Florida Panhandle youth cheer teams win 3 titles at national championships in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Florida Panhandle youth cheer teams recently won three national titles at thePop Warner National Cheer and Dance competition in Orlando.

The association -- Pop Warner Hub City Bulldogs based in Crestview --is comprised of football teams for ages 6-14 and cheerleaders ages 3-16.

The cheer teams had to compete at a regional competition, which was also held in Orlando where over 540 teams from Florida and Georgia competed for a chance to win and advance to Nationals.

The Mitey Mite cheer team is made up of 10 athletes ages 7-9 and three coaches.

They competed in two categories -- show cheer and sideline cheer. They placed 3rd in show cheer and placed 1st in sideline, earning them a bid to the National competition.

The varsity cheer team is made up of 15 athletes ages 12-16. They also competed in two categories and placed 1st in both routines. This was the second year in a row they accomplished this feat and earned the bid to Nationals for both routines.

The teams traveled to Orlando on Dec. 4 to begin their week-long adventure.

On Dec. 5, both teams competed in the sideline category -- each winning National Championships in their division: Varsity Medium Sideline Cheer National Champion and Mitey Mite Small Sideline Cheer National Champion.

This is the first for the association and for any team in the Florida Panhandle.

On Dec. 6, the Varsity team competed in the show cheer division and again was crowned the National Champion of Varsity Level 1 Medium.

"We are so very proud of these hard working student athletes," the association said. "They must maintain their grades to remain eligible to be on the team. Their season begins August 1 and they practice 8-10 hours a week and cheer at football games on Saturdays as well. They are all lead by volunteer coaches who are all extremely dedicated to these children."