Local Girl Becomes a Charger Girl
The Friday Flyer
May 14, 2010
Local Charger fans will have another reason to cheer when football season begins, since local resident Nicole Lawson was recently selected to be on the San Diego Chargers Cheerleaders Team.
The daughter of John and Sandi Lawson, Nicole began dancing at the age of 5. She was a member of the all-star dance team at Touché in Temecula and was on the Temescal Canyon High School dance team her senior year.
Nicole is a 2007 graduate of TCHS and a 2008 graduate of Paul Mitchell cosmetology school. She currently works at California Styles in the Canyon Lake Towne Center.
The preliminary tryout process to become a Charger Girl began on a Sunday, with more than 470 girls trying out, and ended four days later with the announcement of the 28-member team. Nicole says the girls were taught a routine and, after the first cut, 212 girls remained. After a second cut, 69 girls remained. The girls were interviewed in front of a panel of eight judges. They also had to create their own dance routine and perform a routine taught to them.
When the final 28 numbers were announced, Nicole says it took her a while to realize they had called her number and, when she did, she says, “I was speechless.” Charger Girls must re-tryout each year and this year’s team consists of eight returning members and 20 rookies.
The girls were given a week off before gathering for a weekend at the Omni Hotel for a mini camp, where Nicole says they did a lot of team bonding. Practices began on May 3 and are held two days a week and one Saturday a month until the season starts, at which time they will practice once a week. Nicole is the second Canyon Laker in recent years to make the final cut. Natalie Morrison made the final cut to become a Charger Girl in April 2006.
The Charger Girls are the official dance team of the San Diego Chargers. They perform primarily at home games and are very active in the community and donate time to charity groups. Nicole says most of the travel involved is for promotional and charity events. Her position at California Styles, where she has worked for almost two years, provides the flexibility she needs to schedule her clients around practices and games.
[Why yes, that is one of my photos they posted with the article. Imagine that! ~sasha]
