The SMU cheerleading team will compete in the Chick-Fil-A Cheerand Dance Collegiate Championship for the first time in 11 yearsnext week in Daytona, Fla.
The team qualified for the national competition during summercamp this past August.
This year, the team members unanimously decided to end their11-year competition lull.
“Entering the competition was their decision; it was allor nothing,” coach Sara O’Connell said. She considersthe dance section to be the team’s strongest area.
The decision to compete came with a huge time commitment. Manyteam members are in sororities or fraternities, participate invarious campus activities and take full course loads.
The past week, the team practiced for six hours and willpractice for eight hours on Friday and Saturday before the previewon Sunday.
Before heading to Nationals on Wednesday, the team will hold anational preview in the Dedman Center main gym on Sunday.
All students, faculty and staff are invited to be a part of thefirst audience to watch their performance.
The national competition will begin with the preliminary roundThursday, April 1, and the finals will be held Friday, April 2. Thepreliminary round will be held indoors and the finals will be heldoutdoors. SMU will compete in the small coed I division against 16teams from across the country.
Some local teams to beat include TCU and the University ofHouston.
“U of H is currently the No. 1 ranked team, and willprobably be the hardest team for us to beat,” sophomorecheerleader Ashley Whisnant said.
Jason Dollar, owner of the Pride All-Stars, a competitive clubcheer team, choreographed the 2:15 routine that includes high-leveltechniques leaving the cheerleaders gasping for air when the musicstops.
The routine is comprised of a pyramid, tumbling passes, dancesequences and basket tosses, which all meet that NationalCheerleader Association’s strict requirements.
The teams are also required to perform a 45-second segment ofcrowd involvement prior to their routine.
The cheerleader’s strive to engage the audience andrepresent the Mustangs with chants, signs and tumbling.
O’Connell has directed the team through a semester ofperfecting their unique and intense routine, and everyone isexcited to venture to Florida and represent SMU.
Despite the immense commitment and physically demanding routine,practices begin and end with smiles. The team respectsO’Connell and her strict, yet reasonable direction ofpractices. During warm-ups she laughs and teases the team, but theylisten attentively when it’s time to start.
Although SMU has been absent from the competition for over adecade, the school has strong roots in cheerleading and NCA, andlooks forward to becoming a competitive school again.
The team is excited to present their semester of hard work tothe SMU community.
“I personally dare anyone who comes on Sunday to say thatthe SMU cheerleaders don’t work hard,” sophomorecheerleader Kelly McKinney said.
