Whew! What a weekend! Red Fox Nationals brought so much spirit, so much glitter and SO much talent! Spirit Brands and the South know how to do it right when it comes to cheering. The Worlds Bids were awarded and now the real work begins! Be sure to check out our Video Archives to see the full routines from all of the teams at Red Fox Nationals.

A few highlights about the Worlds Bids Winners:

Full Paid Bid - Ace Warriors - Senior Medium Coed

This routine starts strong with the majority of this team of 33, including eight males, throwing cartwheel fulls or standing fulls in a tucked position. They do an opening stunt, including nine groups, that appears to be ball ups but several of them on the sides are actually switch libs. Good choreographers can strategically place skills to trick the eye of some of the judges. They did struggle a bit in the stunt sequence with several stunt falls and bobbles. This team has a very visual, pyramid, most likely created by their well known gym owner, Happy Hooper. The highlight of the routine is their dance section which begins with some building skills in the back which really adds to the overall effect and audience enjoyment. They will need to really work perfection of their skills in preparation for Worlds.

Full Paid Bid - Ace Pride Warriors - Small Coed

The Pride Warriors have 19 team members including two males. They had a nice beginning with their opening, which was not necessarily super difficult, but well structured, visual and the kick double basket was nicely executed. Their stunt sequince had a good amount of difficulty with a highlight being their very tight helicopters and the switch half ups to heel stretches. Their pyramid didn’t have any falls or bobbles and included many inversions - with endurance work this pyramid will appear even stronger.

At Large Bid - Bama Allstarz Black Diamondz - Senior Medium Coed

This is a smaller team with only 18 team members and six of them are males which means it’s more difficult to hide weaknesses. Their four groups of handstand stunts with a mid sequence straddle drop was dramatic and memorable. They had very nice one and a half twist ups that all hit solidly. They performed an all boy basket during the dance and definitely a unique aspect of the routine was the breakdancer at the start of the routine. One of the strengths of this team is their extremely showy and confident fliers. A few athletes we spotlighted earlier in the week, in our Athletes To Watch article, put on quite a show as expected. Flyer, Maddi Mehringer, didn't hold back during any of her stunt sequences and Carson Fehler really shined in his tumbling.

At Large Bid - Gem of Champions Black Diamonds - Small Coed

These Gems have 19 team members, four of which are guys. Unfortunately they had a team member less during finals because a team member was injured the day before so they were performing this routine for her. This is truly a highly fast paced routine with hardly any down time and transitions are rarely noticed because someone is always flipping, kicking or flying to their next position. One of the best sections is the three tumblers cradling into corner and middle groups, and then being thrown back out into their tumbling passes. The back drop to pop to shoulder sit in the pyramid was creative and not often seen in routines. They ended the pyramid with one and a half ups to the final structure which was performed with strength. Before heading to Worlds they will probably spend time focusing on stunt technique, tighter cradles and consistency in stunts.

At Large Bid - Ace Lady Warriors - Senior All Girls

These strong ladies are a team of 19 powerhouses who fought to the end - fitting for a team of warriors. They started with a bang with several standing fulls performed with good technique. They had nice synchronization in both their standing tumbling and their jump sections. What was most impressive was their use of all team members in the pyramid. It would have been easy to put front spots in front of each group and just have four pyramid groups, but they opted to have five groups, without front spots. It made their pyramids appear larger and made an impact overall. This team will probably spend time strengthening their stunt sequences before Worlds.

At Large Bid - Ace Chiefs of Hattiesburg - Senior All Girls

The Chiefs are a small squad of only 15 girls. It is obvious that each and every one of them is bringing their best to the game. The team round off full twists were impressive as well as the technique of their double downs with such tight legs and pointed toes. The round off to shoulder sit, dip to full up and then half turn to bow and arrow was difficult and certainly gained them many points. Some of their running tumbling was very impressive especially a front handspring front pass early in the section as well as a pass that tumbled thru the swing stunt. Approaching Worlds they will probably need to focus on keeping their energy level up during the pyramid section. They seemed to lose momentum and it moved a bit slower than the rest of the routine. They finished on a high note with an excellent dance section with nonstop movement and levels.