Wigan’s annual Cheerleading Festvial CHEER 4 WIGAN will be running for the third time on the 29th of June.

This year’s competition promises to be the biggest yet. The organisers have been inundated with entries already and have 6 KS1 teams entered, 25 KS2 teams, and 16 secondary school teams.

It will take place on Tuesday 29th June at Robin Park in Wigan, we have a fun day planned with trophies for all teams participating and an excellent prize for the team that scores the highest score overall, a set of brand new poms.

If you would like to get involved please call Gill on 07973822930.

We know 2011 seems along way off as we are only just into 2010, but we really wanted to take the opportunity to let you know what we are thinking regarding Team UK in 2011 and some of the reasons behind our ideas.

As you know, in 2009 we made the decision for out national winners of All Female Cheerleading and Cheer Dance to represent us at World level. Due to the success and the smooth running of 2009, we have and decided to do the same for 2010, with the additional categories of All Female Stunt Group and Hip Hop (Street Cheer) being represented by our national champions.

We do understand that this limits some of you being able to get involved in Team UK, and we are aware that many people prefer the idea of an elite team. Traditionally this was how our national team was selected, an ‘All-Star’ team made up of the best athletes the UK has to offer, regardless of the club they represent.

However, we are now competing annually, rather than every two years as we had done in the past. This puts a huge strain on the resources of a volunteer organisation, and doesn’t allow us enough time to develop and train the team to the standards required for World Competition.

To be truly fair and ensure the best people are chosen requires a time consuming selection process, and then we have to allow for training to commence.

For this, we first have to identify a Coach/Choreographer capable of putting together routines that will be competitive at International level. If – as in 2008 – this means employing foreign coaches, it is a significant cost.

There are considerable logistical and financial problems organising venues where mats and other appropriate facilities are available. Team bonding and holding sufficient training sessions with people spread around the country create further issues.

UKCA would love to send a National Team drawn from the best athletes spread across all our teams. As manager I certainly would prefer that as it would enable me to put more emphasis on us raising the standard of the team we send. We are conscious that any assistance we give a Club team may give them an unfair advantage against other Clubs in our internal competitions. This ties our hands in developing and sending the strongest representative team abroad. That restriction is removed when developing a national team.

So this is where you come in – if you want a National Team we need YOUR help. Below is a list of requirements we need to know people can commit to in order to be involved. I must stress that they need to be people outside the small circle who keep UKCA running week in week out. We are asking for expressions of interest at this stage; you are not committing yourself to anything.

1 Athletes – We need to know who would want to represent their country at World level, to commit and put in 100% effort, and be a true Cheerleader both on and off the floor. If we have misjudged the mood then clearly there is no point in taking this further. We firmly believe our top athletes want to compete in a truly representative Team UK but we need to hear that from you.

You will need to be

• available to travel the last week in April 2011
• available for monthly training sessions from September 2010
• able to fund the trip to Orlando and training ( approx £1,000 – £1,200)
• committed to Team UK in terms of training, discipline etc
• a member of UKCA & compete at 2010 Nationals
• have true Cheerleader Spirit and want the best for your National Team

2 Coaches – we will consider bringing in an International Coach to offer expertise and advice, perhaps attending a training session near the beginning and end. However primary responsibility for the coaching needs to be with someone available monthly. Choreography of the routine will also be your responsibility.

We will consider applications from individuals or teams of coaches, or from a Coach prepared to deal with one skill or part of the routine. A high level Choreographer is obviously essential.

We would prefer the Coach to be a non participant, but would consider an athlete.

3 Administrators – the unnoticed heroes of any successful set up. A seemingly simple task may actually require a lot of work. Take a foreign Coach – once we have identified a suitable individual their flights and hotel have to be booked; they need to be met at the airport, taken to their hotel and then to and from training before returning to the airport. Can you help with jobs like this? If so please let’s hear from you.

4 Sponsors – the more money we can raise, the more this opportunity is open to all. Can you or your company or company’s you know of contribute in any way? We would be happy to explore any fund raising options that are open to help our athletes on their way.

Please get in touch sooner rather than later; the earlier we hear from you the sooner we can all start planning for 2011 and it can’t start a moment too soon if we are to be successful. All applications will be treated in confidence by the management team so you needn’t fear public ridicule! What have you got to lose? If you think you’re good enough or can contribute in any way let us know now.

I would be happy to answer any questions – please email either them or expressions of interest to teamuk@sky.com by 5 April 2010.

John Stone

TeamUK Manager

Before the Street Nationals last October, we announced that we would send a team from the National Crew division to represent the UK at the Cheerleading World Championships in Orlando this April.

That was subject to ICU approving our application and a team reaching a high enough standard to compete at the highest level.

It was quickly obvious that teams were certainly good enough. All we had to do was decide which routine would best fit in ICU’s Hip Hop category…and hope ICU gave us a sought after place. The news finally came that we had a place not only in ICU but IASF as well. ICU is for countries, IASF for the best clubs in the world.

Congratulations to IndepenDANCE!
The news was delivered to coach Jenny Gittins on the day their junior team appeared on Blue Peter as a result of their efforts at our Nationals. Quite a day for them, & I’m sure you will all join me in wishing them well in Orlando. Keep looking in to see reports of their progress here and at the UKCA website. We will also be telling you of how you can be there in 2011!

The full Team UK line up is:
• Senior All Female Cheer: National Champions Rising Stars earned their place to represent UK for the second year running. Lets hope they can build on their success from last year’s double bronze.
• Senior Cheer Dance: Again, we see this category represented by our National Champions and experienced international campaigners – Red Hot Flames. Let’s hope they can turn up the heat again in this year’s competition.
• Senior All female Group Stunt: A new category for us this year, but we are sure our National Champions STCA will not let us down.
• Hip Hop: After reviewing performances at our Street Cheer Nationals, we have invited IndepenDance to represent the UK in this category.

John Stone
TeamUK Manager
teamuk@sky.com