April 16th, 2016 by WCBC Radio
The Cumberland Times News reports an elite group of local cheerleaders recently won a bid to compete at the Varsity All Star Summit Championship held in Tampa Florida.
"They shocked us really," said Romaine Poling, co-owner and head coach of Cheer Empire in Cumberland. "People don't realize the precision involved in this (cheering)."
Poling is one of three coaches working to train professional cheerleaders at Cheer Empire. After working with the winning team for nearly a year, she was still surprised when they took the championship.
"A paid bid to Summit on your first try," said Poling. "All I can say is wow."
Summit is the highest level cheering competition in the nation. After securing the national division title in Columbus, the team was offered a full bid to compete at Summit.
The winning team is one of five teams at Cheer Empire, and consists of 20 girls ranging from 10 to 14 years in age. The girls pay monthly membership dues and come from all over the tri-state area.
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