LP High Student To Cheer In London Parade

Cheerleading can be tough and rewarding - just ask Lake Placid High School varsity cheerleader Kristina Grill.

As a back spotter, "I've had girls fall on my face, fall on my legs; I've been elbowed in the eye; I have a bad shoulder and one girl elbowed me right in the socket of my shoulder."

During a basket toss, a fellow cheerleader came down and landed on Grill's head.

"It's been pretty hectic," Grill said.

But, now through cheerleading, the 16-year-old junior will be taking her first plane flight, which will take her to London where she will cheer in the capital city's New Year's Day parade.

It will also be her first long-distance journey and trip to a foreign country.

"I've only been to southern Georgia, that's the farthest out of Florida I've ever been," she said.

Grill speaks with excitement describing the week's itinerary, which includes sightseeing at Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, The Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle.

The London New Year's Day Parade is a popular event with more than 10,000 performers representing 20 countries worldwide and more than half a million spectators along the route and 200 million TV viewers.

The parade starts in Parliament Square as Big Ben strikes noon. The two-mile parade route concludes at 3p.m. at Berkeley Street, Piccadilly.

Grill passed a rigorous audition to earn a spot on the Universal Cheerleaders Association's all-star squad. She has been practicing to a video recording of the routine the squad will perform in the parade. The squad will assemble for a practice in London prior to the parade.

Expecting chilly weather in London, Grill's grandmother is helping out with mittens, a jacket and turtle neck sweaters.

For the parade, Grill will wear tan colored leggings.

Cheerleading matches her personality, which she describes as "peppy - I'm always happy," Grill said.

When Grill isn't raising her pom poms into the air with a big smile she's hoisting a heavy barbell with a determined look on her face as a member of Lake Placid High School's varsity weightlifting team.