EmmeCheer:) - Have you heard of NW Silverstars in Bellingham? They have level 3 and level4 teams. I think that would be much closer to you than driving down all the way to Bellevue to go to Connect, although a couple years when I was coaching there we definately had kids carpooling down from Arlington and Marysville. You are actually still young enough to have years ahead of you to perfect your skills and get to that elite level (I didn't start until I was 18!!). Your program is in it's first year and has the potential to do very well, it just needs to grow. I currently coach at NWX and you guys beat our level 2 team at Spirit cheer but it was a well deserved first place, we love having legit competition that push us to do harder skills and challenge us.
IMO, you might want to stay with your gym and grow with them instead of jumping ship right away to go to one of the big "powerhouse" gyms in WA just because of their name and have alot of teams. You guys have alot of potential.
If you ever have any questions about ANYTHING, feel free to private message me. I get bored at work all the time, so I tend to spend a fair amount of time on here...