The Rogers State cheerleading team will soon be heading to Daytona Beach, Florida to participate in the National Cheerleader Association’s College National Competition. Preliminary competition will be held April 11th with the final competition on April 12th.
A public performance of the routine will be held two times on Monday, April 8 in the Bushyhead Field house on the Claremore campus. The first performance will be at 4:00 p.m. and will be repeated at 7:00 p.m.
Cheer teams qualify for nationals by earning top honors at camp during the summer or by submitting skill videos. For the second year in a row, the RSU squad received a gold bid at camp, which is the highest honor.
The teams perform routines consisting of tumbling, stunting, dance and motions choreographed to music. The routines are two minutes and 15 seconds of fast-paced displays of skill and endurance. Teams are judged on degree of difficulty, perfection of routine and overall impression.
The competition performance is more elaborate than most of the skills that are demonstrated during RSU games, as protective mats are required for many of the high-flying routines.
With hundreds of cheer and dance teams from across the country participating in the prestigious competition, it’s an honor for the RSU cheer team participate for the second consecutive year. The team placed 7th overall in last year’s competition.
RSU’s preliminary performance time is 10:26 a.m. on Thursday, April 11. There will be a live stream for community members who wish to watch it in Conference Room A in the Centennial Center.
The cheer team is currently coached by Matt Hinds under the leadership of the Office of Student Affairs.
-Written by RSU PR Intern Lindsay Bolt