Hi Ravens <3
My name is Kristýna Novotná and this is my second year at the University of Derby and first year on the team. Before I joined Ravens I’ve been doing cheerleading for 8 years so I cannot imagine my life without it now. Sadly, next year it will probably be my last opportunity to be part of it so I want to give my all into it. I’m currently studying Marketing (PR and Advertising) and thanks to that I’m learning lots of useful things I can apply to the role and develop my skills as well.
I have been managing social media for my team in the Czech Republic so I have experience in the same role from previous years. I absolutely love and enjoy editing Instagram stories, photos and videos. I’m very creative person so designing a t-shirt or helping with any designs for the kit or merch wouldn’t be a problem for me.
I’ve been considering joining committee for a long time. I know it’s a lot of hard work and commitment, especially as an international student in a different country. But I’ve grown closer to the cheer family this year and that made me want to stick around even more and help potential students who would want to join the team next year.
I am very enthusiastic for this role, I would bring large amounts of energy and find new and intriguing ways to pull crowds into events and recruit new members. I want to focus more on videos (TikTok, Instagram stories/reels) as I think that videos will tell more than pictures. I would post sneak peeks of routines, music, merch etc. to keep people curious and engaged.
Paula’s done great job as publicity officer so far, but I’ve got a few ideas/inspirations that I’d like to make happen next year!
I really like the idea of ‘Cheerleader of the month’ which I would like to keep, as well as introduce ‘Weekly recognitions’ – a chance for you to nominate a teammate for their amazing skills, hard work, attitude or anything else that deserves recognition. I think this might push cheerleaders to their limits and keep the team motivated throughout the season. Another idea is “a day in cheerleader’s life“ which would be an IG stories takeover for one day by a member of the team/committee. I’m aware that cheerleading can be overwhelming, which can challenge our mental health sometimes. I would make sure to lift up the pressure (in a fun cheer-related way) and remind everyone that cheerleading is supposed to be fun, not a burden („Wellbeing Monday“ another idea in process).
In summer, I would post some videos from previous years and keep the feed updated, followed by September Q & A answered by different people from the comp, stunt and pep team. This provides more information and shows the teams’ authenticity. This would give the freshers an opportunity to decide which team would be the best fit for them. I would try to make the posts inviting and engaging to recruit as many freshers as possible! Replying to messages efficiently on our socials would also be a priority of mine which wouldn't be hard because I’m on my phone 24/7.
I would love to contribute to an array of opportunities for our 2022/2023 team, ensuring that everyone feels welcomed and comfortable in our team. Ensuring communication in terms of people receiving the information they need and making sure everyone is up to date with the amazing things that we are getting up to during our year on our social media platforms to show off our amazing team!