CHILI, N.Y. — Cheerleading is a fast-paced, go-get-em sport that you might think is just for the younger crowd. Try telling that to some members of the Chili Senior Center.  


What You Need To Know

  • The senior citizen cheer squad has about a dozen members between the ages of 65-83
  • They practice once a week at the Chili Community Center
  • They cheer for veterans, senior events, birthday parties and parades

They are grandmas and even great-grandmas, but age is just a number because when it comes to spirit, the senior squad in Chili has got it. About the only requirement to join this Chili Rec cheer squad is age and attitude. There are a dozen senior cheerleaders with an average age of 75.

Toni Ciadella jokes that she’s blessed with a fast moving body. So this is a perfect fit.

“What happened is a friend of mine was cheerleading so she said, ‘come on Toni, let’s go.’ So we did it and then all of the sudden she stopped coming and here I am,” laughed Ciadella. “I said, ‘when am I going to stop?’”

It was Cathy Markert’s idea to start the senior cheer program here.

“It is about getting out of your own head,” said Markert. “It is about having fun and making new friends and getting some exercise in. It’s great.”

Elaine Vincelli knows motion is lotion and you gotta use it or lose it.

“They allow me to use the riding cart so it gets me around a little better,” said Vincelli. “I can’t do what some of the other girls can do but I try my best. I am happy to be here.”

Sure they're senior citizens and deal with some aches and pains, but they hardly look the part when they perform, to Pitbull no less. A new Taylor Swift routine is coming soon. They've cheered at several community events so far and are adding more to the summer schedule. It seems their positive spirit is in high-demand.

“When you watch what they are doing and they love what they are doing they bring smiles to their own faces. When I’m having a bad day I come up here and see what they’re doing because it makes me smile. This is what it’s about here at the Chili Community Center. They are a huge part of what we do here,” said Mike Curley, recreation director at Chili Recreation.

The Chili Rec senior cheerleaders are showing all of us that enthusiasm really can does get better with age.

The squad welcomes new cheerleaders to join. You don't have to be a Chili resident. Membership to the Chili Community Center is just $25 a year.

The senior cheerleaders will be in the upcoming CHIL-E-Fest parade on June 24 at the Chili Community Center Campus. For more information, head to townofchili.org.