Youth cheerleading squads from Ansonia, Derby and Shelton qualified to compete at the national level, after winning regional competitions this past weekend.
Pop Warner Competition
Cheerleaders from two Derby Pop Warner squads took first place at the regional competition held in Worcester Massachusetts on Nov. 21.
The Pee Wees — fifth graders — and the Midgets —eighth and ninth graders — will each travel to Florida in December to compete against Pop Warner squads from around the country.
The girls on the Midgets team have made it to nationals twice before, said cheerleading coordinator, Melanie Anderson. They finished second, and fourth at those previous national competitions.
This will be the group’s last chance to try to win the competition, Anderson said.
“Both teams have a very good chance of winning,” Anderson said. “But again, they’re kids. There’s anything that can throw it off,” including illness and injuries that could arise before December.
“It’s practice and skill, but it’s luck that it all falls into place,” Anderson said.
Shelton cheerleaders, who compete in Pop Warner league but in different size divisions than Derby, also qualified for the national competition.
The Pee Wee and Midget Shelton squads took first in their respective competition categories.
Click here for a list of all winners in the New England Regional.
The Shelton teams will host a fundraiser this weekend to raise money to go to the national competition in December. Click here for more details.
American Youth Football Competition
Ansonia Copper cheerleaders from Division 10LG took second place at the New England Regional Competition held in Manchester, N.H. last Saturday morning.
The squad is a member of the American Youth Football league, and competes against other squads in the league.
“I think they did awesome,” coach Sarah Molnar said of the team, which competed in the 10 and under category. “They won out of 15 teams competing out of New England. They did a great job and I couldn’t be prouder as a coach of the work the girls did.”
The girls won’t be able to travel to Florida to compete in a national competition because of a decision made early in the season in conjunction with parents.
Cassi Venson, mother to cheerleader Jada Venson, said the parents were given the right to vote on the decision whether to go to Florida if they did well at the regionals. “We were told there were no funds from last year and so to make the league more financially stable we all agreed to it,” Venson said.
Venson said the coaches came to the cheerleading squads early to ask the parents to vote on the decision to pass on going to Florida. She said that most of the parents agreed to the decision because it was a financial burden for the parents to send the children to Florida, especially so close to the holidays.
Venson said half of the decision not to go to the national’s was because of finances for the league and the other half was so parents would not have to worry about the finances of going themselves.
“The city does donate money to the program but going to Florida is from fundraisers and out of pocket and with Christmas coming and everyday expenses, parents struggle to pay bills and it is an added burden,” noted Ansonia recreation chief Jeff Cappola.
Christina Angeski, mother of Angelina Boutwell, attended the competition to watch her daughter and the other girls.
“I am OK with them not going to Florida with Christmas right around the corner,” Angeski said. “The cheer team did really good with their routines. For them to make the regional is a nice reward because it shows that their hard work and dedication to doing their sport pays off and it will get them excited about next year and maybe they can make it to first place.”
A New Hampshire team made it to first place.
