The girls of Pep Flags strutted onto the USA regional competition floor calm, cool, and collected with a smile as big as Alaska taped right across their faces. While twirling with excellence, it’s no wonder why the amazing girls of Pep Flag made it to the national level on Jan. 24.
Their uneasy journey began just one day before the competition as one girl dropped out on such short notice. Instead of the expected hopeless feeling striking through the team, the girls stuck their heads up high and made the best of the situation. With less than a day to change a chunk of their routine due to the loss of one member, there were many stressful moments before their accounted performance.
As they entered Orange Lutheran High School with a freshly-made routine embedded into their minds, they prepared for whatever result they received, in both a mental and physical way. The girls of Pep Flags who took part in the competition cheerfully presented themselves to the audience and their judges while walking onto the stage to get ready for their performance. While twirling their flags to a collaborative mix of music, which includes “Techno” by Michael Buble and another song by Colbie Caillat, the girls spun with so much energy and enthusiasm as if their lives depended on it. Senior captain Anna Yu said that she “expected to qualify for nationals because the team works very hard and adjusts well to last minute changes.” In the end, Pep Flags placed 5th with a score of 75 out of 100, which qualified them for nationals. As of now, the team is unsure about whether or not they will continue competing at national level in the Anaheim Convention Center on Mar. 26.
Before each and every competition, the girls gather at Anna’s abode bright and early in the morning and prep themselves up for a busy day ahead of them. They have somewhat of a team bonding where they help each other with their hair and make up. Occasionally, the team would also have sleepovers to make sure they can become as close as possible, kind of like a team family.
Twirling flags is an understatement because the girls had a lot of training and intense preparation before they could compete at the regional competition. They would have to run a mile each day, do 100 crunches, 30 push-ups, and hold out their flags for seven minutes. Each week the amount of time they have to run the mile decreases, the amount of crunches/push-ups they have to do increases, and the minutes they hold out also increase. While many students at AHS are given the chance to catch up with their sleep on the weekends, these girls are busy practicing and twirling to their hearts’ content.
Their uneasy journey began just one day before the competition as one girl dropped out on such short notice. Instead of the expected hopeless feeling striking through the team, the girls stuck their heads up high and made the best of the situation. With less than a day to change a chunk of their routine due to the loss of one member, there were many stressful moments before their accounted performance.
As they entered Orange Lutheran High School with a freshly-made routine embedded into their minds, they prepared for whatever result they received, in both a mental and physical way. The girls of Pep Flags who took part in the competition cheerfully presented themselves to the audience and their judges while walking onto the stage to get ready for their performance. While twirling their flags to a collaborative mix of music, which includes “Techno” by Michael Buble and another song by Colbie Caillat, the girls spun with so much energy and enthusiasm as if their lives depended on it. Senior captain Anna Yu said that she “expected to qualify for nationals because the team works very hard and adjusts well to last minute changes.” In the end, Pep Flags placed 5th with a score of 75 out of 100, which qualified them for nationals. As of now, the team is unsure about whether or not they will continue competing at national level in the Anaheim Convention Center on Mar. 26.
Before each and every competition, the girls gather at Anna’s abode bright and early in the morning and prep themselves up for a busy day ahead of them. They have somewhat of a team bonding where they help each other with their hair and make up. Occasionally, the team would also have sleepovers to make sure they can become as close as possible, kind of like a team family.
Twirling flags is an understatement because the girls had a lot of training and intense preparation before they could compete at the regional competition. They would have to run a mile each day, do 100 crunches, 30 push-ups, and hold out their flags for seven minutes. Each week the amount of time they have to run the mile decreases, the amount of crunches/push-ups they have to do increases, and the minutes they hold out also increase. While many students at AHS are given the chance to catch up with their sleep on the weekends, these girls are busy practicing and twirling to their hearts’ content.