How to get ready for The Cheer and Dance Worlds

 

Heading to worlds can be exciting, nerve wracking and extremely overwhelming. This applies to anyone, regardless of if you’ve never been, or if you’ve been 10 times.

Your brain will be in over load with all the training, packing, and travelling. So hopefully this will help you figure it all out a bit better before you head out.

It is of course important and exciting to prepare everything you need to pack (tan, uniform, shoes etc). I think the most important thing to prepare is your mind. You are going to Florida to compete in the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS after all.

I think that one of the most effective ways to prepare your mind is visualisation and positive thinking. Visualisation can really help you become more confident. If you just take a few minutes before you go to bed every night, and a few minutes before every training session to visualise yourself going out on that mat, and hitting the perfect routine, it will help you more than you know.

A positive mindset is the key to success. If you believe that you can, then you will. If you let yourself get consumed with nerves and tell yourself that you’ll miss your pass, or drop your stunt, you probably will. You’ve got your team mates around you, utilise them. You’re probably all feeling the same way. Encourage each other, build each other up, and most of all have fun.

There is no other feeling I can compare to the one you get when you hit that worlds mat. Even when you’re in warm up, surrounded by teams you fan girl over, don’t let it phase you. They’ve all trained just the same as you have and are as nervous as you. Wish them good luck, go out there and enjoy those 2:30secs. After all, it’s what you’ve been working towards all your life. Put your sassy pants on, smile and enjoy the experience.

Personally, I was lucky enough to have some family and friends out there to support me. If you can manage to stretch your budget, it’s great to share your achievement with some of the people that have supported you throughout your journey. I was also super lucky to share a room with a member of my team who was a physiotherapist. You put your body through it while you’re out there, so it’s nice to have some TLC from a pro. Especially if you’re injury prone like myself.

Registration is another great bonding experience for you and your team. You get to buy all your worlds merchandise and have some pictures in front of the big cheerleading worlds wall. So, remember to take some money to buy official merch. There’s lots to choose from, jumpers, t shirts, leggings, shorts, key-rings etc. It’s hard not to get too carried away – remember to set aside a fair amount of dollars in your budget if you are planning to hit the shops.

Lisa and Kenny who run Spring Tumbling organise an international show offs at Disney. You get the chance to show off your skills and routine to other international teams that you wouldn’t necessarily get to see. This was one of the highlights for me, and my Mom always goes on about it being her favourite part too. It’s so much fun if you get the chance to go. You put on a show and get some final practice in, alongside teams from other countries. We were there at the same time as Cheer Sport Great White Sharks which was super inspiring. Watching them, cheering them on, and having them cheer us on really showed me what worlds is all about. It’s coming together with the best teams in the world, and supporting and appreciating each other, because you’ve all put so much hard work in and understand what it takes to be there.

In terms of getting around Disney, it is a struggle to fit in all the parks around training and competing. You have to pick the ones you want to go to the most, and try and squeeze those in. Your team will also probably have planned days out for bonding, so see what everyone else is doing. If you do miss out, you’ll just have to qualify to go again next year!

Now for the fun stuff a little check list for packing your suitcase. The essentials are; Uniform, cheer shoes, bow, makeup, passport and tan, tan, and more tan. Hairspray is also a must. A good can of hairspray will work absolute wonders! The year I went we were sponsored by Rock Your Hair. I managed to keep my incredibly huge pony tail in for day 1 and 2 of competing, which saved me a lot of hair time. Sun Cream is really important. If you’re walking around in your uniform all day, you’ll get some questionable burn/tan lines, so keep safe with sun cream.

Also, I was really lucky again to get my own Nfinity bag included in my Excel Cheer sponsorship package. I know not everyone will have one but if you do its literally a life saver. So, remember to take your Nfinity bag or whichever bag you use for cheer to put all your comp day things in. You’ll need makeup top ups, a hair brush, a back comb, hairspray, water, some snacks, money, uniform and clothes. The list goes on, but a big bag is really helpful. It’s also great to use as hand luggage on the plane.

I have a few top tips for items to include when packing aside from the essentials and everyday things. The first one is items of kit or little trinkets to trade with members of other teams. This was a huge mistake I made, I had people from various countries come up to me asking if I wanted to make a trade, but I had very little to offer in return. The second one is lots of drinks. You will have to leave the drink you take into warm up, in the warm up area. It will probably get lost so allocate a ‘competition drink’ in a bottle you don’t mind leaving behind.

To finish it all off, if you’re really lucky you might run into some world champions in your post worlds McDonalds stop.

Written by Millie Horn