The Hokes Bluff Middle School cheerleaders took second placed in the Southern Championship Regional competition on Dec. 14 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Complex. The Universal Cheerleaders Association hosted the event.
As a result of their runner-up showing, for the first time in the school’s cheer history the Lady Eagles received a bid to the National High School Cheerleading Championship on Feb. 7-8 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Arena in Orlando, Fla.
When thinking about cheerleading, it could be a bit confusing,” said HBMS cheer head coach Tiesha Chappell. “When compared to other sports, it can be viewed as cheer camp as the preseason, state competition as the regular season, regionals as the playoffs and nationals as the championship. Due to our rankings, we have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to fight for the national championship title against teams across the country. One division can have as many as 42 teams from around the world hoping for a chance to compete during the final day of competition, which is televised on ESPN every year. We are hoping for a chance to be one of those teams
“As all of our participants are middle school students, it is difficult to raise the funds required for our program to compete at this level. We are reaching out to cheerleading alumni, family, friends, and local businesses to help support us in this once-in-a-lifetime chance. The squad hopes to represent its school, community, and county with this amazing opportunity.”
The HBMS cheer squad wishes to thank its current sponsors, including State Rep. Craig Ford; State Rep. Becky Nordgren; Patterson Farm; Noccalula Lawn Care; All-Task Contracting, L.L.C.; Skipper Engineering, Inc.; Jimmy Pruitt Logging; Gannon Road Deer Processing; and Rocky Ford General Store. The team hopes to purchase tee shirts to recognize all its sponsors before attending the event in February.
The team also wishes to thank HBMS Principal Greg Watkins and the Etowah County Board of Education for their support.