CHATTANOOGA---For the first time in six years, the Chattanooga Mocs Cheer and Dance squad made their way back to the UCA/UDA Collegiate Cheer and Dance National Championships. In successful Chattanooga fashion, the Mocs seized 6th place at the national tournament.
 
"Sixth place is amazing. I could not be more proud of this team," said head coach Ashli Brown.
 
The awe-inspiring placement comes as the Mocs made their first appearance in the tournament since being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The wait was worth it, especially with such a long and winding road to get there with many detailed, important steps on the path to the national tournament.
 
"You qualify for the tournament by going to camp and submitting a spirit video that shows you're doing different things, including in school and off campus. Volunteering in the community, working the crowd at games and trying to sign lead in everything at games," Brown explained.
 
Volunteering in the community is an integral part of being on the spirit squad, as well as making the national tournament. Cheerleaders are often heroes for young children at the games, a role model many look to follow the steps of as they grow up. Because of this, Brown makes sure the team is always active in the local Chattanooga community.
 
"It is important to show we're not just involved on campus and in our own sports but are seriously getting involved in our community that can eventually get here to campus," Brown said. "We care about the community and the growth of campus."
 
From the littlest Mocs with miniature pom-poms, to the alumni who still bleed Blue and Gold, and even to those who are members of the greater Chattanooga area, Brown makes sure to include everyone in the team's outreach. This year, some of that program included hosting a lunch at Battle Academy, holding an education day at the arena for local youth and even a pep rally for members of the Mocs Club when the prior to football's season opener against the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium in August.
 
On the mat, Chattanooga made sure to earn their keep as well. Brown explained the Mocs placement earning routine, which included a myriad of different cheers and numbers. This year, the team competed in the Open Spirit Game Day category. In Open Spirit Game Day, both the cheer and dance squads work together to successfully put up as many points as they can through their talented sets.
 
"[In] Game Day, you do a fight song, where you a situational sideline cheer where an announcer says 'hey, the defense is about to make a stop or offense is about to score,' then your team member calls your chant and you perform what's called a timeout routine," Brown explained. "The time out routine is compact with the fun, showy things such as baskets, pyramids, stunts and the dance team dancing combined.
 
"All that fun stuff we normally do at ball games."
 
After completing the situational challenges given by the sideline announcer, as well as all additional game cheers and performances, a group of judges rate the performance and tally up a team score. Chattanooga's sixth place finish saw them earn a raw score of 167.1333 and an event score of 83.5667, less than half a point than that of the fifth-place team that earned the last qualifying spot for the final round. That half-point could not matter any less to Brown, who poured her heart out over how proud she was of her squad.
 
"There's a lot of leadership on and within this team and it is amazing. I will say, I'm so proud of my seniors who kept pushing me all four years that they've been here. They were pushing me like, 'we've got to compete, we've got to go and just compete', and that makes me want to do it because deep down, I know they want it more," Brown said of her team's efforts. "To me, we hit everything, we had a clean routine, and I couldn't be more proud. They're winners to me."
 
Chattanooga looks continue their success into 2025 as they finish out the spring athletic season in sports such as basketball before heading back into fall sports and competing for another title of their own at the same time again next year.
 
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