High Kick '25: Abby's First Varsity Pom Competition

Hi readers.

The pom team met in the morning at the school to prepare.

Abby and the Midland High Varsity Pom team competed in the annual High Kick competition down in Flint this afternoon, at some random event center that none of us had ever been to before. Kris had already seen the routine performed when the kids held some sorta 'parent preview' dress rehearsal at the school the day before, but I neglected to go to that so that I could watch it for the first time at the event itself. I wasn't able to go last year 'cause I was getting my left arm tattooed, so I wanted to make the most of it this time around.

All in all we were down there for like four hours, which is a hell of a lot better than when Abby was in middle school and we had to be there for the entire morning then stay through the JV and Varsity performances. I won't miss that at all, Jesus Christ. Midland did much better than expected, especially considering that they were bracketed in with a bunch of super-awesome teams from downstate, who regularly annihilate all of the smaller schools in competitions. They ended up placing 5th out of 8 teams in their division, which, when considering some of the schools they were up against, is quite a feat.

So here's some pics and video - a lot taken off Abby's phone, so I'm not entirely sure of the context of some of them, but included them for coverage sake.

Enjoy. . .

I forget this teammate's name, but she's been in pom with Abby for years.

Abby takes after me with documenting major events, that's for damn sure.

Abby and Brooklyn, taking a weird selfie.

Arriving at that aforementioned event center, down in Flint, around noon (Kris and I picked Abby up from the school once the team was done with hair and make-up, and she rode with us down there. . . then Abby split off once we got in and found her team.)

Morale high.

Abby took this in the stands during the competition while the team was awaiting the start of their division bracket, watching the other divisions perform. 

An hour or so later, Abby's team got one group picture backstage before they went on to perform.

Midland High Varsity's High Kick routine.

Following the conclusion of all the teams' performances, there was the usual aimless, mingling about of hundreds of teenage girls while the judges tallied up all their scores. This is always the longest, most agonizing part of the day for us parents, but the kids always enjoy it.

When the judges were ready, the teams assumed the traditional circle as they awaited the judges' results (Abby third from left.)

A look into what it's like inside the circle at this time, showing their reactions at placing 5th.

Another group shot.

Abby and Brooklyn

Showing of their ribbons and award.

These two got to pose with it as well.

Kris wanted to get a pic of Abby (once we found her after the awards, it took like a half an hour to do so.)

During the long process of getting out of the parking lot after the showcase, which took like twenty minutes due to all the Goddamn traffic, I saw a seagull gorging himself on a piece of pizza. It was awesome. Dude was living his best life.

- Brian