The Texas Tech Pom Squad makes history in Florida
By: Julissa Garcia / Alpha Media Intern
The journey for Tech pom began on Jan. 8 with a three day bus travel to Orlando Florida. After two days of practice in Florida, it was time to get in the competition zone. The stage was set with nerves and excitement as the pom squad was ready to compete another year at the Universal Dance Association (UDA) College Nationals.
This is the third year for Tech pom to compete at this competition in division 1A jazz and their very first year competing a division 1A pom routine. Competition began Friday night with jazz prelims as the pom squad went up against teams like Ohio State, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Michigan. Each team gets two minutes to showcase their passion, uniformity, and athleticism to the audience and judging panel. The preliminary jazz round had over 30 teams in D1A jazz and was cut down to 21 teams for Saturday’s semifinals round.
Saturday morning brought a quick turnaround for the pom squad with a 5 a.m. wake up call to get ready for their first ever pom routine at UDA. While the D1A pom division is half the size of the jazz category the competition is just as intense. This one of a kind country themed pom routine allowed Tech pom to make program history by making it to finals in their very first year in this category. The second day of competition was not complete after their pom routine as Tech pom still had to compete in jazz semifinals Saturday night.
The last day of UDA college nationals was Jan. 14. It was finals day in Orlando and the top 11 teams in D1A jazz and top 8 teams in D1A pom were ready to battle. Tech Pom received 4 th place with their pom routine and 6 th place with their jazz routine. Dance competitions are a true form of artwork, talent, and dedication because teams work all
season long to perfect their routines and have them subjectively scored by a panel of judges. The unknown and new environment can be difficult and intimidating, but Tech pom is still making history and will continue to take steps towards even more success in their new journey.
You can follow along with the pom squad for updates, pictures. and videos from the season @ttupom on Instagram and X.
