Elkridge Cheerleaders Finish 4th at World Championship

The Tsunami cheerleaders had their routine down when they traveled from Elkridge to Orlando for the Cheerleading Worlds competition recently.

But no amount of practice could have prepared them for events that threatened to bring their score tumbling down. 

It was the team’s third time going to worlds; Tsunami debuted at the competition in 2009, placing 15th. Last year, the girls came in 5th.

“There was a strong core of kids that had been together for three years,” said Tsunami coach Terri Curley. Girls came from as far away as Delaware and Virginia to participate on the team, which is based at the Maryland Marlins gym in Elkridge. Tsunami also included four Howard High School cheerleaders, said Curley.

From summer 2010 to spring 2011, Tsunami held three-hour practices several times a week, working on routines and precision training. For their standout performance at the national competition in December, the girls earned a bid to the Cheerleading Worlds, the international all-star championship at Disney World in Orlando.

More than 100 teams competed this year at Cheerleading Worlds, representing over 40 countries, according to event sponsor the U.S. All Star Federation.

Each team is judged based on its routine. “It’s very high-impact—a lot of gymnastics and lifting and running—for two and a half minutes nonstop,” said Curley.

In the middle of the Tsunami routine, the lights went out in the arena.

“At first we thought ‘keep going, keep going,’” recalled team captain Brittany Trappe. “But then they forced us off the floor.” 

With their adrenaline pumping and the routine fresh, “the girls were directed backstage for a lengthy wait,” wrote Tsunami parent Donna Gambino on the Marlins website.

When they returned to the stage, the Tsunami girls were told to perform the entire routine from the beginning, which Curley said was a stretch since the athletes had already performed half of it before the power outage.

Still, Tsunami stepped up to the challenge and advanced to the next round of competition.

But the following day, in the middle of the girls’ second routine, the show stopped again.

“One of their top tumbling and stunt team members went down in the middle of the performance with a torn ACL,” said Gambino.

Again, the team had to go backstage and then begin from the top, this time with a substitute.

“When we came out the fourth time, there was a standing ovation before they even hit the floor,” said Curley. “It was awesome.”

No other team has ever had to perform four times at worlds, said Curley. Despite the obstacles, the girls placed 4th, their best performance yet at Cheerleading Worlds.

“I’ll remember it forever,” said Tsunami member Ali Martell of Columbia, who explained that the mixed emotions made the experience all the more powerful.

For the girls’ tenacity, they had media lining up to interview them after the competition's May 2 conclusion. The national magazine Inside Cheerleading featured their struggle in an article entitled “Strength, Trust and Pixie Dust: The Story of the Maryland Tsunami," published last week. A Tsunami feature in American Cheerleader magazine is also in the works.

“They came in fourth, but they basically stole the show because of their unprecedented four routines," said Curley. "And all four routines were almost flawless, which is why they’re getting all this attention. It’s hard to do your routine once, let alone four times.”

“We’re always doubted, we’re always underestimated,” said Trappe.

The Maryland Marlins gym is small compared with facilities owned by other organizations that send athletes to worlds, said Trappe and Curley. For example, the Maryland Twisters (the Glen Burnie team that placed first) has hundreds more cheerleaders than the Marlins.

“So for us to show people that you can do it just because you want it,” said Trappe, “is just so special.”

See complete results from the Cheerleading Worlds here.