When they say there's no age limit for starting a new passion, well, Christian Bernard proves it with his involvement in Gymini Cheerleading. He started at the age of 49 and today, at 61, he's the oldest member of his Gymini Cheerleading team, as well as the oldest Cheerleader in Quebec and possibly Canada.

As he recounts, he's been closely associated with cheerleading for a good part of his life: “My daughter Sandrine was a cheerleading gymnast at provincial level; I was extremely involved; I was on the board of directors of the Quebec Cheerleading Federation for 6 years. I know a lot about the subject and I'm curious by nature,” he explains.

However, it wasn't until he was 49 that he started practicing the discipline: “Some coaches had challenged parents to start a cheerleading team, and I jumped on board and took up the challenge,” he adds. 

“I started with Mystic All Stars in LaSalle 11 years ago. It was a team made up mainly of parents of children involved in cheerleading; after a few years, the club closed and I joined Gymini; I was lucky enough to be accepted onto the team.”

He was first part of the Empire 2.0 team and then the Goldies 4.0, which became 2.0 this year, without tumbling.

“We practice 2 hours a week at the Centre Multisports André-Chagnon in Vaudreuil-Dorion; and we had three competitions this year: the Cheer Québec Regional Championship, the Cheer Québec Provincial Championship and, in April, the Kick's Cheer Cup."

“The routines are two minutes long; it sounds short but it is long confides he, when every move is practiced to the hilt: with stunts, pyramids, jumps and tumbles, and a dance choreography.”

But Mr. Bernard doesn't seem close to retirement in cheerleading, even if he says he is at his job as a manager at Videotron. “As long as the body keeps up, I can't imagine the passion dying out; I don't tell myself I'm going to stop at such and such an age.” 

“It's true that as I've gotten older, I've become more careful, I've done all the tricks, but I've learned to manage the physical effort; although you have to adapt to the team, I now know not to exert myself unnecessarily,” he confides.

The G-Force Cheerleading Goldies team is made up of people aged 16 to 61. “There are several parents of former cheerleaders as well as former cheerleaders (retirement is usually in the twenties).” 

Asked what reaction most people have when they learn what discipline he practices, Mr. Bernard replies, “When they see my sports jacket, they automatically think I'm a coach; when they understand I'm an athlete in that discipline, they're blown away. I've never received a negative comment on the subject,” he continues.

"I invite all men, whatever their age, to give cheerleading a try. They might be pleasantly surprised.” According to recent statistics, 97% of cheerleading athletes are women.

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Photo 1 Hosts Nadia and Keaven surround the 3 60-something athletes (60, 61 and 60) at Kick's Cheer Cup competition in April 2024.

Photo 2 (left) Stunt performed at the Cheer Québec Provincial Championship in March 2024.

Photo 2 (right) Entry of the Goldies team at the All-Star Championship in January 2023. 

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