There's a new game in town for competitive athletics, and although these student athletes may not be clobbering their opponents on the field and are more interested in dance moves than touchdowns, they have still earned a place as a sanctioned sport in South Dakota.

Competitive cheer and dance teams in the state are coming into their second year as a sport sanctioned by the South Dakota High School Activities Association, and participation has nearly doubled, said Jo Auch, assistant executive director of the state activities association. There are 18 competitive dance teams, up from seven last year, and 27 competitive cheer teams, up from 16 last year, Auch said.

The increase in numbers this year may be partly because of the success of last year's program, Auch said.

"I think schools were wanting to jump on board, but everybody was just waiting to see how it all played out," she said.

The decision to add the programs as competitive sports instead of club activities was made as a way to increase female participation in athletics, Auch said. Competitive cheer and dance is more intense than similar club activities and is treated the same as any other sport, with almost daily practices and academic requirements.

The teams are primarily focused on female students, Auch said, although there is a co-ed division for cheer.

"This was primarily to try and increase the female participation numbers," she said. "That was why we limited it, … to keep it a girls' sport."

Sturgis Brown High School joined the sanctioned program this year. The school has a competitive cheer team and a dance team, with 16 girls participating in the dance team, called "Black Magic." Dance coach Melissa Lensegrav said the girls' response to the competition has been enthusiastic.

"They're really excited. Before, it was just an extra; it was just something fun," Lensegrav said. "Now, they feel like they're being taken more seriously. They're trying to earn that respect thatt hey are a sanctioned sport."

The dance team practices every day for about 1-1/2 hours to learn its different dance pieces. Each team can compete in up to four categories: pom, jazz, kick and hip-hop. Hip-hop is the teams' favorite, Lensegrav said, but the team is currently working on a jazz piece. Next week, she is bringing in a choreographer from California to teach the team some new moves.

"It's a really great opportunity for the girls," she said. "In order to improve, we need to get them some different type of teachings. I want to see them succeed."

The Black Magic will participate in its first competition Sept. 27 in Box Elder. The Douglas Invitational's cheer competition begins at 10 a.m., and dance begins at 11 a.m.

Each team must participate in at least two competitions to qualify for the state championships, set for Nov. 15 in Yankton.

St. Thomas More in Rapid City also began a competitive dance and cheer team this year, with 13 members on the cheer team and about 15 on dance. Many of the girls participate on both teams, as well as on the extra-curricular sideline cheer team that attends school sporting events, cheer coach Sarah Seljeskog said.

The team spent the past year raising money for equipment, including training mats, which can cost as much as $5,000, Seljeskog said.

The response from the girls has been enthusiastic, she said.

"It finally gives them a chance to showcase their athleticism," she said. "With sideline cheer, it's a lot about spirit and cheering at the games. This is a chance to actually compete against other teams."

Team member Secily Seljeskog, 15, who has been cheering for three years, agreed with her mom about the sport.

"It shows how hard we work, that this is a sport," she said.

Competitive cheer is a lot different from what the squad does at games.

"Sideline is more about keeping up the crowd," Secily said, modeling one of the team's new black and white uniforms that arrived Tuesday.

Her favorite aspect of competition is stunting with tumbling routines because of all of the different moves the athletes get to use.

She said sometimes people don't understand how much talent goes into being a cheerleader. "There's a lot of work that goes into it," Secily said. "We practice every day."

St. Thomas More also will participate in the Douglas Invitational on Sept. 27. Secily thinks the team will do well at this year's competitions.

"I think we're going to do really great," she said. "We've been practicing really hard."

Although non-sanctioned club teams are allowed to come to the competitions, the sanctioned teams are only allowed to compete against other member schools, Auch said.

"These girls are so motivated and committed," Seljeskog said. "I'm really proud of them."

Douglas High School and Belle Fourche High School added the competitive cheer program last year. The Douglas team has 11 students on its cheer squad and nine on the dance team, and Belle Fourche has 13 girls on its competitive dance team.

Douglas activities director Naomi Hatfield said female students showed high interest in competitive cheerleading and dance in a student-interest survey.

"Our board of education felt strongly that Douglas High School should join the competitive programs if we had a significant number of students that wanted to participate," she said.

Because Douglas will be hosting an invitational, the school had to invest in competition mats and must pay for the costs for workers and officials at the event. The school also had to hire a dance coach, which Hatfield said was a minimal expense. Hatfield said she expects three or four teams to participate in the invitational.

All coaches for the competitive programs must participate in safety certification training through the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators. The program has held training throughout the state all summer, Auch said, to train coaches on proper safety techniques and how to teach the athletes the correct progressions in moves to avoid injury.

At least year's championships, the Belle Fourche team got second place in the State A division. Coach Andrea Rhoads said it has been a great experience for the girls.

"It's been awesome getting girls involved. It's good to see that the state has added it," she said.

Rhoads credits athletic director Clay Anderson with getting the school involved in the program, and she hopes other schools will do the same.

"I'm looking forward to more schools jumping in to it," she said. "The more schools there are, the more fun it is to compete."

Rapid City Central and Stevens high schools have not yet joined the competitive cheer and dance program.

"We have not had any conversations at this point to add competitive cheer to our activity program," Tyler Rachetto, Stevens activities director said.

Stevens does offer sideline cheerleading and the Stevens Blues dance team. There are 32 students participating in winter and fall cheerleading teams and 18 students on the dance team.