Jan. 5, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - It will be a very busy month for the spirit program, as the UCF cheerleaders and KnightMoves are getting ready for the 2009 College Cheerleading and Dance Team National Championship. The annual event is set for Jan. 17-18 at Disney's Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, and will be broadcast by ESPN.
Fans can catch a glimpse of the Knights when they are in action at a pair of men's basketball games this week. The KnightMoves dance team will be performing pregame while the cheer team will take the floor at halftime on Tuesday when UCF battles Holy Cross at 7 p.m. Both squads will again perform during the Memphis game Saturday at 5 p.m., with KnightMoves at halftime and the cheer team postgame.
Special practices are open to the public this month and they are all held at The Venue. Those dates include Jan. 9 from 5:30-7 p.m., Jan. 13 from 3:30-5 p.m. and Jan. 14 from 5:30-7 p.m. On Jan. 14, UCF cheerleading alumni will be returning to watch practice as well.
That will all lead up to the national championships in Lake Buena Vista. The cheer team was ranked second in the South Region and second overall, which helped them earn one of just eight automatic bids directly into the finals. The Black and Gold will not be judged in the semifinals on Jan. 17 due to their automatic bid.
Also on Jan. 17, KnightMoves will be going through the semifinal round for hip-hop at Disney's MGM Indiana Jones Theater at 12:55 p.m., and then the semifinals in the Division-IA Dance Division at 6:54 p.m.
The following day at the Wide World of Sports, the dance finals for hip-hop are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. while the finals for jazz are at 4 p.m. The D-IA cheer finals are then on tap for 5:30-6:30 p.m.
For a more detailed schedule and updates on the competition, fans may head to http://uca.varsity.com/college_nationals.aspx.
The UCF cheerleaders claimed the 2003 and 2007 national titles and were the runner-up in 2002. The Knights have recorded 13 top-10 performances in the last 15 years, including an impressive third-place showing in 2008.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.