Coach / Choreographer: Dianne

Dianne Greenough is in her 14th season as coach/choreographer of the Edmonton Eskimo Cheer Team. She brings 30 years of acrobatic cheerleading expertise with her including numerous City, Provincial, National and International Championships as coach of the well-known Victoria Co-ed Cheer Team. After winning the 1994 World Cheerleading Championship in Japan, Dianne started her work with the Eskimo Cheer Team bringing many of her Vic graduates with her. She was the lead choreographer for the 1997 Grey Cup and created the "CFL Cheer Extravaganza", now a tradition at every Grey Cup. She has offered her skills to several national events including the Canadian Finals Rodeo, Alberta Centennial and Alberta Summer & Winter Games to name a few. She was selected as the Dance Coordinator/Choreographer for the 2001 Ceremonies for the World Championships in Athletics hosted by Edmonton. Dianne was then chosen to choreograph the Pre-game and Half-time Show for Grey Cup 2002 featuring Shania Twain and once again orchestrated the 2002 CFL Cheer Extravaganza. Dianne was the Executive Producer & Choreographer for the Ceremonies of the 2005 World Master Games at Commonwealth Stadium. Dianne judges competitions, trains coaches and is a motivational speaker all over North America. She still loves to coach at the High School level, even after 30 years. She started the Junior Eskimo Dance Team, the "Eski-mini" Cheer Team and the "Eski-ladies" cheer program. Over 300 participants from these programs perform every June at an Eskimo home game.  Her efforts creating the annual Eskimo Cheer Team calendar have provided the opportunity for the Eskimo Cheer to travel every summer to international competitions as well as allow them to train with the top athletes in their field. She has won numerous awards for her service to the community including Global’s Woman of Vision, EPSB Service Award and Great Albertan to name a few. Dianne is proud to be part of the Edmonton Eskimo organization and has a passion for Eskimo football.

Dianne is married to husband Jim with 3 children aged 22, 21 and 20. She continues to work part-time at Victoria School teaching psychology.

Manager: Julie

A graduate of Victoria School, Julie has been involved with cheer for 17 years, initially as a performer, and then as the coach of the All Girl program at Victoria School. She has won many City & Provincial Championships with this program while receiving degrees at the U of A which include her B Sc, B. Ed and a Masters degree in the Science faculty. Julie has contributed countless hours as a volunteer in our community including work with Grey Cup 97 & 2002, 2001 World Track Championships and the 2005 Master Games. She has received scholarships for academics & community service over the years and is presently teaching Science and Math at Nellie McClung-Avonmore campus. She is a past ASAA cheer commissioner and the Past President of the Alberta Cheerleading Association. Julie is in her 5th year as manager of the Eskimo Cheer Team and is a valuable member of this highly successful organization.

Assistant Coach (Dance): Cathy

The 2008 season marks Cathy’s 15th year of involvement with cheerleading. She started on the Vic Coed Cheer Team where she won several titles including being a member of the team that traveled to Japan and won the 1994 World Cheerleading Championships. She received the NCA All American Award three times as well as the 1994 Vic Redmen MVP-Cheerleading Award. After high school she spent three years co-coaching the Vic Varsity team with Julie and they led the team to various city and provincial titles. Cathy performed as a member of the Eskimo Cheer Team for four seasons while earning a Marketing Diploma and a Bachelor of Management. This is her sixth season assisting with coaching the Eskimo Cheer Program. She is happily married to her husband Dan.

Promotions Coordinator: Amber-Leigh

This is Amber-Leigh’s first year as Promotions Coordinator for the Eskimo Cheer Team. Prior to taking on this role, she was a dedicated member for three years and enjoyed her time cheering on the Green and Gold.

Amber-Leigh has been dancing since the age of five. She has competed both locally and nationally, recieving numerous awards. She has trained in Vancouver, Los Angeles, Anehim and Palm Springs, and has participated in numerous dance conventions. She has participated in the 2001 World Track and Field, 2001 Grey Cup Half time show & 2005 World Masters games.

One of her favorite moments with the Eskimos was perfoming on stage with Nelly Furtado during the 2006 Winnipeg Grey Cup.

“I’m looking fowad to working with such an amazing group of talented individuals who show dedication to their skill and their team. GO ESKS”

Marketing Coordinator: Margeaux

Green Team: Justin

2009 brings Justin an entirely new role with The Eskimos Cheer Team. After spending 7 seasons as a member of the team, he has moved into a coaching role with the program. He is running a new leg of our program, the Green Team, which focuses on developing new athletes for future roles on the team.  "It is incredibly rewarding to know that I can contribute to the future generations of the program." Justin was also very enthusiastic to sign on as the game day and event photographer for the cheer team this season. Photography has become a passion of his that evolved from his passion for Cheerleading. "I’m very excited to hang up my uniform, pick up the camera and begin to catalog the moments that make The Eskimos Cheer Team such an incredible program.  I am looking forward to contibuting back to the program that has given me so much over the years"

Management Team: Lauren

A 3rd year student at the University of Alberta, Lauren spends her days working towards a degree in kinesiology to become an athletic therapist or exercise physiologist. Her interest for physical education began at an early age in her hometown of Victoria, British Columbia with competitive swimming, dance and gymnastics. This passion for movement grew into a career choice during high school when she played basketball, volleyball, rugby and horseback riding for high school and club teams. Lauren has also devoted an immense amount of time to working and volunteering in the physical activity and recreation community. She has been working at fitness facilities for over 2 years and recently finished a season volunteering as an athletic therapist for the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Association. In her spare time she enjoys riding horses as well as running and hiking outdoors. This is Laurens first year working with the Eskimos cheer team and she is excited to be a new addition to the Eskimo family.

Special Events Coordinator: Karen

After spending four years as a member of the Eskimo Cheer Team, Karen is now in her first season as the Media and Special Events Coordinator for the team.

Karen has been involved with dance and cheerleading for 20 years, both as a performer and an instructor.  She has spent the last six years as a volunteer coach of both junior and senior high school dance teams.  She volunteered her time to the 2001 World Track and Field Championships as well as the 2005 World Master’s Games.  Karen also spends countless hours volunteering her time to community organizations and events including Capital Ex Monday Morning Magic, Kids with Cancer and the Firefighters Burn Treatment Unit.  Karen attended Grant MacEwan in the Police and Investigations program, and is now completing her training as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Karen is an avid football fan and proud to be a part of the Eskimo family.