On November 19th, the Naperville Central poms team traveled to Andrew High School to compete in the IHSA regional dance competition.They performed a contemporary style routine, titled “Fast Car”.
At the competition, there were 15 schools that competed.

“Not many of our usual competitors were there (Neuqua, North, Waubonsie, South Elgin, etc.) – so it was a smaller competition” Senior captain Nikolette Klinowski said.

When preparing for a competition, the girls put in a lot of work. They practice 6 hours on a regular week, and more on competition weeks.

“We do a lot of conditioning in order to have the stamina to complete the dance, which is still very hard,” N. Klinowski said.

Going into the competition, each member had their own goals of what they wanted to accomplish.

“I think my personal goal was to be the best dancer I can be – which sounds cheesy, but I don’t know if I’m going to dance in college so this could be the last time I ever dance, so I want to push myself to the best I can be,” Merve Addemir, senior, said.

One of the team goals was to qualify for state. In order to do that, the team would have to place 6th or higher at sectionals.

With seventeen girls on the team, it can be tricky to get everything in sync.

“We were all so nervous since we had been struggling with the routine. But when we did it, it went so well especially considering the circumstances. Our coaches were so proud of ourselves and so were we!” Junior arrowette Bella Klinowski said.

Out of the seventeen members on the team, there are some siblings that end up competing together. N. Klinowski and Bella Klinowski are just 1 pair of siblings that have passed through the poms program.

“Being teammates makes poms even more fun because [N. Klinowski] and I are always laughing and goofing off at practices and competitions,” B. Klinowski said. “It brings us so much closer especially because we get to share all the experiences and accomplishments together.”

Throughout all of the hardships and challenges they faced, the team ended up coming one step closer to their goal. They placed 4th at the competition. They missed third place by one point.

“We were sad to not hear our name not announced in the top three,” N. Klinowski said. “But knowing we got fourth, and missed third by so little, was really motivating. It just encouraged us to put in more work to do better.”

This competition marks the beginning of the end of the senior team members.

“[When I graduate] I’m going to miss the small moments with the girls, getting ready before we perform, our group chats, the routine…I love dancing as a team with these girls,” Addemir said. “They push me to always keep working hard.”