Darlington’s varsity and junior varsity cheerleading squads garnered honors at a UCA (Universal Cheerleading Association) camp held July 24 to 27 at the University of Georgia. Approximately 460 girls from 26 schools attended.
“The girls did a fantastic job. I’m so proud of them,” said Angela Pieroni, varsity coach. “One goal of camp is to learn new material – to become ‘game ready.’ They mastered so many new dances, multiple cheers to entice the crowd to cheer with them and amazing new stunts. They were absolutely exhausted each night after spending 12 hours in the coliseum in addition to team-building activities.”
Cheerleaders are evaluated during each day of camp – the first evaluation being day one in “home pom,” a routine they choreograph and practice at school before they leave to attend the camp. Darlington’s junior varsity squad placed second with their routine.
Each day after that, the squads learn new material on which they are later evaluated. Darlington’s varsity squad was given Superior ratings each day, the highest honor given at UCA camp, and also won second place overall with one of their cheers, the Top Banana Award for spirit and effort, the Traditions Award for Darlington’s game day traditions and a Team-Building Award.
The top cheerleaders from each squad are invited to compete for the honor of being named All-Star, which gives them the opportunity to cheer in a parade at either Walt Disney World or in London, depending on their grade level. Four Darlington students were named All-Stars, including senior Amber Barker, junior Chelsea Digsby, sophomore Bryce Pitts and freshman Stephanie Schecter. Barker was also one of four girls at that particular camp who was asked to try out to be a UCA staff member for next year.
“I am proud to say that friendship and kindness reign on our squads,” said Pieroni. “Our girls ‘adopted’.a student, Katie Tolleson from Glynn Academy in St. Simon’s Island, who came to camp by herself. The girls embraced her with open arms, including her in our meals, cheers and team-building. It speaks very highly of our young ladies that they reached out and made a difficult situation for another young lady into a very positive time.”
Other chaperones attending the camp included Rachel Rice, varsity assistant coach; Kandi Riddle, junior varsity coach; Susan Stout, Middle School cheerleading coach; and Tiffany Payne (’02).
