Inside the Tournament of Champions

The glitter, the eyeliner, the big hair bows set atop long ponytails, the short skirts, and the red lipstick that adds that extra pop. Everything is in place and in the concourse just inside Gate 4 of the USF Sun Dome, the Rock Solid co-ed competition squad is stretching and relaxing for the last time today.

Outside of a gymnasium, the sign above the door reads, “Warm Ups.” Below it another threatens, “No gum or jewelry—5 point deduction.”

Inside the gym, are cheerleaders donning various colors from red and blue to purple and even pink. Herded like cattle from one practice mat to another, the Rock Solid team—wearing black and gold—takes its first step toward what they hope will lead them to be crowned Grand Champions of American Cheer Power’s Tournament of Champions.

The squad’s coach, Carrie Bariteau, is warning, “Seven minutes. Hurry up and warm-up what you need to warm-up. Seven minutes. It goes fast.”

It is 6:42 p.m.

18-year-old T.J. O’Connor silently turns off his mp3 player and puts his white earphones in a black Rock Solid backpack that is embroidered simply, “T.J.”

Behind him, a group of girls, who are mostly blond, chit-chat and smile with excitement while waiting for their turn on the tumbling mat.

The cheerleaders individually take off down the four-foot wide strip of blue tumbling mat that resembles an airport runway. This particular mat is set on top of a springboard that is about one foot above the ground. The two-inch foam mat is carpeted blue and secured to the springboard.

Along the side of the tumbling mat, the coaches and teammates are lined up cheering for each cheerleader as he or she practices his or her tumbling pass. Some of them nail their passes perfectly and receive a round of applause and “Good!” Some, like T.J., cannot hit their passes this time. They are encouraged, “Try again,” and “You got it!”

As their seven minutes are up, the burden of not perfecting or landing a tumbling pass causes a black cloud to hover over T.J. and 15-year-old Brittany Jacobs.

Coach Carrie pulls T.J. to the side and says, “Just hit it when you get out there.” Encouraging him not to over think it or try it anymore. She has faith in him. She has seen him nail this tumbling pass countless times.

As they move from the tumbling mat to the practice mat, Brittany begins crying. As the squad gets in formation, Carrie instructs, “Brittany, stop crying. Don’t stress; we have other stuff to worry about.”

The squad only has another seven minutes to run through its two minute and 30 second routine. In these seven minutes, the squad must practice and perfect every stunt, pyramid and basket toss. This is the last chance before show time.

On the practice mat, things look good. The squad only drops two stunts out of 20. But two stunts falling in a competition is close to committing competition suicide. One fall, depending on the cleanliness and severity of the fall, can take a team from first place to last place.

The coaches cheer, “Good job!” and clap when the stunts and pyramids stick. The squad—with focus on the two stunts that fell—runs through the entire routine again to prove they can hit their stunts and hit them solid, without wobbling.

Just as the co-eds perfect their routine, stunts and all, the big countdown timer in the center of the gym reads :00 in large, red numbers. That was it. The last practice. Not only was it the last practice before the squad competes, but it was the last practice for the Rock Solid Cheer Center this season.

The walk through the dark, narrow halls of the lowest level of the Sun Dome is brightened by excitement and anxiety. As the team walks the hall, it is filled with chatter, and words of encouragement.

“It’s all about taking risks. That’s what makes it more exciting,” said coach Joe Mateo. “If you’re tired, don’t try to be a hero; you’ll be a zero.”

The girls check each other’s teeth for any residual red lipstick. Some of the girls hug and pump each other up. Some huddle in their stunt groups and practice a mock-run of the routine.

Brittany attempts to shout out over the squad’s chatter, “The only thing that changed since Nationals is the stretch-stretch.”

She is referring to the one stunt that was changed since their last competition, the Universal Cheerleaders' Association National Competition. They took first place in UCA's National competition four weeks ago. Winning Nationals gave them a bid to Worlds—the most prestigious cheerleading competition that only invites the best teams to compete.

