Packed stands and cheers were heard all around in the East Bay High School gym on Tuesday, Jan 23. as the 12 best cheer teams in Hillsborough County gathered at the Western Conference to put on their best performance. Robinson’s Cheer Competition team competed against 11 other teams competing for the highest place possible.
While the team placed ninth out of 12, they got a score of 74.5 which is relatively high in cheer scoring as it’s out of 100. Their routine began by running out onto the mat waving the “R-H-S” letter flags and pom-poms greeting the audience with wide smiles and waves. They then began the chant seen on the sidelines at football games which consisted of spelling “K-N-I-G-H-T-S’ with cardboard letters and performed stunts as well during the chant.
They closed their 2-and-a-half-minute routine up with the dance routine which included stunting, dancing and much more. The cheerleaders closed out the routine with a three-person pyramid and smiles.
Flyer Laura Smith (’26) recognized that the team made some mistakes but did well overall against their competition.
“We had a few difficulties but one of the best parts of our team is our ability to overcome these [mistakes] and make it pass,” Smith said. “I’m really proud of us for moving pass our issues and growing as a team.”
While they may have not placed high in this competition the team will be traveling this weekend of Feb. 3 to Lakeland to compete in States Semi-Finals and State Finals and hope to make improvements there in order to place higher.
“I think as a team we are very excited for these major competitions and the experience coming along with it,” Smith said.
