NDA National Champions

I'm just now getting around to putting up some shots of the 2010 Medium Varsity Hip Hop National Champion team from WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL! They went down as ordinary high school dancers and came back as National Champions! :)

The competition was held on Mar. 6 & 7 at the Hard Rock auditorium at Universal in Orlando, FL. The most surprising thing about the weekend was the cold weather. It was cold enough to wear a sweatshirt (but I DID wear shorts). We got down there on Thursday, got to the hotel, dropped our bags and everyone got something to eat and the kids went to practice.

Friday was more of the same. Some adults went to WDW, some of us went to Super Walmart to get food for the kids since they were spending $15 a meal and they were on a budget. We got fruit, water and stuff for PB&Js. They scarfed them down! We even had to get more bread. :) That afternoon, one of my high school friends who lives in Orlando, Tim, came to pick me up and we went to dinner (along with his darling wife and mom). That was super fun to see him and meet his family.

Saturday was prelims. The kids got ready, and we pulled our little white vans over and picked up all the wild haired kids with all their bags. Off we headed to Universal Studios to go to the Hard Rock Auditorium. We got seats in the balcony and watched the competition. Of course, we went wild as our team performed and when they announced their score (#1) we all went even more crazy! We went outside, took lots of pictures then headed back to the hotel for showers, naps, food and a little more practicing. Then, we loaded the vans again and headed back to Hard Rock for their Pom routine. They did their best, but their pom routine wasn't their favorite, or the one they really poured their hearts into. The made finals for that routine, too. :) Back to the hotel, a little more practicing, then off to bed for FINALS on Sunday.

Sunday is now kind of a blur. My cute Blog friend, Marie, came with her sweet daughter and granddaughter to watch the team. Her kids and grandkids live a couple of miles from here and her grandson is friends with Sara! It was fun to finally get to give my friend a real life hug since we've known each other in blogland for a few years now. Small world! Anyway, the kids appeared pretty calm, but they were all busy preparing themselves to win this competition. They performed their best and it paid off....BIG. They got 1st place in the Medium Varsity Hip Hop division. Their score was 9.451. The second place team's score was 9.126. The parents in the balcony about flipped!!!! We couldn't help but start screaming and jumping after they announced the second place team. We were so proud and happy for our kids. All the practice, time, tears, money, and huge commitment became so worth it all. They got a HUGE trophy, a banner and every dancer got a NATIONAL CHAMPION jacket. They called friends and family at home, cried, hugged, screamed, danced and posed for lots and lots of pictures. But, it was soon time to head back to the hotel to change for their pom performance. They were still on their "high" from the afternoon and performed their pom routine. They came in 9th out of 10 final qualifying teams. We were all ok with that (at least they didn't come in last. :) ). We planned to go out to dinner at Planet Hollywood, but things got messed up with the reservations (the competition didn't get out soon enough and we were late for our reservation) so we headed back to the hotel and the kids just got stuff to eat at a couple of the restraunts around the hotel.

Monday, we headed to the Parks to play. First stop was Magic Kingdom. We stayed together for a few rides, then everyone went their own ways. We all got done and ready to go to Epcot for dinner and a couple of rides. When that park closed, we headed to MGM since they stayed open late for resort guests. We rode Tower of Terror (one of my favorites) and Rockin' Rollercoaster (another favorite), then headed to the hotel to finally get some much needed sleep. We had planned to go to Animal Kingdom on Tuesday before we headed home, but the kids decided they'd rather swim and just hang out. So, us moms who were there, headed off to lunch, then came back to pack up and head home.

It was nice to be home and get to see my Nisa and Travis, but everyone is a little sad that the season is over. Now it's back to reality, but the kids have a big trophy, their names on the marquee in front of the school, sweet jackets and tons of great memories that I'm sure none of will forget. Go to my Shutterfly page to see the pics. Shutterfly