Robbinsville cheerleading submits state routine, under unique circumstances
Robbinsville – What would normally be prepped for with weeks – even months – of preparation instead occurred after just two practices.
Welcome to the N.C. Cheerleading Coaches Association’s yearly competition, in the COVID-19 era.
However, even with all the restrictions on both time and guidelines, the Robbinsville Lady Knights completed the task in front of them Sunday, recording their entry inside the high school gymnasium and in the process, re-entering state competition for the first time since 2006.
“We were expecting the state competition to be in May and just by chance, I checked the N.C. Cheerleading Coaches Association website,” Lady Knights coach Shannon Knott said. “I only had four days to get our team registered.”
Small window
Indeed, Robbinsville found out it had just 2 ½ weeks to complete the task in front of them. Most teams would be in a panic when informed of the constriction; instead, the talented group of Lady Knights quickly adapted to the adversity, mastering four routines for a 2 ½-minute video. Fortunately, the task was an exercise in familiarity.
“The good news is that they competed in ‘Game Day’ instead of ‘Traditional,’ so their routine was based off what they do on the sidelines every Friday night,” Knott said. “We then had to rework the routine an hour before filming, because one of our seniors (Bethany Collins) had surgery and her doctor put her out.”
Guidelines
To ensure their submission was valid, Robbinsville had to adhere to a bevy of rules. The video of the routine had to be continuous – meaning no edits – and an entry form had to be held up in front of the camera for five seconds at the beginning of the clip, rather than placed digitally at the beginning in post-production. A small audience was allowed to attend – around 15, comprised of family members of the cheerleaders – but this pales in comparison to the normal invitational, which sees attendances in the thousands.
Still, there were positives to be found in the unusual format.
“We didn’t have to spend money on food or travel and we were able to do the routine as many times as we needed to,” Knott said.
“We haven’t been able to work much on our gameday chants, but we’ve ran this routine so many times – through and through – and it’s been fun,” senior Ava Barlow added.
Opposition
Aside from Robbinsville, the only other western North Carolina school to be submitting an entry is Franklin, a 2A school. But for other seniors – like Hailey Kays and Diana Keber – it was more about the memories and team unity than rankings and what other schools bring to the table.
“It was stressful, but it was fun and a good experience to get to do something that was for us,” Kays said. “We’re normally supporting others, but we were supporting ourselves and we became the sport, so that was nice to enjoy that opportunity.”
“These girls are like my family, so it’s great to be able to do one last thing with them,” Keber added. “This team welcomed me with open arms when I came here my freshman year, so it’s been awesome to do this with them.”
The jury is still out on whether Robbinsville will compete in the N.C. High School Athletic Association’s competition this year. According to Knott, the state invitational – originally scheduled for Saturday, May 22 – will be rescheduled, but a date and venue have yet to be announced. Winners of the N.C. Cheerleading Coaches Association’s competition will be announced Wednesday.
“The stress of being perfect for a video is overwhelming,” Knott said. “The girls definitely handled it better than I did. By the end of ‘video day,’ the girls were exhausted. However, the final product was more than I could ask for. I really can’t say enough how proud I am.”