The Marshfield Upbeats are eager to start their competition season. For the past two seasons, or years, the Upbeats have gotten bumped up into the 5A league. Dance is the only sport at Marshfield that gets bumped into a different league. Any other sport at Marshfield would stay 1-4A, and 5A would get bumped into the 6A league. 

A dance competition differs from other sporting events. It isn’t just one team versus the other. It is multiple teams from all over Oregon competing in different styles of dance. The Upbeat tradition is to compete in the style of lyrical or “traditional” dancing. However, for the past two years, they have competed in another category: pom. While lyrical is a very emotional, slower, and musically heavy style of dance, pom is very hype and strong hitting with lots of energy. Doing pom is a time for dancers with any advanced tricks to shine. 

The world of dance is unfortunately overlooked quite often, and many don’t even consider it a sport. However, the dancers put in just as much training and preparation as any other sport at Marshfield and have the longest season, with practices starting in mid-August and not ending until the week before spring break. 

Two years ago, the Upbeats thought they were prepared for state. With long, emotionally and physically exhausting practices, 5 days a week and for 3 months, their shot at state was starting to look up. Leading up to state, there are competitions. Each competition, the Upbeats placed 1st in pom. This was not just for the 1-4A league, but also for competing against 5A teams.