Georgia cheerleaders head to national championship. But it almost didn't happen

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The Collins High School cheerleading team is shown after their state championship win in Columbus, Ga. in December 2025.

Credit: GHSA via Facebook

A high school cheerleading team from metro Atlanta’s Gwinnett County will become the first from Georgia to compete in a national championship on Friday.

The team from Collins Hill High School will compete at the Universal Cheer Association National Championship in Orlando, Fla.

Katie Birkhead, the team’s head coach, said she and her team’s 26 members are excited to represent Georgia on one of the sport’s most prestigious stages.

"Watching their dedication this entire season, starting from the day that tryouts happened until we hit the stage for state, we knew that this team was going to do big things," Birkhead said.

The accomplishment came after years of hard work and some off-the-mat drama. 

Before the team could go to nationals, it had to challenge a rule by the organization that governs high school athletics in the state, the Georgia High School Association.

That’s because a GHSA bylaw prohibits cheerleading teams from out-of-state competition.

Birkhead said she doesn’t have a clear answer as to why the bylaw exists.

"A lot of other sports have a pretty clear pathway to compete out of state or at a national level if they get an invitation and qualify for it," she said. "Unfortunately, cheer and dance have not had that pathway."

But after a campaign of phone calls, letters and emails, propelled by a state championship win in December, the Collins Hill team convinced the association to make an exception for them.

They got the news two days before Christmas, sparking a wave of encouragement from within the school and the larger community.

"We support the football team and the basketball team and all of our sports but we’ve also been so lucky that they’ve supported us back," Birkhead said. "They’ve been at everything. They’ve been in our showcases. They’ve asked to come to Disney World with us."

Birkhead said the team has been practicing to stage in Orlando the same routine that won them the state championship in Columbus.

Their band’s chant is based on the theme song for the popular sports TV program NFL on Fox, which Birkhead said gets people moving and is a "crowd favorite."

The Eagles now go to the UCA National Championship with Georgia’s hopes riding with them.

But however far they make it there, the bylaw’s future is uncertain.

Birkhead is hoping for a change that permanently will allow Georgia cheerleading teams to compete out-of-state when they qualify for it.

“They deserve it as much as the other sports do,” she said.