You Know What Sport Needs Cheerleaders? Chess.

C.J. Cregg: First of all: you're wrong. Second of all: shut up. Third: I went to Hoynes with your thing and he said he wasn't the one who talked to you and I believe him and he's really pissed at me and he's right. And fourth...shut up again.

--The West Wing, "Enemies" (11/17/99)

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Greetings from Ocean City, Maryland!

That's what I'd be saying if I were still in Ocean City, Maryland. My first trip to that vacation paradise and it was a rainy weekend, punctuated by literally thousands of screaming girls aged 5 to 14.

We headed down there on Friday afternoon, which was not so great for me because I wasn't feeling well, but at least I had the better part of the day to get some rest and be generally medicated. But it was either go down Friday afternoon or leave the house at about three AM on Saturday.

Because of the weather, it took us much longer than we expected to get across the Bay Bridge and into Ocean City. I think this town has been built up into the realm of things that have gotten so much P. R. from people that I couldn't help but be a little disappointed. It's a seaside community driven by tourism and that's about it. If I didn't know where I was, I could easily have mistaken it for Wildwood or Point Pleasant or any one of numerous communities on the New Jersey shore. This isn't a bad thing, but it wasn't especially standout for me, either.

We stayed at the Princess Royale hotel, which is almost as far from most of the tourist action as one can get, not that it matters in the off-season. A chunk of businesses are closed for another several weeks, and most of the ones that are open are on truncated hours, or scrambling for whatever business there is.

And there is some business, make no mistake about that. There's clearly something going on in the Convention Center on a regular basis, and everybody knows about it. There are signs on many of the restaurants, etc. welcoming the cheerleaders to town. One place even had "Give a Cheer, Get a Discount" on their sign. It's too bad that they weren't especially kid-oriented (I think it's a surf shop), but it was still enough for GF to pop in with the Wee One and see what was up.

Saturday morning and we have to be up at 5:00 to get Wee One's uniform on, get her hair fixed just so (there are hair rules!), get the right socks on her feet, and so on. We'd gotten word that the squad was going to meet in the indoor pool area at 6:00. At precisely 6:00 we arrive at the pool.

Which is locked. Also, we're alone.

It turned out that, despite getting there exactly on time, we were the first to arrive. Other parents and their youngsters started showing up, and in no time the hallway was starting to get crowded and a little noisy. Finally we decided to just re-convene in the lobby.

More girls. Other teams filtering through. More hair and socks and uniform adjustments and god knows what. And finally we caravan it down to the convention center. We got there a little after 7:00 and the girls re-assembled. They had to be ready as a group by 8:15 because that was their warmup time.

I'll tell you what, this event was kind of slick compared to others we've been to. It's run by the American Cheer and Dance Academy, and they've clearly been around the block a few times. And, with all the slick, came a different level of competition, a little higher than the girls were used to.

Usually the girls compete against other teams in Harford and Baltimore Counties. This time around there were a couple of those teams, but there were also teams from as far away as Frostburg MD, Herndon VA and I think the distance winner goes to Rochester, NY.

So without any further ado, here's the video. Wee One is in the far left group as they start. She's the one on the right side of that group. If you lose track, she's the one who stumbles at 3:04. I'm told that because they were in transition, and because her chest didn't hit the floor, there's no deduction for the stumble. Oh, and one other brief explanation. The MC tells you which group is "in the hole", which means two teams out, then who's "on deck", which is the next team up, before announcing the team about to go on. So the video starts with him inexplicably saying "the Westminster Wildcats", which is his announcing the hole team (we lose the part where he says "in the hole").

Ultimately, her team placed fourth out of a field of five or six, which is not bad for a first effort in Extended Cheer season. And, as I've noted in other posts, this Parkville squad has a way of getting pounded in the first round, but using it as a rallying point and then kicking ass the rest of the season.

Next week, (next week!) there's another meet, so there won't be time to adjust the routine, but after that there's a month-long period in which they can really fine-tune. And fine-tune they will.

Comments

[yellojkt]

That is a pretty elaborate routine for girls that young.

I was in Atlanta last year during Cheer Week and it was a nightmare. Screaming girls practicing routines everywhere.

[Nick Koliarakis]

Nice routine! I don't remember ever seeing cheerleaders back in our day doing "routines" as such. I mean, they did the pyramids, but nothing overly elaborate otherwise. But this seems to have become very big in terms of competitions and all.

Now, about your remark about Chess needing cheerleaders, maybe these cheers would help make the game more exciting:

"GIMME A 'C'!!!
GIMME AN 'H'!!!
GIMME AN 'E'!!!
GIMME AN 'S'!!!
GIMME AN 'S'!!!
WHAT DOES THAT SPELL? CHESS!! YAAAAAAYYYY!!!!"

Or this one...

"SPASSKY! SPASSKY! HE'S OUR MAN! IF HE CAN'T DO IT - KASPAROV CAN!!!
KASPAROV, KASPAROV, HE'S OUR MAN..."

Great ideas, eh?! ;-)

[Claude]

I don't watch the practices specifically so I can appreciate how the routines improve and change, but I've heard stories and the next one is going to be a pip, especially given the age of this group.

You're kinda dating yourself with those players, aren't you? But then again, there don't seem to be any real chess "stars" these days.

Where you been hiding, Nick? Give me a FB shout next time you're on there.