KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Thousands of cheerleaders and dancers are in Knoxville vying for the title of "Best in State."
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association's dance and cheerleading championship is being held on Friday and Saturday at the Knoxville Civic Center. Dance teams compete on Friday, while cheer teams compete on Saturday.
Around 3,000 athletes will attend the two-day event, according to Chad Culver, the Senior Director of the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Convention Sales Team.
"There's a lot of them gonna stay in hotels, all the parents and the coaches are gonna be out eating in the restaurants. It's all around great for Knoxville, especially this time of year in November. So if we can keep that event here and build on it and continue to bring more TSSAA events here, it would be great," said Culver.
One of the teams that competed on Friday was Halls Middle School's dance team. They did a hip-hop routine.
"Competing was great. I love it, we had a really fun time on stage. And just being an eighth grader now, I love being a good leader to all the new ones, new dancers, and we just had a lot of fun," said Kaitlyn Taylor, a student at the school.
The championships are usually held in Middle Tennessee but Lauren Jones, the director of eligibility for the TSSAA, said this year there was a change and the association decided to move to East Tennessee. She said the event had been growing over the last several years so a new space was needed.
Culver said Visit Knoxville is also happy to host the event.
"It has been over 25 years since we've had a state championship in Knoxville. So we're very excited to have them here," said Culver. "People love coming to Knoxville. And the families can come here and they know that they can stay downtown, they can walk downtown, they can shop and eat. So it's just a great place to spend the weekend."
The TSSAA encourages Knoxville residents to check out the athletes during the competition.
"They're very, very talented if you go in and watch some of these routines you'll see, they're just absolutely athletes and dedicated and hard-working and deserve to be recognized and have a stage and an opportunity to, to show off what they can do," said Jones.
A statement from the TSSAA is also available below.
"Participation numbers and interest in this event grew to the point that providing two full days of competition became necessary. Visit Knoxville approached us with an opportunity to meet our growing needs at the Knoxville Convention Center. We felt this was the right move for the event to provide a great championship experience for our student-athletes. We have enjoyed working with Visit Knoxville and appreciate their support of the TSSAA Cheerleading and Dance State Championships."