After a year of cheering on the Trojans, the Troy University mascot T-Roy is getting ready for his biggest challenge yet, the National Cheerleaders Association’s College Mascot National Competition.

Early in April T-Roy will be heading to Daytona Beach, Fla., to compete against college mascots from around the country such as South Carolina’s Cocky and Missouri’s Truman the Tiger.

“It’s always pretty competitive,” Tripp Wilson, a senior secondary education major from Theodore and current T-Roy actor, said. “Last year we only lost by around .0028 of a point to Sam Houston’s mascot and there’s normally a crowd of around 1,000 who come to watch.”

At the competition each mascot can use music, props, crowd involvement and dance, but cannot have any assistance from members of their respective cheerleading team.

Each school and their mascot also have to manage separate time limits for set-up and break down before and after the skit, which is the sole responsibility of the mascot’s team.

After falling last year by a close score, the T-Roy actors and support teams have been working to make sure that they are as prepared as possible for the 2012 competition.

Above all, the team is planning to return to Troy victorious this year, and believe T-Roy will be a strong competitor when they arrive in Daytona.

“I believe our chances are very good this year,” Wilson said. “We’re aiming to win and anything other than first place would be a disappointment especially after it was so close last year.”

The competition is one of the only events of the year that focuses on Troy’s mascot alone, and the staff working to win the competition encourages the students to show their support.

“I see it as T-Roy supporting the Trojans nation on his biggest game day of the year,” Wilson said. “We appreciate all the support from the school and the fans. We’d like to see students show up and make noise and get involved.”

The competition will be held on Saturday, April 14, in Daytona Beach, with a time yet to be determined.