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Published: Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 / Updated: Monday, Feb. 11, 2013 05:20 PM

WBTV’s Sammi Jo Francis empathizes with Fort Mill school sports cause

By Jenny Overman - joverman@fortmilltimes.com

FORT MILL -- 

Sammi Jo Francis spends most of her time working her full-time job as a sports reporter for WBTV before spending her weekends teaching dance to children. The little bit of free time she does have has been spent perfecting her dance routines for “Dancing with the Stars – Fort Mill.”

It’s all for a good cause, she said, and it has already been a lot of fun.

“My dance instructor and I laugh the entire time,” she said.

  • factbox1-B823667644Z
    "Get your tickets “Dancing with the Stars – Fort Mill” will be held at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Glennon Center in Tega Cay. Proceeds go to the Fort Mill school district Athletic Board, which funds middle school sports programs. Tickets for the show and after-party are $50. VIP tickets are $100 and include dinner, dessert, cocktails and the after-show celebration. Event sponsorships are also available. Tickets can be purchased at fortmillathletics.com.

As she prepares for the competition, we asked her a few questions.

Q: Why did you want to participate?

“I’m a sports reporter, so I always want to see school sports get funded but more than that, this is just a fun way to do it. You could go door-to-door and ask people for money but this is a fun way to get people involved.”

Q: Do you have any dance experience?

“ I’m classically trained in ballet, tap and jazz. I did competition dance all through high school, musicals throughout high school and college and I teach kids from age 6 and up to dance on Saturdays, from simple choreography to complex.”

Q: What is your strategy for “Dancing with the Stars – Fort Mill?”

“I’m not hoping to win it, I will take it. I have a competitive nature as it is. The moves are important but if you put your personality into it, it helps, and I think I have a big personality. We’ll have fun, show our personalities and our dance moves.”

Q: Why do you think middle school sports are important?

“It gets the kids foot in the door for high school sports. In high school they get taken seriously and get scholarships for college. Without middle school sports you’re just thrown in your freshman yean. And, you get team experience which is important for team building skills. A lot of kids these days rely on social media and not being social in person, and you get a different bond when you’re in person, face to face, with your team. They form friendships that can last a lifetime.”

Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a series of profiles of contestants in “Dancing with the Stars – Fort Mill.”