Feb. 13, 2007
ATLANTA – The Georgia Tech Cheerleading and Dance teams will be competing at the 2007 Cheersport National Cheer and Dance Championship on Sat. and Sun., February 17-18, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. The Tech cheer and dance squads will be competing in Atlanta for the first time.
“It is really exciting to be able to compete in Atlanta,” said cheerleading head coach Mindy Whire. “Our fans have a chance to see what we train for all year long. There is a lot more to our cheerleaders and dancers than football and basketball games. The athletes continuously train and practice three-to-four days a week from July through April each year.”
The Jackets are getting an opportunity to compete close to home and at the only convention center on the East Coast big enough to host the Cheersport Nationals. For the 2007, Cheersport will be using four arenas for the cheerleading floors plus an additional arena for the dance floor, for a total of almost one million square feet of competition space. Cheersport anticipates over 900 teams from 40 states to attend the 2007 Cheersport Nationals.
“Cheersport Nationals has over 15,000 middle school and high school age girls and boys competing,” added Whire. “This is a way for the Georgia Tech Cheerleading Program to get its name out there and hopefully recruit some future Yellow Jackets. Many of our own cheerleaders competed at this same competition when they were in high school, including me.”
Cheersport gives the Tech squads an opportunity to compete against some of the best teams from around the country and prepare for the NCA College Nationals, held on April 5-6 in Daytona, Fla.
“In the past, we attended only one competition each year,” said Whire. “I wanted our cheerleaders to be able to put all that hard work into more than one competition, as well as give us some practice for the big one.”