A bid gives a squad a spot in an invitation-only competition. Because the Rock Solid co-ed squad was crowned champion of its division, UCA is paying for their slot to perform in Worlds, and for the team’s travel, food and lodging.

In the gray dismal hallway, the squad makes a circle, puts their hands in the center and does a short, energetic chant. They move to the curtained area to the right of the stage.

“We got this!” the girls say as they clap in preparation for their performance.

They bounce on their toes waiting to hear the announcement that they are on deck, followed by “And now from Pinellas Park, Florida, Rock Solid Senior Co-ed.”

In front of the stands and to the front-left of the stage, the other Rock Solid squads are cheering, screaming and clapping.

The coach’s box is directly in front of the stage, the coaches pile in. One coach cues the music, and Carrie shouts, “It’s on,” as she often does in practice. She and another coach, Joe, grip hands and squeeze tightly.

It is 7:09 p.m.

The music begins and so do the cheerleaders. But this time is different. This time it feels like the routine is in slow motion.

The first stunt sequence hits, and the coaches scream!

The next sequence begins, followed by tumbling. The tumbling starts off strong! The coaches scream, and jump up and down. Then, like a domino effect, one cheerleader does not land his tumbling pass. Then another girl lands her tumbling pass, but falls. Then another.

T.J.’s little brother, Chris, tries to make up for his teammates’ falls by ending his pass with a double full-twisting layout—adding an additional twist and twice the difficulty of his single full-twisting layout, which he threw in warm-ups. T.J. improvises, changing his pass to something with slightly less difficulty, since he could not land the harder one in warm-ups.

The routine continues, all the stunts go up and stick, with little or no wobble. All the Rock Solid cheerleaders and coaches clap and cheer along with the music.

“We are like no other. You’ve heard all the talk. Coming to you live, the Rock…Solid!”

As each stunt, especially the ones that fell in warm-ups and practices, stick, the coaches scream louder and louder, jump higher and higher, and more and more frequently.

Their two minutes and 30 seconds is over. Huffing and puffing, and brutally exhausted the squad rushes to the back of the arena to watch their replay. Coach Carrie gives feedback.

“Nice job!” she applauds.

“Lacey, it was there,” she said.

“Good, Chris,” she praises.

“Smart, T.J.,” she recognizes.

Another coach, Ernie, commends, “Good timing on this guys.”

Overall, the team feels good about its performance.

“I’m happy…proud of what we did,” said Shannon Vayne, a senior at Seminole High School.

It is 7:35 p.m. and the time to hand out awards has come. On the blue springboard performance mat, where they put on their show, the squad now sits holding hands in hopes of hearing their name called as grand champions.

Accustom to winning first place, this squad faced a tough week of practice. One week ago today, three boys from Seminole High School died in a car accident. At least four of the cheerleaders knew them. Some of the girls went to the funerals today before coming to the competition.

The week of practices was not good, Carol Bariteau, the gym owner said. The girls attended funeral services after school, then went to practice. Unable to focus, the squad struggled to hit any stunts.

“I was close to two of them,” Shannon said. “I did it for them because I know they’d want me to do my best and be happy.”

Silence grows and tension rises as the emcee announces, “Senior Limited Co-ed, Level Five, second place…Rock Solid Senior Co-ed!”

It is almost as silent as when the emcee began the announcement. A few of the girls stand up, modestly smile and accept their trophy. The others remain sitting on the mat, without a smile, cheerless. They pass around the silver medals and disappointingly pull them over their heads and hang them from their necks.

“We did good, but at the same time we didn’t do our best. If you can do it in practice, you can do it out there,” said Chris O'Connor in disappointment. “It’s not about beating anybody. It’s about doing the best you can.”


(This competition will be televised at 5:00 p.m. on SunSports on May 15, 2009.)