This is my third article in a series profiling prominent personalities in Canadian All Star Cheerleading. Todd Knihnitski is the founder of Prairie Fire Cheerleading (PFC) in Saskatoon and one of the founding members of the Saskatchewan Cheerleading Association (SCA).
I would say that Todd is “the father” of cheerleading in Saskatchewan; Todd is too humble to accept this title. The genealogy of Saskatchewan cheerleading will be unearthed in articles to come.
Todd was a wrestler in high school and continued with the U of S Wrestling Team during university. While at the U of S, he also joined the Cheer Team and did both sports for five years. This is another story for another full-length article.
PFC was established in 2005, with one team practicing at the Saskatoon Fieldhouse. Regina had high school teams as well as the Roughriders Cheer Team, but these groups were merely extensions of the sport of football. Todd’s vision was to focus on all star cheerleading. Prairie Fire was the first all star cheerleading club in Saskatchewan.
The following year, PFC had grown to four teams practicing in rented gym space at the YWCA. While varsity cheerleading had existed for decades in the Saskatoon collegiates and at the U of S, all star cheerleading was attracting attention as a performance sport. It seemed like Todd’s idea to build the sport of all star cheerleading in Saskatoon might have potential.
Meanwhile, Todd and Cristina, who had first met as athletes on the U of S Cheer Team, married in 2007. Together, they felt like they could do it, and that would mean acquiring permanent gym space. They made a leap of faith and signed a lease for the 2008-2009 season. The club continued to grow and they moved into a larger space in 2011. PFC enlarged their gym space again in 2015.
PFC typically has a staff of 20-25 and about 300 athletes. This past year they had 15 teams for all ages, from novice and recreational, to Level 5 or 6 Worlds Team.
Beyond his roles as a career teacher, and co-owner of PFC with wife Cristina, Todd is now serving as the Western Canada rep on the board of directors for Cheer Canada.
