The pom and dance team has been hard at work, prepping for their competition season this year. They are working on an array of different dance routines in styles such as jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, and short pom.  Their first competition is Saturday, February 20 at Urbana High School.

Coach Michelle Richardson says, “Compared to what we do for, say a football game, it’s more a technical dance with different styles, and then you have other types or styles of dance that we do that are more geared towards dance competitions that kids would attend outside of school.”

The competition itself, with so many routines, is very fast paced behind the scenes. Richardson said, “It’s a full-day event. You have four dances in a few hours, with constant changing, constant moving; it’s a lot of pressure.”

Last year, the team won their state championship, so they were moved up a division. This year they will be competing against many new teams, along with a few old rivals. The team itself has almost all the girls it did last year for competition, with four new members.

Even though it’ll be a new environment, Richardson says, “I’m excited, and I think they’ll do pretty well.”

The season typically starts at the end of January and extends to the weekend after spring break, giving the girls about two and a half months of intense competition. Although, this season, due to snow and competitions getting canceled, is starting a bit later.

The team’s first competition is at Urbana at 11 am on Saturday, so if you’d like to support the girls, be sure to come out and watch them kick off their new routines.