DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – It's been seven years since Embry-Riddle cheerleading's last competition, but today, the program will fly high on the sport's biggest stage – the National Cheerleaders Association Collegiate National Championship.
Held across town at the Ocean Center, the Eagles are scheduled to compete both Thursday and Friday. Embry-Riddle is one of 15 programs participating in the Intermediate Small Coed Division II and the only one from Florida. Thursday's routines make up 25 percent of a team's score. The other 75 percent comes from the routines on Friday.
The Eagles are slotted to perform at 4:48 p.m. on Thursday. On Friday, programs go in reverse order depending on where they placed after the first round. For example, the team with the lowest score on Thursday goes first on Friday, and the team with the highest score goes last. Embry-Riddle won't know its time until all first-day scores are tallied, but it will be somewhere in the 2:10 p.m. to 5:42 p.m. window.
With Embry-Riddle preparing for the Blue & Gold Gala on Friday, cheerleading's usual practice facility, the ICI Center, has been unavailable. Fortunately, members of the community have been kind enough to allow the program to rehearse elsewhere. Seabreeze High School Cheerleading Coach Megan Lambert allocated space for the Eagles at the home of the Sandcrabs as well as her Cheer Force All Stars Gym. Penny Howell at Power Cheer All Stars in Port Orange also assisted in providing Embry-riddle with a place to practice.
The Eagles qualified for the championship each of the previous two years. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were unable to participate. Now, Head Coach
Mea Felps-Darley finally gets to see her team shine under the lights.
"This team is a family. We have worked extremely hard and have overcome so much to get to this competition. We are going to leave it all on the mat, and no matter what the outcome is, we are winners. I'm so extremely proud of them and grateful to be their coach."
Fans can watch Embry-Riddle compete in person by purchasing tickets
here. A
live stream will also be provided by Varsity TV.
The 2021-22 Embry-Riddle Cheerleading season is presented by Daytona Kia.
