Cheering all the way to US with Blaine Lumley
The local youth shares of his experience of travelling to the USA through a loved sport.
My name is Blaine Lumley and I was a part of the 2023 South African team that participated in the International Cheer Union Worlds competition team, held in Orlando, USA.
Prior to heading to the USA, I was originally part of the junior coed team, but, about two months before we left for the States I received a message that I had been placed on the senior teams, which made me extremely happy knowing my hard work was being seen and that they thought I was the best fit for the open spot.
It takes a lot of work to get to the point where I was with countless hours of hard work put in over the weekends, as I was in training for six to eight hours and that was for 10 months straight with some breaks every once in a while.
Being in Orlando, Florida was such a different experience, that I can’t explain it to someone unless they were to go for the reasons I went. It was incredibly amazing being around so many like-minded people who have one goal in mind – to win. Being able to see how amazing some people are at the sport I love and having the opportunity to be taught by some of the best cheerleaders in the world is insane- meeting them was some of the best moments of my life.
Competing at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex was an experience of a lifetime walking on that stage for the first time was something I can’t explain. The feeling of those lights hitting your face as you step out and when the adrenaline kicks in, all you do is almost go blank and all that’s on your mind is your routine that you trained for.
Once you are done competing the feeling of having experienced this moment with your team makes you grow more like a family, and everyone is just ecstatic as they share just how proud they are of each other.
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