Bama Cheer Squads Stand Out in Orlando

The University of Alabama spirit squads took home a pair of hard-fought second place finishes at the 2024 UCA and UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship, which took place last weekend at Walt Disney World Park in Orlando, Fla.

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After taking the top spot in the semifinal round, the Crimson Tide’s All Girl Division 1A squad posted a 90.8 raw score in the finals, but a 1.5 point deduction dropped their event score to a 89.3, ultimately just behind South Florida’s championship score of 90.2.

Alabama’s All Girl team has finished in the top three in each of its last four championship appearances, including national titles in 2020 and 2022.

See why they call Tuscaloosa Titletown? It's not just football.

The Tide also took second place in an equally hard-fought Co-ed competition, posting 96.8 points which was just 0.5 shy of winner UCF at 97.3. The second-place finish was the Co-ed team’s fourth in the last eight years, after previously hitting the mark in 2022, 2020 and 2017.

But there's more.

Alabama’s Dance Team also made it to the Division I Jazz finals, finishing eighth with a 93.2857, its highest score of the weekend, and ninth in the Gameday Dance semifinals (87.5), failing to make the top-six cut for the finals.

“We love that our teams have the opportunity to compete for championships,” UA Director of Spirit Programs Jennifer Thrasher said. “While both our cheer teams fell short of their goals, we are so proud of their second-place finishes! I’m so appreciative of the support from our athletic department, alumni, friends and family. Our athletes represent the University of Alabama in such a positive way and strive for excellence on and off the competition floor.”

The three-day competition took place at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, with teams from across the country at all levels participating in the event. Teams were judged based on stunting, tumbling skills, crowd-leading abilities and overall performance.