The wonder of how some sports move on without shooting a jump shot or scoring a goal remains a mystery to some super fans. Dance team is not like most sports; there are not quarters or periods to redeem yourself, there is three minutes and one chance.

There is a group of judges at each competition that sit on the top row of the bleachers. The team is judged on musicality, technique and visual effectiveness. Each of those categories is broken down more specifically such as flexibility, energy and facials. “People think it’s weird that we do funny faces, but it’s what enables us to get more points,” said junior Abbey Saville.

Teams can get penalized, but not for checking someone or being too rough. The girls are watched closely and if knees hit the floor before hands, the team will be out of the running. During a kick routine there are a set number of kicks and if there are too many, points are deducted by each judge.

The judges look at the whole team but can look at an individual at any time. The team is scored out of ten in each category, and then ranked. To win you must have the lowest ranking score. All the judges score the team and drop the highest and lowest and average it out.

“We hold hands during awards to find out the judges verdict, in hopes of hearing our name,” said senior Madi Hyde.

At the end of the day, whatever the verdict, the team holds strong to its beliefs to carry out the goal.

“We will always keep it strong and clean. Dance together as if it was one body, one person dancing. Perform the dance and give it something more than just moves,” stated senior Rachiel Kennen.

Catherine Braunschweig is a Sports Editor for The Spartan Speaks