Upperman Cheerleader Emma Conley Prepares To Compete At Cheerleading Worlds

Photos by Pamela Claytor / Pamela Claytor Photography

by Rusty Ellis

BAXTER – Upperman cheerleader Emma Conley is getting set to take part in the biggest cheerleading competition around, as she and her competitive team will take part in Cheerleading Worlds on April 26-29 at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

After double-competing on Level 3 and Level 4 teams the previous year, Conley made the jump to a Level 5 team for her current season, but was also asked to make the jump to Level 6, something she admits to being surprised by.

“Very, in the cheer world, that’s a big jump,” Conley said. “I was definitely nervous, because I just had never competed in these high-level skills. I was also joining the team late, which made me more nervous, but the more time I spent doing these things, the more comfortable and settled I felt.”

For those not well-versed in the cheerleading world, there’s quite a bit that goes into a competition. Conley says there’s months of preparation that involves learning a routine in order to be prepared for actual competition day.

And then that day in itself is a whole other ordeal.

“You have to be full comp-ready,” Conley said. “Hair, makeup, uniform, all of that has to be ready. We go to a separate room and we start doing our own warmups, we call this the dynamic warmup. Then, we run through a few routines and then we finally go to full warmups.”

This then leads into a two-and-a-half minute performance, something that the team works on year-round to master.

“Once you’re done warming up, you wait around for a bit and then you head to the stage to perform,” Conley said. “After that, it’s awards time…it takes months to build where you can even run the routine.”

For Conley, competing at Worlds is something she’s dreamed about since she was three. It’s a stage that she’s only ever thought about being at, so taking part in the actual competition is something she’s excited for.

“It’s very exciting, very nerve-racking also, but it’s very exciting to get to experience your first Worlds team,” Conley said. “A lot of people don’t make it to this level, so it’s a surreal feeling for sure. Right now, I’m okay, but the more people talk about it and the more we drill down our practices, the more it starts to set in. I don’t think it’ll fully hit me until the flight there.”

As far as what she’s looking forward to about the actual competition, Conley says it’s the memories she gets the opportunity to create with her team that’ll mean the most to her.

“Just being with my team, that’s the best part of cheer,” Conley said. “I didn’t think I’d be on a level six team for many more years, and I think I’m just happy to be able to go down there and compete. That’s a blessing by itself.”

Conley’s team, Nemesis out of Cheerville Mt. Juliet, will take part in the competition on April 26-29 at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.