A Deeper Looking Into The Varsity Pom Divisions At NDTC
A Deeper Looking Into The Varsity Pom Divisions At NDTC
Look into some of the competitors in the Varsity Pom divisions at the 2023 UDA National Dance Team Championship!
The 2023 UDA National Dance Team Championship is just days away! Dancers from across the nation will travel to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, to compete for coveted UDA championship titles and jackets.
Varsity TV will be on-site all weekend long to bring you full coverage of this year's competition but before you dive into all the action, let's look into some of the competitors in the Varsity Pom division!
About Pom
Pom routines must utilize poms during 80% of the routine. Important characteristics include proper pom placement, the strength of the movement, dance technique, and routine staging. Emphasis is placed on precision, visual effectiveness, athleticism, and team uniformity.
Teams earning a Superior trophy at UDA Camp, teams earning a Home Routine trophy at UDA Camp, or teams who attended any Varsity Spirit Camp and qualified at a UDA regional competition are eligible and qualified to compete at the UDA National Dance Team Championship.
Routines are scored with 60 points possible on both an 'Execution' and 'Choreography' score sheet.
The 'Execution' scoresheet is broken down into four 10-point categories; execution of movement, execution of skills, synchronization/uniformity, and spacing. These scores are added to the 'Overall Score' which is broken down into two 10-point categories; Communication/projection and overall impression.
The 'Choreography' scoresheet is also broken down into four 10-point categories; creativity/musicality, routine staging, the complexity of movement, and difficulty of skill. Again, these scores are added to the 'Overall Score' which is broken down into two 10-point categories; communication/projection and overall impression.
The 2023 UDA National Dance Team Championship will host Small, Medium, and Large teams in the Varsity Pom division. Small Varsity includes teams with 5-11 athletes, Medium Varsity includes teams with 12-15 athletes, and Large Varsity includes teams with 16-40 athletes.
2022 UDA Varsity Pom Champions
In 2022, the Small Varsity Pom division had 55 total teams competing with 25 advancing to Semi-Finals. At the conclusion of the Semi-Final round 17 teams advanced again, this time to the Finals. After three stellar performances, Los Alamitos High School earned the top score of 90.475 to win the division.
Past champions include; Liberty High School in 2021, St. Ursula Academy in 2020, Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2019, and Seaton High School in 2018. Reigning champions Los Alamitos High School also won in 2017 and they will be returning to the competition in just a few days in hopes of going back-to-back!
Los Alamitos High School
The Medium Varsity Pom division had 44 total teams competing with 19 advancing to Semi-Finals. At the conclusion of the Semi-Final round 14 teams advanced again, this time to the Finals. Liberty High School secured the highest score of all teams competing in the Varsity Pom divisions, a 93.275!
Past champions include; St.Thomas More Catholic High School in 2020, Bearden High School in 2019, and St.Thomas More Catholic High School again in 2018.
Liberty High School
The Large Varsity Pom division had 31 total teams competing with 14 advancing to Semi-Finals. At the conclusion of the Semi-Final round 9 teams advanced again, this time to the Finals. Millard North High School scored 92.7375 to top the division!
Millard North and Bearden High School have gone back and forth claiming this division in recent years with Bearden winning in 2021 and 2018, and Millard North going back-to-back in 2019 and 2020.
Past champions also include Floyd Central High School in 2017.
