By Maya Gambhir, Staff Writer
This past week, River Hill welcomed all of Howard County’s Cheer Teams, hosting the annual Howard County Cheer Invitational and County competition. Taking place throughout the afternoon and evening on Wednesday, October 22nd, the school was a buzz with energy, anticipation, and competitive spirit.
While the Cheer team is most known for their Friday Night Lights at River Hill, most of their training is focused on their competition routine. Counties take place at the end of the fall cheer season every year, including every Varsity and Junior Varsity Cheer teams in Howard County.
Senior cheerleader Ivy Nguyen explains, “Counties, and any cheer competitions, are super fun and they let us show off all of the work we have been doing throughout the season.”
The event itself was hosted in the main gym, with sold-out bleachers of over 400 attendees, including families, staff, and friends cheering on their athletes. However, to manage such a large number of spectators, the competing teams only entered the main gym when it was their time to perform their routines.
“River Hill cheerleaders toured other teams on the route they would take to get to warm-ups, which was pretty complicated since warm-ups took place in the Aux Gym,” says Senior Cheerleader Sofya Agrawal.
For many cheerleaders, one of the most exciting parts of the event is getting to connect with and meet other school teams, all of whom have worked tirelessly the whole season to compete. “Supporting and watching the other teams is definitely exciting. It really reminds me of what great community cheer is,” says Nguyen.
The event was a whole production, to say the least, with sales booths for concessions and t-shirts alike.
Boosters President and mom of a RHHS Varsity Cheerleader, Mrs. Cindy Newman, shares, “We had such a great time selling concessions at the cheer competition! The energy in the gym was amazing, and it was so much fun meeting fans, cheering on the teams, and keeping everyone fueled up with snacks and drinks.”
The planning and organizing leading up to the event was a whirlwind of energy. According to Nguyen, “It was definitely a large undertaking for our coaches as well as our cheerleaders who helped out wherever needed, but it was really worth it in how well it turned out.”
When it came to the judging process, each part or component of the routines had its own judging sheets. This includes categories such as tumbling, jumps, and the cheer portion. There is also a safety judge to ensure that all stunts and choreography are performed in a safe manner that complies with regulations, ensuring no illegal skills are executed. The scores are then added up for a total, where teams compete for the top 8 in the county. These teams go on to the Regional Competition, and the top 3 are awarded at the Awards Ceremony.
“We’re judged on each category, where each judge has a different focus, like tumbling and stunts, and we are judged out of ten for technique and for difficulty,” says Junior Vivienne Li.
As the evening came to a close, the spirit of the Hawks and the entire Howard County cheer community shone brightly. The Invitational highlighted not only athleticism and skill, but also teamwork, dedication, and school pride. The event was a true celebration of the hard work that each team put into their craft, and for River Hill, hosting Counties was a chance to showcase Hawk spirit on and off the mat.