Minot was a busy place over the weekend. There were three major events going on so there were a lot of people in town.
First, the KMOT Ag Expo was happening. This has become one of the largest events of its kind on the northern Great Plains. Second, there was a farmers’ market symposium at the NDSU Research Extension Center and third, the North Dakota Association of Dance and Drill hosted the state dance competition in the Minot State University Dome.

Thirty-eight teams from across the state were involved in the dance competition. It included junior high, junior varsity, Class B varsity and Class A varsity. And after attending both days of this competition, I’ve gained a whole new respect for what these girls do.

I’m biased in a sense that my niece’s daughter was part of the Bismarck Legacy junior varsity team and they took two thirds and a second place out of the four categories of competition that included jazz, hip hop, high kick and pom. Congratulations Olivia!

But Legacy was one spoke in a much bigger wheel. There were a lot of other teams that performed well, dazzled the crowd, made new friends and took fan support to a whole new level.

Carrington swept the competition in Class B, while Valley City, Williston, Devils Lake, Minot, Jamestown, Northern Cass, Hazen, West Fargo, Legacy and others finished in the top four of their competition. In addition, Garrison put on a novelty act that was nothing short of impressive.

Unfortunately, in the two days I was at that competition, I saw one news reporter. He was there from the Foster County Independent in Carrington. There may have been others, but he was the only one who was visible, taking photos and notes when the Carrington girls performed.

The local media covered Minot High and Our Redeemer’s basketball teams well, but not a word on a statewide dance competition going on in the dome.

As I watched these girls go through a grueling 48-hour schedule, I thought about individual words that could best describe this competition. Determination, creativity, discipline, choreography, enthusiasm, energy, tireless, tenacity and time, could all be used effectively when describing these matchups.

Several girls were injured throughout the two days. Numerous performers had wrists, ankles and legs wrapped up presumably from previous injuries. One girl from Bismarck Century fell on her back during a flip, got back up and right back into the rhythm even though we could all tell she was in pain.

And think of this. During their events, they had turners on their feet. The best way I can describe it is similar to what ballet dancers wear. The Legacy girls performed seven times. So here they were on a hardwood floor without shoes, seven times, at about 3 minutes each. Yes, these are high school and junior high girls, but imagine how much their feet must have hurt by Saturday night.

Many of these kids practice year-round and some are working out before the school day starts, yet many of them are members of the National Honor Society, while still others have the time to volunteer in their communities.
Back in the day, I played 11 years of baseball and I don’t think I ever worked that hard except maybe when I had to beat out other players to make it on to the college team in Bismarck.

Honestly, I got tired just watching these kids. I can’t imagine being them and still having the enthusiasm at the end of the day on Saturday that they had.

Sports reporters and editors have argued for years that cheerleading and dance aren’t sports. I beg to differ when you consider golf is a sport, curling is a sport, archery is a sport.

Maybe the North Dakota High School Activities ought to re-evaluate this because based on the level of competition I witnessed, you darn straight it’s a sport.

And at the end when results were being tabulated before the awards ceremony, all 38 teams were on the floor, dancing and singing together and having fun while music blared on the sound system. Some of the Simle Junior High (Bismarck) girls got quite creative with the music.

And as they were doing that, I leaned over and tapped my wife on the shoulder and told her, you won’t see that kind of comraderie among teams after a baseball game.