Bandettes tryouts upcoming

The Buffalo Bandits today announced the Buffalo Bandettes will be holding auditions for the 2017-18 squad. The dance team, run by newly appointed coordinator Lauren Kirchmyer, is looking for 12 dancers to perform at all of the Bandits’ home games.

Kirchmyer rejoins the dance team as the new Bandettes Coordinator after spending four seasons as a Bandette from 2011 to 2015. She was a captain, dancer and choreographer for the Bandettes during that span and has been a dance educator in the Western New York area since 2009.

The tryouts will take place on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 2 to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Steppin’ Out Dance Academy, located at 266 Center Rd., West Seneca, N.Y. 14224. Dancers must register online and pay a $25 fee in order to be entered into the tryouts.
http://www.bandits.com/article/BANDETTES%20HIRE%20NEW%20COORDINATOR,%20WILL%20HOLD%20AUDITIONS
I worked with Lauren during her 4 seasons on the squad and she's one of the most qualified young women to take this position that the Bandits could possibly choose.

Some updates on the Jills to report

The Jills lawsuit filed over 3 years ago has had little news to report. The complicated case with 4 separate defendants has remained bogged down in the courts and even the plaintiffs have been left with few updates. This week though, we got some updates. State Supreme Court Justice Mark A. Montour ruled that the contracts that the ladies on the Jills signed when joining the squad were unenforceable and that the plaintiffs were non-exempt employees mis-classified as independent contractors. This correlates with what one of the lawyers in the case told me 3 years ago, that the contracts were illegal so the stance that the plaintiffs had no grounds to file a suit was totally off-base.
http://buffalonews.com/2017/05/19/judge-decides-jills-lawsuit-employees-not-independent-contractors/?utm_campaign=puma&utm_medium=social&utm_source=Facebook#link_time=1495243242
I'm no legal expert so I can't begin to explain everything this means but one thing we can be assured of is that this decision is a step forward towards resolving the lawsuit. Until the suit is settled, it could be tough to get the Jills re-instated. Even when the suit is resolved, there are still hurdles to get over but every step counts.

The other news is less positive. Last November, the case was in court and many of those involved gave their depositions that were finally released on Wednesday. One, in particular, was rather jaw-dropping. Russ Brandon, the President of the Buffalo Bills said “If I spent one collective hour in 20 years thinking about the Buffalo Jills, that would be about 58 minutes more than I have.” He told one of the attorneys that he couldn't have cared less that the Jills existed. He did follow that up by saying he didn't mean to be disrespectful but in truth, his very wording was extremely insulting to the Jills and their supporters.
http://wivb.com/2017/05/19/bills-ceo-could-have-cared-less-if-the-jills-existed/
It's not surprising when a casual fan doesn't get just what pro cheerleaders add to an organization as it's not always obvious to a detached observer. Before I started working closely with the Jills in 2005, I wasn't aware of all they did. Russ Brandon, however, has been with the Bills since 1997, a high-ranking executive in 2006, and the President since 2013. If he's truly ignorant to what the Jills brought to the team, then he's not qualified to hold a high-ranking position with the team. If he's not truly that ignorant, then he should be ashamed of himself

Another NFL Cheerleader Lawsuit has hit the news

Ex-cheerleader sues NFL over low wages
 A former San Francisco 49ers cheerleader filed a federal lawsuit alleging NFL executives and team owners conspired to suppress wages for cheerleaders.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday by the woman identified only as "Jane Doe" names the league and each football team and seeks class-action status for all NFL cheerleaders, described in court papers as "female athletes."


The NFL and its owners conspired "with the purpose of reducing market competition among female athletes and thus ensuring female athlete earnings remained far below fair market value," the suit alleges.
Read the rest at http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2017/02/01/ex-cheerleader-sues-nfl-over-low-wages/97349290/
Last week, a suit involving the Jets Flight Crew was settled but in Buffalo, the Jills' status is still up in the air with a lawsuit filed against the Bills, the NFL, Citadel Radio, and Stejon Productions. Even after that complicated suit is settled, there may still be more hurdles depending on what kind of contractual agreements are in place with Stejon Productions. When the suits are settled, the Bills will want control of the Jills handled in-house to ensure that everything is on the up-and-up.

New opportunity for pro cheerleaders and dancers coming to Buffalo!

After the Buffalo Destroyers left town following the 2003 season, a void was left in Buffalo, a city with enough of a passion for football to deserve more than just 1 NFL team. The American Football League is planning on having the Buffalo Blitz finally fill that void.

Just as the Destroyers had the Bombshells cheerleading squad, the Blitz has need of a squad and they are currently looking for cheerleaders, dancers, a choreographer, and a manager.

If interested, email QuantumCW@yahoo.com with some background of what experience you have. Entries will be notified of tryout location, date, and time with tryouts tentatively scheduled for late February.

2017 Marks A New Year And New Team For The Buffalo Bandettes

The Buffalo Bandettes have been wowing crowds with their sassy and strong dance routines for 17 seasons. As the premiere dance team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and the only professional dance team in Buffalo, NY, the Bandettes perform in “Banditland” at every Buffalo Bandits home game at KeyBank Center, which seats over 19,000 fans!

This season marks the second season under the direction of Mandy, who wanted to bring the dancers’ reputation to the next level.

“It’s really cool to see the technical aspect of the Bandettes turn from more of a cheerleading squad, which we had the reputation of, to a professional dance team,” said Mandy, who is also in her fourth season dancing with the team. “Some of us have cheer backgrounds but our priorities growing up were dance. We’re a full team of dancers.”

Read the rest of Lauren's article at http://www.buffaloscoop.com/2017-marks-new-year-new-team-buffalo-bandettes/