This past weekend the Hofstra Cheer and Dance Teams
traveled to the UCA/ UDA College Nationals in Orlando, Florida. The UCA/ UDA
Nationals are the most prestigious competition for both teams and they spend the whole year prepping. Teams come all across the country and all across the world to
compete in the many various categories. The competition is sponsored by Varsity
Spirit, a company that serves to promote the Cheering and Dance world on the
College stage and beyond.
The competition is held at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports
located on property of the Walt Disney World Resort. Both teams and coaches
traveled to Orlando, Florida on Thursday January 15th to prep for the
competition.
Friday was spent
with rehearsal time both on and site and off as both teams went over their
routines again and again. Both teams hosted dinners in various areas of Disney World for the many friends and families that traveled as well to support the
teams. Immediately following their dinner, the Cheer Team went right into their
first competition with members of the squad participating in the Partner Stunt
Competition. The Pride performed well right from the start and were named the
national champions in that category before the night was through.
Saturday began full competition for both teams with Cheer
up first participating in their Semi- Finals competition. The support of the
Cheer team fans was infectious and the team once again rose to the challenge.
Next up was the Hofstra Dance Team with their Hip Hop
Semi- Finals and Jazz Semi Finals. The team performed both difficult routines
well and showcased their months of hard work.
Cheer was then up again time for their finals competition
for their Small Co-Ed Division 1 category. The fans once again went wild and
the audience was a sea of blue and white showing them support.
The day concluded with the Cheer Team awards. Competition
was in the air as the winners were announced including last year's champions
Bowling Green University. Hofstra Cheer came in second to Bowling Green last year by
1 pt. As they went down the list starting with 11th place towards 1st, it was
finally clear that Hofstra had done it again and captured their 9th National
Championship.
The room erupted and tears and hugs were shed by the many
friends and family in the room.
The day concluded on a high note along with the
excitement for the finals for Dance competition the following day.
On Sunday morning the Dance team performed their jazz and
hip hop routines in the Division 1 finals. Both the energy that the team gave off
and the cheers of the crowd enabled to deliver solid performances in both.
The day concluded with the awards for both categories
which secured for Hofstra a 5th place finish in Hip Hop and a 3rd place finish
in Jazz. The team had delivered two solid routines back to back and were proud
of their accomplishments.
Both teams showed the true meaning of PRIDE and their
hard work was infectious throughout the competition.
Don't forget to support both teams during Basketball
season this winter and beyond! Follow them on Twitter for updates @HofstraCheer
and @HUDanceTeam!
