The Cedartown Middle School football/competition cheerleaders attended the UCA Cheer Camp at the University of Georgia from July 13-16. A total of 28 squads representing nearly 500 cheerleaders competed at the Athens camp.

Two types of camp were held depending on the stunt level of each squad. A regular cheer camp took place as well as an elite cheer camp. The Cedartown Middle School cheerleaders were the only middle school in the elite cheer camp and therefore they were given the opportunity to compete again high school varsity cheerleaders, which they did.

“Our girls were given the option to compete against high school cheerleaders or automatically winning first place trophies in the middle school division since no other teams were there to compete with,” CMS Head Coach Nancy Timmons stated. “The girls voted and they decided to compete in the varsity division. I was so proud of the girls for not taking the easy way out.”

For the first time in the elite division, the teams were required to combine their cheer and dance routines that they learned at camp into a mini-routine. CMS, competing against only high school varsity teams, brought a 50’s mix dance choreographed by Coach Timmons daughter, Erin Walters. The team won first place for their dance.

CMS also won a “superior” trophy for being one of the best teams at the camp. The team was invited to cheer at the Capitol One Bowl in Orlando, Fla. and visit the Walt Disney World Resort.

The team had the opportunity to put up to six girls to compete for the UCA All-Star cheerleaders. All six of the CMS cheerleaders put up made the squad. They were the only team at the camp to have six All-Stars. The All-Stars were seventh graders Mackenzie Dempsey and Bria Dulaney and eighth graders Paige Morgan, Kara Beth Smith, Amy Tillmann and Cheyenne Davenport. The six All-Stars were invited to cheer at Walt Disney World in Orlando.

The camp held a jump competition and Dulaney, a two-year CMS cheerleader, won first place. For the first time the camp held a lib-off and a stunt-off against the entire camp. The CMS team won first place in both competitions.

Dempsey, Morgan, Tillmann, Smith and Donna Pope won the lib-off. The stunt-off was won by Mackenzie, Dempsey, Jordan Cole, Kayla Bijeaux and Meredith Pyle.

Also, for the first time at camp the UCA staff gave out blue ribbons to the coaches choice for different categories. The winners were Smith as “dance diva”, Tillmann as “electric energy”, Morgan as “quietly constructive”, Davenport as “quietly constructive”, Cole as “step up to the plate”, Clarissa Adams and Carrie Strickland as “most improved”, Dempsey and Dulaney as “best all-around”.

“It was four days of very hard work,” Timmons stated. “We started at 7 a.m. and ended around 9 p.m. every day. The girls worked nonstop every day but it really paid off. We not only won five trophies, the spirit stick every night and all blue ribbons but we had so much fun as well.”

Timmons continued by stating, “It is a great time for the team to bond and get ready for the upcoming season. We always have so many girls who have never competed or even been in front of an audience so this is a great experience for them before they have to get on the competition floor.”

CMS is coming off an undefeated 2004-05 season. Last year, CMS won every first place trophy at camp and every first place trophy at cheer competitions as well as being the 2005 State Champions.

This season will be a special season for Timmons as this will be her last year to coach the football/competition cheerleaders. Timmons will be retiring before the end of the year.

Timmons, who started the middle school cheerleading program in 1995, knows leaving will be a very difficult thing to do.

“It will be very hard for me to leave our cheerleading program,” she said. “I have enjoyed every minute of it and I have been able to coach some wonderful girls. I have always been so lucky to have a team of dedicated and hard working girls. It has been one of the highlights of my career and I will miss it tremendously.”

Timmons especially appreciates the last three years she has coached as her daughter Erin Watters has been choreographing all of the dances and stunts. “The past three years have been extra special to me,” stated Timmons. “To be able to coach with my daughter is real special.”

The CMS squad is now back in town and are getting ready for the upcoming football season, pep rallies and competitions. CMS will be performing their first place mini-routine and their 50’s mix dance all three nights of CMS open house on Aug. 2-4 at 6 p.m.