West Marion High School senior cheerleader Kaitlyn Bradford had the chance of a lifetime recently as she joined more than 800 cheerleaders and dancers from across the country to perform at Walt Disney World.
She represented Varsity Spirit at the fourth annual Varsity Spirit Spectacular that took place Nov. 29 through Dec. 2.
“We stayed in Orlando just outside the park the first night, and I went and auditioned,” Bradford said. “I wanted to get that over with so I could go enjoy the parks the next day. The following day we checked in and went straight to Epcot. We waited for more news from the cheer people, and we went to practice.”
Bradford said she had several rehearsals, including one from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. the first night.
“Because there are so many cheerleaders, they didn’t want to overwhelm the park, so they split us into groups,” she said. “I was on Team Minnie and there was a Team Mickey as well. Team Mickey performed on Friday and Team Minnie performed Saturday. We performed during lunch on Saturday. We practiced Thursday night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. just to change the counts. We had to be really versatile and quick on your feet to remember the new counts that you were given. We were in rows and you get organized by height.”
In Team Minnie, there were close to 60 rows of cheerleaders, according to Bradford. She was in row 11. She was also assigned to “Group Gold” which was the front group.
“They would put sisters and friends together and teams together,” she said. “I was a single person there, so they put me where I fit in. The majority of my group was girls from Mississippi and girls from Missouri. One of the girls that was on the front row was actually from Hattiesburg and she goes to PCS. It was pretty cool to realize that we are so close.”
Bradford was one of a select group of ninth to 12th-grade captains, co-captain and officers who attended a Varsity Spirit camp last summer hosted by five national cheer groups. Memphis-based Varsity Spirit has been a driving force behind cheerleading’s transformation into the high-energy athletic activity it is today.
Bradford is an “All-American Cheerleader,” and thus was eligible to be invited to perform at Disney.
“You have to try out to become a varsity cheerleader at West Marion, so that’s the first process,” Bradford said. “During camp, they nominate you for All-American, if you possess the qualities that that an All-American cheerleader should possess. This year four of us at our camp tried out and three of us received All-American rating, From there, you can go out and participate in the Macy’s Parade, Disney parades, the Citrus Bowl. I’ve done it for five years and I’ve been nominated for six. I also went to Disney in eighth-grade.”
The entire experience was enjoyable for Bradford.
“It’s so much fun to meet girls who are as serious about cheerleading as you are,” she said. “I didn’t even realize that I had the same background as many of them. Some of us were even in the same gym family from ACE Cheer. And I just met them during Disney.”
Bradford hopes to continue her cheer career in college.
“I plan to try out for PRCC’s cheerleading when they have tryouts in the spring,” she said. “Hopefully I’ll make it and continue on my cheer career. Right now, we’re currently in basketball season at West Marion and we’re hoping to prepare a competition team and get into it and get well established in the coming years. I’m really excited for West Marion and the future of cheerleading. I’m sad I won’t be a part of it, but I’ll always be there to support them.”
Pictured Above: Kaitlyn Bradford has the chance to perform as a cheerleader and dancer at Disney World recently. She performed as part of 60 rows of All-American cheerleaders from throughout the United States. | Photo Submitted
