Florida State University Athletics
Cheer And Dance Win Conference Championships
4/15/2021 11:59:23 AM | General
The Florida State Cheerleading and Dance teams recently competed in the inaugural Conference Cheer and Dance Championships. The Conference Championship was started to provide an opportunity for cheer and dance programs in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) to highlight their athletic abilities. The Conference Championships was a virtual competition and allowed three categories for cheer: Gameday, Fight Song, and Performance and two for dance: Fight Song and Performance.
After a year of missed moments cheering on the field and court due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Florida State cheer and dance teams were eager to show off their school pride and talents. Along with FSU, ten more prestigious universities competed for the top spot. These schools included Boston College, Clemson University, Georgia Tech, University of Miami, North Carolina State University, University of Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, Syracuse University, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest University. Florida State cheer and dance competed in the Fight Song and Performance categories.
The Fight Song portion allowed teams to let their school spirit and pride shine. The Performance category allowed cheer teams to display their athleticism through elite stunt sequences, tumbling, baskets, pyramids, and a dance section and for the dance teams, it was an opportunity to show their athleticism by choosing a style of dance to show their advanced technical skill and entertainment value. Both teams faced hurdles with injuries and quarantine. The dance team missed crucial practice time, as well as, the last men’s basketball game and our cheer team was shut down the week of the championship giving them one practice to film and submit their routine, after a six-day shutdown. Florida State was the Runner-Up in the Fight Song category for both cheer and dance but both teams were able to clinch the top spot in the performance division and Florida State became the #1 ACC cheerleading and dance team in the Conference Championship.
Florida State Cheerleading Head Coach and Director of Spirit Programs, Staci Sutton, admits, “The resilience these athletes continued to show all year was incredible. Their positive attitudes, passion for the sport, and LOVE for the game and each other created that winning mindset and environment. Nothing was going to stop this group of athletes from making a statement at the first Conference Championships!”
