Cheerleading squads and dance teams across the nation will be in a mad rush a few days after Christmas, but it won’t be to the nearest after-Christmas sales. Teams will be preparing to leave for Orlando, Florida to perform in the Capital One Bowl that will take place on New Year’s Day!

To win a spot in the Capital One Bowl performance, teams had to receive a trophy at a UCA or UDA camp this summer. The teams chosen will spend five days in Florida with time to go to the Disney parks in between rehearsals for the performance.

This year, the University of Georgia Bulldogs will take on the Michigan State Spartans, and cheerleaders from Strong Rock Christian School in Locust Grove, Georgia are extra excited about “their team” being in the bowl game they are performing in.

Strong Rock Coach Lisa Crawford says she feels it is “God luck” that the Bulldogs will be playing in the game, and she calls it the “icing on the cake” for the entire bowl game experience.

“I was a cheerleader for the University of Georgia, and I cheered there in the 1983 bowl game,” says Lisa. “I have been telling them how much fun it was for me and the fact that they will be in the same stadium that I cheered in is very exciting to me for them.”

Strong Rock is only a second year school, and their cheerleading squad is small. Lisa feels this experience will give her team a chance to come together as a team. “The girls look forward to experiencing Disney together,” she says.

Coach Melanie Deem’s team from Rantoul Township High School will be coming to Florida all the way from Rantoul, Illinois. With a lot of fundraising under their belts, this team is ready to experience what they worked hard to raise money for. “The squad of 30 members is very excited to go,” she says. “Ever since they won first place at camp, they have not stopped talking about it!”

With just a week left until her team sets off to the sunshine state, Melanie hopes the trip will make her team stronger and more unified.

“It’s always very exciting to see the progression of the squad’s talent and unity toward each other,” states Melanie. “Going to Florida will just improve the squad. We have a lot of girls and guys that have never been to Florida and are extremely excited to be presented with the opportunity to go!”

For more information on the Capital One Bowl performance visit: http://uca.varsity.com/CapitalOneBowl.aspx.