Our competitive cheerleaders have won their way to nationals once again, but earning a bid to nationals is only half the battle. Learn how these cheerleaders prepare to compete at the biggest and hardest competition. 

   The school cheerleaders make the most out of their limited practice time to become the best they can be. Junior Megan Dold has been a cheerleader here since her freshman year and knows how important it is to practice.

   “We warm up our stunts, tumbling, jumps, etc. then we will do a full out and after that, we fix what needs to be fixed as well as clean any sections up,” Dold said.

   Fullouts is doing everything in the routine and it’s what they show at competitions. Working like that helped lead the girls to first place, but on the mat, it still can be very stressful.

   “It’s an awesome experience. It is very nerve-wracking but at the same time, we all love performing so usually the nerves go away once the music starts” Dold said. 

   The National High School Cheerleading Championship (NHSCC) is hosted by Varsity, one of the head cheerleading organizations in Orlando, Florida. It is the biggest competition any school cheer team can go to. 

   “It’s multiple cheer teams all around the United States that received the same bid we did and compete against multiple other teams based on your division and category and compete for the national champion spot,” Dold said.

   It is the final for all cheerleaders and it’s held at the end of the competition season. It is the hardest place to be, as cheer teams from all over the nation compete.             

   Even with all the pressure, it still doesn’t stop the passionate cheerleaders from enjoying it. 

   “It was an amazing feeling. We have had a pretty rough beginning of the season, but it felt so amazing that all of our hard work finally paid off and that we were going back to Mrs Barron’s favorite place,”  Dold said.  

   However, with all the other cheer teams, making some hard adjustments is necessary. Trying to beat all the other teams means they have to add more difficult choreography and skills. 

   “We are changing our main stunt as well as the cheer stunts and ending pyramid to more difficult skills,” Dold said 

   All the hard work and the overcoming of challenges has paid off for the girls, as they prepare to step out onto the blue mat in front of the castle.