American Fork High drill team program on the chopping block


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

AMERICAN FORK — After more than 50 years performing, the American Fork High School drill team, known as the “Cavettes,” now struggle to keep the program alive.

On Friday — the day after their final event of the season — the team members were shocked when school administrators announced that the Cavettes will no longer be performing.

“The administration came in and instant tears flowed when they told us the Cavettes will no longer be around here at (American Fork High School),” said Jordan Tidwell, a member of the Cavettes.

The news came as a shock to the members and their parents.

“We were supposed to have tryouts next week, and those have been canceled,” said parent Paige Judy.

Since team members provided the majority of the costs, parents are having a hard time understanding the decision.

Kaesy Barker, a parent of one of the drill team members, said that “We were told by the administration on Friday they are planning on combining the dance company and drill team.” But for Barker, the dance and drill teams are “two separate entities and totally different styles of dance, and it’s not in the girls best interest to combine those teams.”

While district officials declined to be interviewed by KSL, in a written statement, the districts said, “This is not a decision that is taken lightly by the school's administration and they are taking their time to go through a process of study before making a determination about the future of the Cavette Drill Team.”

School administrators said they are considering eliminating the drill team because of a lack of interest among students in recent years, as well as a concern there won’t be enough members in the future to field a team.

The school is now planning a meeting with parents on Friday, who are rallying through social media to save the Cavettes.

Judy said that the team members just “want to be a part of building school spirit and they love to dance.”

Tidwell believes that American Fork High School “Cavemen” — as those who attend the school are called — are “all about being proud, and being a Cavette gives me that chance to be proud and bring home a trophy and a win for the school.”

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Sam Penrod

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast