January 19, 2008

We got to the venue just in time to take photos, hit the warm up mat and then immediately afterwards, the performance floor. It was much better this way, because they had not time to think about anything or even become nervous. They had a great warm-up, which worried me, because a sloppy warm up equals a great performance. They came out and were fantastic! The routine was flowing smoothly - yay! The first half was a success! Now for the cheer...great so far - tumbling looks clean, stunts going up great....BAMM!! What does that say...."N U S" FLIP "GO BLUE BIG" AGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHO PUT THE SIGNS DOWN BACKWARDS??!!!!

Oh well, too late now. The crowd chuckled; I cringed. Another year coming in 2nd to last.

Backstage, their spirits were great and they were pleased with their performance. We watched the rest of our division compete, and listened as the finalists names were read. Although we did not make it to Finals, rather than being quitters and giving up, the spirit and determination was stronger than ever!