A workman took advantage of dry weather this week to put some finishing touches on the curbing for Wildfire Cheer Gym's parking area. Nearly complete, the huge building in south Brookings is home to a new competitive cheer school. Ken Curley/Register

An area all-star competitive cheer business will soon be calling Brookings its permanent home, and that home has already become something of a landmark in south Brookings. The huge, barnlike building is one of the largest structures in the area.

Wildfire Cheer Gym, a new cheer and dance facility, is now under construction on 12th Street South, just to the east of Curves and Brookings Glass & Mirror. A grand opening has been planned for this Saturday, Nov. 7, at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public.

Casie and Scott King of Volga own the 10,649-squarefoot structure. It includes a large gym with cheer floors, dance floor, tumble track and an in-ground trampoline, a mezzanine observation area overlooking the cheer floor with seating for 50, a locker room for athletes, front-door parking and more.

Casie King, director and founder of Wildfire Cheer, has been operating the business since 2008.

A graduate of Faulkton High School, she cheered and was a member of many state championship teams. She then attended South Dakota State University, majoring in early childhood education.

King taught dance at Sioux Valley middle and high schools for four years before becoming head cheer coach at the school, which has claimed back-to-back state championships.

King started coaching all-star competitive cheer in 2007 and created her own Wildfire team a year later.

Competitive all-star cheerleading has become one of the fastest growing team sports around the country, the business owner explains, and in little more than a year, Wildfire has been recognized as one of the top all-star programs in the state.

King is a member of the South Dakota Cheerleading Coaches Association and is certified by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators. She is assisted by six staff members, all of whom are working toward AACCA certification as well.

King said work on the new gym began in July, but planning for the facility started much earlier two years ago. The spacious practice area was needed, she explained, because Wildfire teams had no place to call their own and were shifting around to various locations last year. Also, none of the temporary practice locations have the specialized features needed to truly cater to a competitive cheer team.

The owner said people have to belong to one of Wildfire's cheer teams there are six, accommodating members 3 to 25 years old to use the new facility.

Last year Wildfire had 36 members registered with cheer teams, and King said the number has grown to more than 100 in 2009. Soon the business owner also plans to offer a competitive hip-hop dance team, recreational cheer, and classes where preschools, day cares or parents can bring in children at special times.

King hopes to see growth every year and says building a practice space of Wildfire's own has been a longtime dream of hers. It will be equipped with special flooring equipment and everything else needed to help Wildfire teams succeed in their sport.

King is also a stay-at-home mom, and Scott works as a project manager at Daktronics.

For more information about Wildfire Cheer, log onto www.kckwildfire.com.

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister .com.