Spirit Squad Has Eyes Set On Nationals In A Year Of Disruption

BOULDER - You can't begin to describe a gameday of Colorado Athletics without mention of the spirit squad. Comprising the cheer, dance and mascot teams, the spirit squad's invaluable Buffs are at the heart of bringing the passion and enthusiasm that is so often thought of when imagining being at a Colorado game.

One of the things that makes college athletics so unique is the pageantry and the energy at Folsom Field and the CU Event Center on gameday is a perfect example. The spirit squad is largely responsible for dazzling and creating an experience that is hard to mimic and like many things during Covid-19, has been greatly missed.

Everyone, especially the spirit squad themselves, will be more than ready to return to their posts on game days to continue the great tradition of Colorado Athletics, whenever that time may be, but they have their sights on something much closer. The UCA National Championships usually take place in January but have been pushed back to the end of April this year because of the pandemic. The Buffs have become a perennial competitor at the event that takes place at Walt Disney World Resort and have high expectations for this year's competition.

After a long layoff, the spirit squad resumed official practice last week for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic began last March, but the teams have been putting in the work independently. Encouraged and guided by the coaching staff along the way, the student-athletes took pride in staying in proper shape. They sent updates to coaches of individual workout regimes but were largely on their own for how they chose to go about their business. After having no team activity for such a long period, this was key so when it was finally time to get back to practice, the teams could hit the ground running.

Practices today look like how you would expect them to look amid the pandemic, masks on from start to finish and extensive surveillance screening, but the Buffs are determined to not have this interfere with their nationals quest.

Things will certainly look different at nationals this year and, like most things in current day, will take place virtually for the dance and cheer teams. Neither the dance or cheer teams will be headed to Florida for the event but will rather be doing their routines via camera. The dance team will take part in the Jazz division, with the All-Girl cheer team competing for the Buffs.

Chip will be making the physical trip to nationals this year and will be doing so to defend his crown of National Champion. Chip took home the top prize in the mascot division in 2020 and will be looking to bring it back to Boulder again.

The repeat quest will begin this week when a qualification video is submitted to be considered for the main event. The qualification is typically a highlight reel of Chip at games and CU events, but this year it will be a skit showcasing qualities like energy, entertainment, and other staples of mascoting.

Many, especially the spirit squad themselves, will be anxiously awaiting the return of fans at CU games so they can get back to doing what they do. However, right now the cheer, dance and mascot teams have their eyes on the national championships with the full intention of taking advantage of the great opportunity to dazzle once again.

Spirit Squad Has Eyes Set On Nationals In A Year Of Disruption

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