Apollo and Daviess County will be hosting cheer and dance showcases ahead of their trip to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida to compete in the UCA Cheerleading National Championships on Feb. 9-12.
Apollo’s showcase will be held on Jan. 28 at Apollo High School with doors opening at 4 p.m. and events starting at 5 p.m. with tickets priced at $5. Daviess County will hold their showcase on Feb. 4 at 6 p.m. at Daviess County High School with tickets at $5.
The events will serve as a sendoff for Apollo High School, Daviess County High School, Owensboro High School, Burns Middle School and College View Middle School, as they will be competing in Nationals in Orlando, FL in two weeks. It will also showcase cheer and dance teams from both local schools and schools from the surrounding area. Joining the Owensboro area schools in the festivities will be Trigg County and Caldwell County High School cheer teams at Apollo’s showcase, and Henderson and Union County High School cheer teams will perform at Daviess County’s showcase.
DCHS cheer head coach and NFHS Kentucky Cheer Coach of the Year Kitty Jones said the events will not only gather local and surrounding teams together, but also a great way to give a better look into the competitive side of cheer and dance for the community.
“It’s a way to promote the athleticism of cheer and dance in general as most competitions are not held locally, so, you only get to see the game-cheering side of the sports,” she said. “The overall goal with inviting teams from outside of our community is to not only form alliances to support one another in FL, but to bring in a big crowd to help with preparation for the big event. We learn each other’s words to cheer each other on if the schedule works.”
This will be the first time Apollo has hosted a cheer and dance event such as this, according to head cheer coach Wes Nall. Nall said the support from the community in the team’s fundraisers helped lead to them hosting the showcase, and he hopes it will lead to more events or even competitions in the future.
Nall also sees the showcase as a way for both the local and surrounding teams to push each other to get better through camaraderie.
“We live in an interesting day and time where, because of social media if nothing else, all these kids already know each other,” he said. “Hosting an event like this allows us to get together and push ourselves to be better. It’s the cheer equivalent to a handful of guys from one school playing a handful of guys from another in a pickup game of basketball at the local park. Ultimately, we all want to use the time to better prepare ourselves for the big competition ahead.”
