My Nationals Experience

When I was in seventh grade, I decided to join the local pop warner cheerleading squad, and we ended up going to nationals that year. In order to get to nationals, squads must qualify at three other competitions. The first consists of teams in the Hocomock League, which are all located close by. In this competition, my squad had a flawless performance and we received first place. During the second competition, which consists of competitors all over Massachusetts we made a few small errors, and once again, were rewarded first place. Our third competition was located at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Rhode Island. This competition was a long one- it ran from ten o’clock in the morning until twelve o’clock midnight. The long wait was worth it, for that night, at eleven forty-five, my squad discovered that we were on our way to nationals in Orlando Florida!
The first few days in Florida consisted of lots of practice. Every day we had one practice, which was three hours long in the morning, and another, that was two hours long, at night. During the rest of the day, we were free to do as we wished, and in Disney world, there is always something to do.
On the third day, we rose promptly at six in the morning. First, each of us had to curl her hair into small little ringlets in a pony tail on top of our head. Next, we got dressed and quickly ate breakfast. After breakfast, we found a spot on the grass and had one last practice. About twenty minutes later, the busses arrived and we were on our way to The Milk House.
Upon our arrival at The Milk House, we were sent to a room to warm up our routines. This is always the most challenging part of competition because it is the last time to practice anything before you compete. After a successful warm-up, we had to wait backstage for about a half hour until we were called onto the mat. This was probably the most stressful half hour of my life. Many of my teammates could not control their nerves, and one of my friends even threw, minutes before we were called to go on stage! I was extremely nervous and felt that at any moment I was going to faint. Even though, one might feel sick backstage, they still must perform, for every member of a cheerleading team is important.
It was the time that we had all been waiting for. Finally we heard our name called and ran out onto the mat with lots of spirit. We delivered one of our best performances yet and we could not wait to see what place we had come in. We were competing against twelve other teams from all around America, and found that we had gotten sixth place. To me, sixth in the nation is quite an achievement, even though I would have loved getting first.
The next four days in Disney World, my friends and I visited all of the different parks. We made our way through the Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and the Magic Kingdom. My favorite ride was definitely Splash Mountain because it was so exhilarating. On top of that we ate at many different restaurants, my favorite being the rainforest café. Overall, nationals was a great experience that I will never forget.
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