT WORTH, OCTOBER 2007 — High School senior & cheerleader Christi Charron surfs the web for the PS3 game “Home”. Christi discovers the virtual world “Second Life” and signs up.
In Second Life Christi opens a women’s clothing store, GrLZ. Soon she has 20 shops around the SL grid.
SECOND LIFE, NOVEMBER 2007 — Christi looks for a Cheerleading Squad in SL. To her surprise there aren’t any practicing or performing squads. She starts working on an avatar cheerleading uniform. Christi Charron, aka “CC” takes the color scheme from “The Wildcats” squad in the film “Bring it On!”
Two weeks later CC has a uniform, shoes, and pom-poms. She asks friends to join. Then Christi starts recruiting at Second Life dance contests.
SECOND LIFE CHEERLEADING SQUAD (SLCS), DECEMBER 2007 — Christi rents SLCS’ first office for L$250/week. She starts working on a 2008 Cheerleader Swimsuit Calendar. Word of mouth spreads and people from all over SL come to join the new squad. And/or to be in the calendar.
Second Life Cheerleading Squad – 2008
JANUARY 2008 — the popularity of SLCS grows and Christi closes GrLZ to focus on SLCS. SLCS has no cheer animations. Christi is broke and can’t afford to buy animations for each squad member. She starts “camping” 24/7 to pay for animations if she can find any.
Christi buys an L$500 Dance Ball made my DevShack. It handles group-sync’d animations. But can’t do everything a cheer squad needs.
PixieGenevieveGossipgirl finds a place to practice in the Girotte Sim called “Girotte Stadium”. It’s small. But it’s a stadium! Christi and Pixie contact the stadium owner to ask for permission to use the stadium. No reply. So we start using it anyway.
FEBRUARY 2008 — Christi and Pixie start building a stage.
MARCH 2008 — Debi Docherty joined the squad and becomes its 2nd leader.
APRIL 2008 — The stadium owner, Akrabu Kuhr, finally appears. Luckily, he’s delighted that SLCS is using his stadium.
CHEERMASTER 1.0 — Christi figures out how to make cheer animations using Qavimator. She takes the design from a freebie facial expression emoter HUD and creates her own cheer HUD.
RANK CONTROLLER 1.0 — Christi creates the SLCS Rank Controller. Since we have only one uniform she puts the Rank Controller in the prim skirt of the uniform.
Debi moves her store next to the stadium in the Girotte Region. SLCS headquarters opens there, on a 1024sqm plot.
MAY 2008 — Christi and Debi buy about half of the rest of the region. The SLCS Office grows to a monstrosity with two gyms, a VIP area, and offices for every squad member.
SLCS is losing money. And has almost no income.
JUNE 2008 — Third Life Books hires SLCS to do weekly performances.
Debi helps run the squad and takes charge of the training program. Christi works on a formations system for the Cheermaster HUD.
CHEERMASTER 2.0 — Srooc Skytower joins the squad and works with Christi on formations. They release Cheermaster 2.0 with a new stunt panel.
Flitter Breen and Charlize Bellic join and take over the training program.
FALL 2008 — Debi modifies and rewrites the Rank Controller. She removes it from the prim skirt. Debi scripts other items and creates more Rank Rewards.
Second Life Cheerleading Squad – 2009
Sayrah Parx joins SL and SLCS and starts scripting with Christi. She uses “XY Text” to create the Calendar and Roster boards you see around the stadium.
Sayrah creates the Trainee Rank Controller. She also creates the Roster System and Waiting Applicants List. She rewrites the often breaking trampoline trainer. Sayrah works on other tools.
Amariah Francis creates a new SLCS uniform. Amairah produces the 2009 and 2010 Swimsuit Calendars. Each calendar brings in around L$10,000 from sponsors.
FEBRUARY 2009 — A Linden shows up and informs us that the stadium land is being reclaimed! The owner, Akrabu, had stopped paying his account balance. Christi, Debi, Amariah, Char, Sunshine, and Srooc buy the old stadium land and share the tier.
Stadium design and offices are redone to today’s design. It doesn’t yet have stores all the way around the lower bowl as we don’t own that land.
Christi gets pneumonia IRL and is out for a month.
Srooc, Amariah, Sayrah, Char, Flitter, Liza and others keep things running. They host the first monthly “Fun” event in the new, incomplete stadium.
SUMMER 2009 — SLCS popularity grows. Lots of Trainees. Lots of overcrowded classes. Srooc and Char suggest we start charging for the tryout kit. Through tryout kit sales and performances SLCS starts to become profitable.
Second Life Cheerleading Squad – 2010
SUMMER 2010 — Srooc pushes for SLCS to move to it’s own sim. With a major contribution from her and many others we buy our own sim for US$400. In a sim-naming contest Persephone suggests “Cheertopia”.
CheerMaster v3 launches. SLCS move into new endeavors and expanding markets.
Second Life Cheerleading Squad – 2011
SUMMER 2011 — Abbie Bulloch leads in creating The Comets to serve the SL teen market. Next we added The Spitfires for child avatars.
And Beyond
Valkyrie Twine becomes SLCS’ first Relay for Life (RFL) lead.
Kristina Curtau and Shawna Twang create the Girls Night Out (GNO) Committee.
Joellen Hawker, Maddy Perennity, Swoozy Skytower, Lumyai, and others create new squad uniforms.
Feona Cascarino, Tillie Haas, Lacy Easterling, and Sunbeam Blaisdale create the SLCS Drill Team.
Onderdanig70 Aeon, Maddy Perennity, and Catherine start The Metrics for cheerleaders outside US Time zones.
Swoozy Skytower creates Training Games.
Alison Moore teaches regular 401 Cheermaster Classes.
In Memoriam
In addition to the steady stream of new cheerleaders, SLCS lives long enough for some of our founding members to pass on IRL. We fondly remember
- shyt3mptrist Resident
- Py Loon
- Payrs Panache
- Fjona Capalini
- Jenzzul Resident
- Srooc Skytower
- and others
A memorial park inside the stadium remembers our lost sisters. And the stadium name becomes Srooc Skytower Memorial Stadium.
I’ve worn many hats and tried on many identities as an avatar. I’ve been young and I’ve been old. Skinny and full-figured. Black and white. And red and green. A cheerleader and a derby girl. A barista and a host. I’ve seen so much love and beauty, so much desire, so much hunger for love and connection in the virtual world. I’ve seen that hunger and need expressed in unhelpful and destructive ways. Ways that can make living in this world as frustrating as living in the first life we came from. I’m touched by the tiny acts of kindness that surround us every day. If we can make it here, we can make it anywhere.
