High School State Dance Competition Recruits for OCU

OSDTDA’s State Dance Team Competition is used as a recruitment tool for OCU’s Pom squad.

The Oklahoma State Dance Team Directors’ Association competition is hosted in the Abe Lemons Arena in Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center at OCU Dec. 12-13. The duo and trio competition is Friday, and the group competition is Saturday. The times will be announced a week or two prior to the competition.

“I think it is a great benefit for the dancers because of our central location and excellent facilities,” said Rachel Ashwood, nursing junior.

All high school dance team’s 2A through 6A will be competing.

The state competition has been hosted at OCU for at least 10 years, and is used for recruitment for the Pom squad.

“It is a huge recruiting tool for us to have some of the top dancers of the state in our home gym,” Ashwood said. “I know I first heard of OCU’s Pom squad when I was competing here in high school.”

The Pom squad sets up a recruitment table every year with pictures, trophies, tryout information, future athlete letters from the athletic department, and an academic letter. A few of the Pom girls are assigned to work at the recruitment table at different times to answer any questions for dancers or parents who might be interested. The members also are required to work other jobs during the competition, including: concessions, ticket booth, clean-up afterward, or runners for anything else that needs to be done.

The Pom squad enjoys the OSDTDA competition being hosted at OCU because it gives them a chance to connect with other dancers in the state, said Alysson Johnson, acting junior.

“It’s a great way for us to get involved with the high school Pom teams and be able to share our passion for dance together,” Johnson said.

The competition being hosted here also helps the university and the athletic department as a whole.

“Hosting pom state is a huge benefit for OCU because it gets people coming to the campus,” said Meredith St. George, nursing senior. “It also brings in a lot of profit for our athletics program, which is a plus.”