Cheerleading

is a growing sport. Cheerleaders are coming off of the sidelines and competing

around the world. As the sport evolves to include more gymnastics than

ever, it is important to open the sport up to younger cheerleaders who

can begin learning the complexities of the sport at an earlier age.

This philosophy

has paid off for four girls from Fayette County who will be part of Team

USA as they compete in the British international Championship Open in

London at the end of the month. Two of the girls, Megan Cason and Danielle

Wolf train with T.U.C.S. and the other two, Megan Ealy and Joelle Pettus,

train at Premier Cheering Academy. The girls have had various amounts

of training and were selected by Coach Jon Murchison who has worked with

all four girls on different occasions. These four will join 16 other cheerleaders

ranging in age from middle school to college age to compete in the Open.

Both Cason

and Pettus attend Booth Middle School. Cason is 11 years old and has been

cheering for three years. Pettus is 13 years old and only has one year

of background in the sport. Ealy, 13, attends Madras School in Newnan

and has been cheering for seven years, while Wolf, 11, attends Peeples

Elementary and has been involved in the sport for three years. Though

the girls attend different cheering programs and compete on different

squads they have become fast friends and have encouraged each other in

their sport.

"I think

cheerleading is fun and I enjoy the competitions," said Ealy. The

other girls agreed, while Wolf added that she enjoyed the tumbling and

stunting. Most of the girls started in gymnastics which led to cheering,

quickly becoming known as cheernastics. Cheernastics is described as a

combination of cheer, dance and gymnastics. The girls work at their gyms

two to three hours a night, four to five nights a week and are very committed

to the sport. Because of their ages and sizes the girls will be the flyers

in the stunts. Flyers are the ones who get thrown around during the performances.

The theme of

this year's performance by Team USA will be very patriotic. Team USA has

won the past four competitions in a row and looks to win again in England.

The team will meet in its entirety for the first time in Birmingham, Ala.,

before heading over to England. They will begin working in England on

July 23 and the competition begins on July 28. The competition will be

televised by the BBC and each team will be interviewed. Among the other

teams competing are Scotland, France, Germany, South Africa, Korea and,

of course, England.

The girls have

been trying to raise the money to cover their expenses for the trip, which

will be nearly $5,000. They have done car washes, sold donuts and solicited

corporate donations. This Saturday, they will be at a Drive-In movie in

The Chimneys subdivision, which is located off of Ga. Hwy 74 just past

the Starr's Mill complex. They will be showing the film, "Spy Kids"

and there will be red, white and blue glow-in-the- dark necklaces for

sale, as well as snow cones. It will be a chance for the community to

come together and meet the girls that will be representing the nation.

'We're very

proud to be representing our country," said Pettus. "It is very

humbling."

This is an

opportunity of a lifetime for these four girls and they plan on doing

their community and their nation proud.

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