Pom-Poms Out for U.S.A. Spirit
Varsity Song in their costumes for their jazz routine at Yorba Linda High School.
After cheering all football season, Diamond Bar High School’s Song team packed their pom-poms and dance shoes for the U.S.A. Spirit Regionals.
The Brahmas placed fourth in Varsity Jazz and fifth in Advanced Pom at the first Regional competition at University High School in Irvine on Dec. 8, and placed fifth in Advanced Pom and sixth in Varsity Jazz at their latest regional competition at Yorba Linda High School on Jan. 12.
“We are all just looking out for each other, since competition can be a nerve racking experience, but win or lose, we’re all in it together,” Ariel Cardona said via Instagram.
The scoring criteria was separated into different categories, including choreography, how well the stage was used, technique, showmanship and uniformity.
Song arrived to the competitions early to perfect their jazz routine to Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” and their pom-pom routine to a remix with multiple songs.
“Overall, I think I did pretty well in executing the technical parts of the dance, but I still have some things to work on,” sophomore Caitlyn Nguyen said via Instagram.
After performing at varsity football games and the first pep rally of the schoolyear, the team was excited and ready to start competition season.
“My goal for this competition season is for us to place in the top three teams,” captain Erin Lai, a junior, said via Instagram. “It will be hard since we are in the advanced division, but I believe we can do it.”
The team has not won nationals since 2014, but regionals has set a goal for the team to help them improve before nationals on Feb. 22.
“We’re hoping to score higher at the next competition and improve our performance quality,” Nguyen said. “Hopefully, our energy is a lot higher and we will perform well for the crowd and judges.”
Although the competition results were not exceptional, Lai is hopeful that the girls will learn from this experience and improve before nationals.
“We deserve the awards that we got,” Lai said. “However I think with the knowledge of our first competitions, we can use that to branch off and grow in our next competitions.”
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