Tigers varsity cheer conquered national championships at the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) competition in Orlando at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. This is a national competition, and the team beat 45 others to win the title.
“The feeling of winning is indescribable,” sophomore cheerleader Elizabeth Maahs said. “When they announced us for 1st place, it was like time stopped.”
In cheer, there are two different associations, the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and the UCA. The only difference between the two is the way that they are set up, and which teams compete at the competitions. Fishers won their title in the UCA competition.
The team practiced three times a week at minimum, sometimes more if needed. Being together this much brought the team closer together, according to Maahs.
“Nationals brought all of us together and made us closer as a team and as a family,” Maahs said. “It’s amazing knowing that we’re national champions as a family.”
For sophomore cheerleader Lily Hobbs, this was a once in a lifetime chance, and a way that a childhood dream became a reality.
“Ever since I was a little girl, I would watch all of the cheerleaders on ESPN and comment on how good they always were, and how I wanted to be like them so bad,” Hobbs said. “From winning nationals, that dream became a reality. Now I am one of those cheerleaders that little girls are looking up to on ESPN.”
This is the first time in school history that the Tigers have won first place at nationals. Last year, they came close, receiving a seventh-place trophy at the same competition.
