Taft’s five-time city champion poms team is back at it again this season with big things in mind. After completing their first competition on Saturday, Nov. 25, the eagles feel confident they can take on the rest of the season with ease.
This first competition was a good introduction to the competition season. It helped to bond the team since it was some of their first times competing in a high school dance competition. It was also a way for the team to get feedback on what they did well and what to improve on for future competitions.
Poms Captain Yana Stavnicha (senior) said, “The first competition went better than they have in the past. There is still stuff for us to work on in both of our dances, but we are off to a good start.” Overall, the team seems to be pleased with their first performance of the season.
The girls perform two dances, a poms style dance as well as a contemporary style dance. Each dance is roughly two minutes long and they include about eight to 12 dancers. They have been practicing and perfecting the dances since October, the official start of their competition season.
“The team really pulled together,” said Bella Peterson (junior) reflecting on the first competition of the season. The team typically practices four days a week. When they go to practice, they go in with a ready-to-work mindset. They value making the routines look as best as they can so that when they compete they look in sync and put together.
This year is looking to bring a lot of great things for Taft’s competitive poms team. They got brand new uniforms for each of their dances. The uniform they use for their poms dance will double as their sideline uniform that they will wear to basketball games and, when the time comes, football games.
However, the team has to work for these new uniforms and other gifts throughout the season. Like other sports teams at Taft, they fundraise in order to pay for their gear. This year the team and coaches are working on a website in which they will use as a fundraising outlet.
As for this season’s goals, claiming another city champion title is on the list. Taft poms has won 5 city championships in the past and this year is looking very promising for the team. “We are doing really well right now. If we keep this up we could have an amazing season,” said Brinley Arens, junior.
After this is accomplished the next big goal is qualifying for state championships. The team has to place in the top six teams at their sectional competition in order to qualify for state championships. The dance state championship competition takes place the first weekend of February in Bloomington, Illinois.
On top of their busy competition schedule, the Taft poms team goes to many of the boys basketball games to cheer on the sidelines and even put on halftime performances. While the girls love the competition setting, there is a certain joy and excitement that comes from cheering at games and performing a halftime show for your school.
