A few weeks ago, the cheerleaders of the Dartmouth Youth Football League faced off in the RISMA competition held in Kingston, Rhode Island, where all three competitive teams won first place, with the peewee team taking on the title of grand champions. 

“This was a first for us, so it’s definitely something that we’re very appreciative of,” said Cheer Coordinator Katie Nicholson. “It’s definitely rewarding to see how much the program and the cheerleaders have grown throughout the years.”

According to Nicholson, the cheerleaders had only begun to really get competitive in recent years and so far have seen its peewee team and varsity team making it to the national competition in Orlando last year and the year before, respectively.

Their most recent success in Rhode Island earned the girls a spot at the Pop Warner regionals, which is set to take place in Springfield over the Nov. 9 and 10 weekend. 

In preparation of the competition, Nicholson said, “All the kids are making sure they are just coming to practice and working hard so we can really keep the routine clean and hopefully win next weekend.”

She added the routines are all designed to max out on points in each of the competition categories. Among the array of judged skills, Nicholson said she finds the teams are strongest in the pyramid category. 

“All of the pyramids have been really unique and difficult at the same time, so they all really did well in that category,” she said.

As the girls get ready for next weekend, Nicholson said they may focus a bit more on the dance category as this portion happens at the end of the routine. The key will be getting the girls to keep their energy through to the end.

Qualifying for nationals is hard, Nicholson said, “To go to nationals, you really have to earn it.”

And getting to nationals isn’t any easier. 

She said the teams’ biggest challenge is fundraising for the competition. With 34 girls potentially qualifying, Nicholson is looking to raise $34,000, which will then be used to reimburse the girls’ families $1,000 each for flights, hotels and food. 

If the teams were to not qualify, Nicholson said this money would be put aside for the New Jersey competition the girls do in February. 

Though there are three weeks between regionals and nationals, the money is due 10 days after qualifying, she said. The team currently has approximately $8,000 to $10,000 raised, with plans to host a BINGO night in December. 

“I really hope they make it to nationals and if they do, it’s definitely something that they 100% earned and put in the work for,” Nicholson said.