More than 400 cheer teams flock to Daytona Beach for national cheer competition

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The 2023 NCA & NDA college nationals are in Daytona Beach this week, and it's already breaking records.

In 2022, the association had 352 teams registered to compete. For 2023, it had 430 teams, the largest ever. More than 10,000 participants and 20,000 spectators are all in Daytona Beach for the annual event. With all the crowds, hotel rooms have been hard to come by for some teams. 

Bill Boggs, Senior VP of NCA told FOX 35 News following hurricanes Ian and Nicole, about 500 rooms were out of commission for the group to use. He had to email about 150 teams that they didn't have hotel rooms for them, and they had to book on their own.

"Obviously as the event grows, if we can't house the teams then it's hard to have the event," Boggs said.

The 2023 NCA & NDA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, April 6, 2023. 

For some groups, some hotels were just too expensive for teams to afford.

"Some were just not willing to give us the rooms that we need at the price point that we need, or our teams can afford. So, that's been a struggle for us. We're working on that."

The 2023 NCA & NDA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, April 6, 2023. 

The 2023 NCA & NDA College Nationals in Daytona Beach, Florida, April 6, 2023. 

Boggs said they will do everything they can to make sure Daytona Beach continues to be home to the college nationals.

"This is where we want to be, we want to be here. Our customers want us to be here, we don't want to leave, but again the stars have to line up."

Daytona Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Director of Communications, Andrew Booth said in a statement to FOX 35, "All the teams and participants are excited about being in Daytona Beach. The whole goal for their season was to get to Daytona Beach. We can't imagine this event being anywhere else other than Daytona Beach."