Some routines were complex, with tightly organized groups circling in unison and knots of athletes tossing smaller teammates, or "flyers," in the air. Team members fanned across the blue mat to create spectacles of athletic choreography. A panel of 11 judges doled out a maximum of 300 points for each routine.
Four squads from one perennially strong club, Crimson Heat - a 108-member all-star team from Capitol Heights - carried out their usual spectacular routines. By midday they had bagged one title and two bids to Fairfax.
Lisa Jefferies, dressed in the Heat's black, red and gold colors, squirmed with excitement as she waited for the club's oldest squad - which includes her daughter, Bria, 14 - to perform later in the day.
She praised Heat coach and choreographer Veronica Graves for running a top-flight program that includes etiquette lessons, homework sessions and mother-daughter teas with its three grueling practices a week.
"Veronica says if they give it their all, they win," she said, laughing. "Myself, I like the trophies."
Many participants, though, spoke of gaining self-esteem, making new friends, and discovering their own athletic skills through cheerleading.
"You have to have endurance," said Jenee Greenwood, 17, of Capitol Heights, a member of Crimson Heat. "That and a lot of passion."
"I love being a flyer," said Abbie Roglitz, 9, of Coastal Xtreme. "It's fun."
Her mother, Jennifer Roglitz, said Abbie is so shy she often doesn't speak within small groups. "But she can get up and cheer in front of 5,000 people," said Roglitz, who sported a black "Abbie's Mom" T-shirt.
The girls from Coastal Xtreme had high hopes. Last year, they won this competition in their division, and they won a world title on a different circuit. As they took the stage yesterday, they looked the part.
They formed a circle, holding hands. Then, as the music rose, they fanned into three spiraling groups, each of which tossed a petite flyer skyward.
At nine feet up, Abbie did an arabesque and beamed at the crowd.
As the music faded, though, some sensed that their timing hadn't been perfect. Moments later, they learned that they placed second to an Upper Marlboro team, Maryland Cheer Explosion.
But their positive attitudes were as bright as ever.
"That team deserved it," a cheerful Sabrina Brown said. "They were great. And our mistakes? Nothing major. They were nothing we can't fix."
