Cheerleaders perform a routine during auditions for the Montreal Alouettes squad on Feb. 23, 2019.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
The Montreal Alouettes will have cheerleaders on the field this coming CFL season.
The team announced Monday that it is reversing an earlier decision to cut its cheerleading squad after receiving fan feedback asking the Alouettes to reconsider.
The Alouettes had announced Wednesday that they were going ahead without a cheerleading squad in 2020 in an effort to cut costs.
In a statement Monday, the Alouettes called their squad “the best cheerleaders in the country.”
“The fans reached out, our members spoke up, they asked us in a very constructive and respectful manner, for the vast majority of them, to reconsider our position,” the Alouettes said. “They also clearly demonstrated their profound attachment to our cheerleader team, and to the Alouettes. Consequently, we listened and read all communication.
Annie Larouche, the director of the Als’ cheerleading team the past 24 years, thanked the team on her Facebook page for its decision to reinstate the cheerleaders.
“We are aiming to invite representatives of the cheerleaders as early as this week to talk with management and move forward in a manner that is satisfactory to both the fans, and the Alouettes,” the team said.
Toronto-based businessmen Sid Spiegel and Gary Stern purchased the club from the CFL last month. The CFL had been operating the team since the Wetenhall family sold it to the league last spring.
The eight other CFL clubs all have cheerleaders.