By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Chilton Christian Academy’s cheer squads competed in the Christian Cheerleaders of America Regional Competition held on Jan. 21 in Oxford, Alabama.

Four squads from CCA competed and placed in the competition. The junior varsity squad placed as Grand Champions in the first through eighth grade division.

The Elementary Squad, consisting of first through third grade students, placed first in the all music routine.

The Intermediate Squad, consisting of fourth and fifth grade students, placed first in the all music and tumbling routines.

The Junior Varsity Squad, consisting of seventh through ninth grade students, placed first in the all music and tumbling routines.

The Varsity Squad, consisting of ninth through 12th grade students, placed first in the cheer with music routine.

“It was a very busy day,” Coach Marilyn Jones said. “We still have to do some changes the day of. It’s just part of competition because you have to work to the judging sheet. If they change something on that, then you have to make changes as well.”

The cheerleading teams perform throughout the year at school sports events in addition to preparing for their competition routines.

“We usually have two practices a week because we’re limited in our time project plan. With our school being so small, many of our students do multiple things,” Jones said.

This year was the first time the competition had been held in Alabama. The school competed for the fourth time this year.

In previous competitions, the school requested that a competition be held in Alabama. This year, CCA competed against ten other schools, according to Jones.

“We’re growing our program into being able to attend nationals,” Jones said. “The girls work very hard for it. [The competitions] give them an incentive to grow their skills.”