The Chiefettes competed at the Universal Dance Association National Dance Team Championship held in Orlando, Florida, at Walt Disney World. They left Friday, January 31, and returned Tuesday, February 4, with yet another national ranking to their name.

The competition began Saturday morning, February 1, at the Indiana Jones Theater at MGM Studios where the Chiefettes performed both their Pom and Jazz routines.

The Chiefettes advanced to Jazz semi-finals but did not advance to Jazz finals, missing the cut by one point. Unfortunately, the Chiefettes were ranked 8 out of 15 going into finals, and only the top 6 teams were taken.

The Chiefettes advanced to both Pom semi-finals and finals, ranking 18 out of 80 teams for small varsity Pom.

Last year, the Chiefettes ranked 31 out of 77 for small varsity Pom and 20 out of 64 for small varsity Jazz. At the 2012 National Dance Team Championship, the Chiefettes ranked 11 in High Kick and 18 in Pom.

The quote by Bill Cosby “In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure,” is no empty saying for the Chiefettes. The team received a national title because of their hundreds of hours of practice since June, countless performances and multiple regional competitions.

Senior Monica Schwingshakl said, “This year at Disney was magical. Our time has been and has remained united by a mutual desire to give our all and succeed.”

Captain and senior Kristen Plunkett said, “I had the best time at Nationals by far this year than any other year I have been on this team. Our team did a phenomenal job, and we gave every performance everything we had, and our hard work definitely paid off.”

Their year-round season is not over yet, though. From tryouts in April to the end of the school year, the Chiefettes practice for hundreds of hours as well as perform at pep rallies, basketball game half-times and several competitions. This year, their season culminates with the state championship.

They will be competing at the Universal Dance Association Georgia Dance Championship, held here at McIntosh on Saturday, February 8. The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. with solos and small group dances, but the team competition will commence at 1:30.

The Chiefettes look forward to defending their “back to back to back to back” state championship titles.

Kristen continued, “This year for state, I am hopeful to keep our reigning state title. As long as we perform our best, we can accomplish that goal. I’m so proud of every girl on this team and wouldn’t change anything about this year.”