Pacifica Tigersharks Advance to the National Championships

The Pacifica Tigershark Cheerleaders are headed to the National Championships in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 3.

But they need $22,000 to do it and are accepting monetary donations to send  the Junior Pee Wees and Junior Midgets cheerleaders to the National Championships, where both competitive teams will be representing Pacifica at the ESPN Sports Pavilion in Orlando.

The Tigershark Junior Pee Wees, ages 8-10, performed a flawless routine at the Cheer Invitational, executing stunts, pyramids, and tumbling at the highest level of difficulty for their bracket. Under the direction of coaches Deirdrah Racine and Chelsea Rutledge, the girls placed 1st in their group, repeating their victory from last season and setting the bar for competition in their conference.

At the Conference Championship, the girls had a couple of bobbles in their stunts, and they placed 2nd by less than two points to a team that they had beaten earlier in the year. This past week at Regionals, the girls placed 2nd again, coming back from illness and injury to secure a trip to Nationals.

The oldest group from Pacifica, the Junior Midgets, ages 11-13, have had a fantastic season as well. Coaches Justine Demarco, Jayme Ng, and Nicole Mercurio led the group to a 3rd place finish at Invitationals. Their routine featured breathtaking stunts and difficult tumbling passes as well as innovative dance sequences.

Just two days before the Conference Championship, the girls had to change their routine to accommodate a missing teammate. Despite this challenge, they pulled off a nearly perfect performance at that competition in a situation that would have caused other teams to forfeit, and they came away with a 3rd place trophy again, just a couple of points out of 1st place.

This past week at Regionals, the girls performed an exciting routine featuring an incredibly difficult one-man lift, and a handstand roll-off that helped them outscore all but one other team.

The Junior Midgets placed 2nd in the Region — which covers territory from Vancouver to Tahoe — and earned the spot at Nationals that they have been training for.

The youngest team, the Tiny Mites, are not scored. The girls, ages 5-8, performed amazing routines with difficult tumbling passes and feats of flexibility at their competitions as well. Coaches Laura and Courtney Cunneen and Giamaica Zeidler, who is also the Dance Team teacher at Terra Nova High School, choreographed routines for them that were met with big smiles and great enthusiasm from crowds all season. The youngest Tigersharks are looking forward to following their older teammates to success in competition.

If you would like to contribute to the Tigersharks Travel Fund, please send checks payable to Pacifica Tigersharks, P.O. Box 551 Pacifica, CA 94044, or you can use their account at paypal@pacificatigersharks.com.

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