The Mitey Mites squad.
DERBY — The Derby Pop Warner cheerleading squads had another successful trip to the National Championships! 4 competitive teams qualified for the National competition held in Orlando, Florida after finishing top 2 at the New England Regional Competition held back on November 6th. The teams and their families traveled down to the Universal Studios resorts early last week for the competition.
On Monday, December 6th, the first 3 teams competed:
Mitey Mites (photo above), Small Level 1, ages 8 and 9 finished 2nd out of 15 teams earning the NATIONAL RUNNER UP title. For all of these athletes it was their first time on the Nationals stage.
The Junior Pee Wee squad.
Junior Pee Wees (photo above), Medium Level 1, ages 9 and 10, finished 3rd out of 22 teams earning the bronze. This was one of the largest divisions at the competition and their best performance of the season.
The Pee Wee squad.
Pee Wees, Small Level 1, ages 10 and 11, finished 1st out of 9 teams earning a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP. For some of these athletes, this was their second National Championship in a row (after not having a season in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Junior Varsity squad.
On Wednesday, December 8th, the last Derby squad competed:
Junior Varsity, Medium Level 2, ages 11 – 13, finished 3rd out of 11 earning the bronze. This was a very close division with the top 3 teams finishing within 1.73 points.
Having all 4 squads finish in the top 3 in their divisions is no small feat. The squads competed against teams from all over the country (many towns much larger than Derby).
The Derby Pop Warner program would like to add a special thanks to the Valley Community Foundation for their generous donation that helped purchase new uniform skirts for the teams.
Derby Pop Warner cheer now has 12 National Championship titles and numerous silver and bronze finishes.
