Reporter staff
Auburn’s gym may be small but it has produced big things on an international stage.
Two high-level teams from Celebrity Cheer Unlimited recently finished in the top 10 at The Summit, Varsity All Star’s Cheerleading and Dance Championship at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Fla.
As many as 9,000 teams made a bid to compete in the world event, but only 900 or so teams were invited. The field included squads from the Unites States and other countries like Australia, Germany and Japan.
Celebrity Cheer Unlimited’s senior Level 2 team, Hollywood, finished seventh, and its senior Level 3 team, Fame, finished ninth.
“The fact that we placed at all is huge for a gym of our size,” said Victoria Knight, a coach and former cheer competitor who won the 2013 Miss Auburn crown. “We held our own against big-name teams. … It is not very often that dreams like this come to fruition. We’re quite the small fish in a big pond. We were really pleased we (performed) our routine perfectly, let alone showed the world what we got.”
Team Hollywood enjoyed a resounding season. The undefeated state champions posted eight first-place finishes, eight division and four grand championships, in addition to its exploits at The Summit.
Celebrity Cheer Unlimited, a small gym of 38 competitors and four teams, sent 23 kids – 20 girls and three boys, ages 10-18 – to The Summit. The Auburn gym draws its talent from throughout the area, with ages ranging from 5 to 18.
Along with Knight, the coaching staff includes Jeff Mendoza, an Auburn High school graduate, and Jermaine Mendoza, an Auburn Riverside High School grad, Amanda Hastings. Knight, a Rogers of Puyallup graduate, is the cheer coach at Bellevue Christian. She is working on her teaching certificate.
The program, which just completed its third season of competition, is holding tryouts May 9-12. The gym’s primary goal, Knight said, is to prepare young cheer talent for the collegiate level.
To learn more, visit celebritycheerunlimited.com.