Dallastown cheer team qualifies for National High School Cheerleading Championship
DALLASTOWN, Pa. — Dallastown is proud to announce that their varsity competition cheerleading team has qualified to compete at one of the nation鈥檚 most prestigious cheerleading competitions, the 2023 National High School Cheerleading Championship, produced by Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) after earning their bid at a December regional championship. UCA is a division of Varsity Spirit 鈥� the global leader in cheerleading, dance team and band apparel, camps and competitions, and a division of Varsity Brands, the market leader in team sports, school spirit and achievement recognition.
This event’s UCA Pocono Regional that took place at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA was a day full of cheerleading with competition from the best across the Northeast region. Dallastown brought both their Junior High and Varsity Competition teams to compete. The JH team earned the division title in the Small Junior High Division.
Varsity started the day by competing their Game Day routine in the Medium Varsity Game Day division. The format for Game Day at Regionals and Nationals is inspired by what teams do at home and is similar to camp with the addition of Fight Song as a fourth element. Teams perform a Band Chant, respond to a Situation Sideline, engage the crowd with a Cheer, and finally bring it home with their school鈥檚 Fight Song. With all four elements combined, the Game Day performance cannot exceed a 3-minute time limit.
In this division, the team earned 2nd place by .3 of a point! The team earned a score of 91.6 behind Immaculata High School with a score of 91.9. This scoring highlights how competitive it can be! Following Game Day, the team competed in the Small Varsity D1 division with a total of 19 teams taking the mat. The traditional routine is jam packed with some of the most elite level skills at the high school level from stunting, tumbling, jumping, and dancing! The team broke a school record history by scoring a 90.5, the highest in the program鈥檚 history for this routine! Dallastown Varsity had a HIT ZERO routine, meaning they did not receive any deductions!
The team advanced to the Semi- Finals round at the National High School Cheerleading Championship in February 2022, making it a program first for advancing this far at the national level! By scoring 90.5 at the December 3rd UCA Pocono Regional, Dallastown Varsity earned the title of Regional Champions for the first time in program school history. for this division and hope to be successful as they prepare for nationals!
The current senior class of 2023 were freshmen when the team earned the Game Day Regional Championship title in 2019 at the UCA Empire Regional held in New York. Earning the division title in the traditional routine is truly a full-circle moment for those graduating seniors. For more than 40 years, the UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship has been the culmination of the season for cheerleaders across the nation. It鈥檚 the most prestigious high school national championship in the country and the perfect opportunity for cheerleading teams to get together and celebrate each other at the Most Magical Place on Earth, the Walt Disney World Resort.
The best of the best cheerleaders from around the country will be heading to Orlando, Florida to take on the 2023 UCA National High School Cheerleading Championship February 10-12, 2023 for a chance to compete for a national title and win a coveted white satin jacket! The National High School Cheerleading Championship was the first of its kind in 1980, created to reward cheerleaders for their work on the sidelines and to create a venue in which they could be recognized for their talents and abilities.
This championship has been featured on ESPN since 1983 and Varsity Spirit is one of ESPN鈥檚 longest-running collaborators. Varsity Spirit partnered with the Walt Disney World庐 Resort in 1995 and has been creating unforgettable National Championship experiences ever since. The varsity team is coached by Erin Miller, Toni Lozzi, Stephanie Bilyeu, and Ashley Kahl.
While the team continues to be inspired by Dallastown Football Coach Kevin Myer鈥檚 moto of FEOWEO meaning for each other, with each other, and the team has adapted the mindset of Breathe and Believe. Dallastown Varsity Competition is taking each practice as an opportunity to be better and encouraging each other to reach goals by putting in the work!
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