Premier Academy Cheerleading and Tumbling has announced that their Senior Level 6 team, Ivy League, has earned a bid to the 2020 Cheerleading World Championships.
They will be the first ever Red Deer, Alberta cheer team to go to the World’s Competition. Three of these athletes, Annika McDonald, Piper Fafard and Cheyenne Bowman, are from the Lacombe/Blackfalds area.
The 17 member, all girl team, will be travelling to Orlando, Florida to compete at the Cheerleading Worlds 2020, April 24-26. The athletes range in age from 12 to 18 and travel from all across central Alberta to meet their teammates in Red Deer for practice 3 times weekly. Coached by Matt Wiggins and Riana Luck, the team has only been practicing together since September 2019. “Getting a bid to Worlds as a first-year team is something that we are incredibly proud of,” said Riana. She attributes the Worlds bid to the outstanding determination shown not only by the athletes as individuals, but also as a team.
It’s a competitive sport that has received very little attention in Canada as of yet, but with cheerleading posed to become an Olympic sport in 2024 that is about to change. At level 6, the level which these girls are competing at, it’s a cross between high level tumbling and stunting, a combination of skills of many sports that requires multiple levels of training. According to their coach, Matt Wiggins, “These girls are focused, hardworking, strong and driven. We are up against some very tough competition in Florida, and these athletes will be working harder than ever to perfect their routine.”
Ivy League received the bid to compete in the Worlds in Florida at the Cold Snap Cheer competition in Edmonton, Alberta on January 26, 2020.
You can view Ivy Leagues bid winning performance at Cold Snap on https://www.cheerific.tv/premier-academy-red-deer-ivy-league-day-2/
You can find out more about the Cheerleading Worlds 2020 at http://usasf.net/worlds/cheer/.
-Submitted by Premier Academy Cheerleading and Tumbling