Dancing Through the Virus
By Emily McCaslin
It’s no lie that the Coronavirus has affected just about every aspect of our lives, from how we go to work, school and extracurriculars.
For Owasso Varsity Pom, COVID-19 has changed the way they go about some things.
Owasso Varsity Pom (OVP) practices before the sun comes up, practicing from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. every morning, and on top of that, coming back for evening practices. All of this hard work goes forth to the amazing routines you see on the sidelines, at halftime at games and also during their competitions.
Campbell Rinke, a junior at Owasso and a Pom captain, gave some insight on what the rest of this season will look like for them.
Photo taken by Mike Simons, (Campbell Rinke)
“Our biggest goal this year is to win state! We are so pumped and motivated this year and we’re all hoping to bring home some rings!”
Unfortunately, due to COVID, OVP will not be traveling to their usual state competition this year; instead they will be filming in the gym with minimal spectators. This will happen on November 20, and their results will come out on December 12.
“We’re trying to stay positive about things and know that the competition is just trying to keep everyone safe and healthy.”
They will compete in the 6A Kick Division and 6A Jazz competition.
Photo taken by Macy Neph, (OVP Team)
COVID has also forced OVP to rework routines when a teammate gets contact traced, sometimes even the day of a game.
“We’ve been having to call in these girls who have been contact traced via Google Meet, so they can at least try and practice with us from home.” says Campbell.
Luckily, they are an incredibly focused team and can take whatever is thrown at them.
After state, we can look forward to seeing OVP performing at basketball games. They will also be filming three Nationals routines, one of which is in the Pom Division (new this year for OVP), in the spring.
“This year we are ready to make a name for ourselves in the kick and jazz divisions and kill it in a brand new division as well!”
We wish them the best of luck as they navigate their way through this year of changes.