By Steve Pawlyk
Published March 12, 2020
CHEER COMPETITION CANCELLATIONS
UPDATED IN REAL-TIME
updated 11:13 p.m. (EST) – Sunday March 15 2020
updated 7:14 p.m. (EST) – Tuesday March 17 2020
Varsity has made another announcement this evening:
“The coronavirus is affecting our sport in ways we could never imagine. Gyms across the country are anxious about their futures. Athletes in every state are worried about being deprived of their year-end memories. And parents are understandably concerned about the safety and well-being of their children. Throughout this crisis, we are trying to carefully think through every scenario before we make a decision that could affect everyone involved in our sport.
In parallel with most other sports, we made the decision to postpone year end events, including those at Disney. But unlike some other sports, we feel that our season has more flexibility. We train and compete year-round. Therefore, we hope to save the competitive season for our athletes. We understand that kids just want to finish what they have started. So do we.
We are exploring ways to reschedule as many events as possible, including our Championships at Disney, which could extend the season to possibly end by late June to mid-July. Will this process be perfect? No. Will it be optimal? No. But we are making every effort to not deprive thousands of athletes the chance to finish this season, while still complying with future CDC and governmental guidance.
To achieve this we are asking you, our customers, to remain flexible. We need your support and partnership as we work to navigate this extremely difficult situation. We know that cheerleaders are tough and resilient. We are not a crowd that “throws in the towel” easily, and we will continue to explore all opportunities to safely save the season. We are all in this together.
WORLDS AND DAYTONA CANCELLED/POSTPONED:
– 11:13 p.m. (EST) – Sunday March 15 2020
VARSITY SPIRIT SUSPENDS ALL EVENTS FOR THE NEXT 8 WEEKS
“As you may have seen, the CDC just announced their recommendation to cancel or postpone events with 50 or more people for the next eight weeks. With that recommendation, we have made the decision to not proceed as planned with scheduled events for at least the next eight weeks of the 2020 competition season. We are actively exploring all options, including rescheduling events, extending the competition season, and hosting virtual competitions, to continue to provide a competition experience for the thousands of athletes who have worked so hard this year to compete.”
source: Varsity.com
we've received many questions regarding coronavirus and CHEER...
There is an obvious concern at the moment regarding cheerleading competitions cancellations due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
- “Is my competition cancelled?”
- “Will my license still be valid whenever a makeup event is held?”
- “Will there be any discounts?”
- “Is Cheerleading Worlds 2020 cancelled?”
- “Is NCA Cheer Nationals in Daytona cancelled?”
Let’s start with the license issue. IPP will be issuing license extensions to any current customers whose competitions have been cancelled.
To request an extension, click here. Be sure to include your team name and order number in the message and we will send an updated license.
Additionally, all purchases made from today onward will come with 15 month licenses (vs the standard 12).
There have also been inquiries regarding discounts as the COVID-19 outbreak is expected to have a negative impact on the economy. To help offset this, we have implemented a discount code that anyone can use to take an additional 10% off any order of any kind.
Simply enter this code at checkout in the coupon code box:
ALITTLEHELP
WHAT CHEERLEADING COMPETITIONS ARE CANCELLED?
As it stands right now (3:40 EST, Thursday, March 12), no competitions have been cancelled.(see below) Varsity released a statement this morning saying that they were “diligently monitoring the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and closely watching official information from health authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control (“CDC”) and World Health Organization (“WHO”) as it relates to our larger community and our events, camps and competitions.”
The article goes on to suggest the CDC’s best practices to mitigate the spread of the disease at events and promises that they “have a dedicated response team working around the clock to make sure that we keep our participants and attendees updated as the situation evolves.”
Bottom line is nothing has been cancelled as of yet. Below is a searchable list of all upcoming Varsity events through the summer. We will be actively tracking any changes to the status of these events and providing live updates here in this article.
Be sure to check our other coronavirus-related POST:
LIVE UPDATES:
updated 7:10 pm EST – Sunday, March 15, 2020
ICU Postpones competition for international teams // US Teams will compete as planned
announced via Facebook (@InternationalCheerUnion):
Memphis, 15 March 2020
European Office: Lausanne
National Cheer Federation Members
International Cheer Union (ICU)
Re: ICU World Championships Week Update – 15 March 2020
Dear ICU National Cheer Federations:
As you all know, the global sports community is facing an unprecedented test: determining when and how to move forward with competitions and events in light of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. The health and safety of our athletes, coaches, employees, families, and friends is paramount.
The ICU Governing Council has met and has unanimously agreed to postpone the 2020 ICU World Championships and AGM, scheduled for 27 April – 1 May. A large number of countries have already informed us that their athletes and delegations will not be attending and there are travel restrictions in place in the US and around the world, making a global competition impractical at this time.
We will continue to actively work with officials in the United States, as well as Walt Disney World management, to monitor and assess the situation so we can determine when we may be able to reschedule. We will communicate updates to you when we have them.We are grateful for your cooperation as we take steps to confront the spread of this virus. Thank you again for your commitment to our athletes and your support of the International Cheer Union and its mission.
Sincerely,
Jeff Webb
President
International Cheer Union
updated 8:55 am EST – Friday, March 13, 2020
MG Spirit Spectacular (St. Louis) – CANCELLED
UCA International All Star Championship – OCCURRING
Varsity announces on Twitter UCA International All Star Championship in Disney still occurring as scheduled:
“Hello Coaches, and Gym Owners, Family and Friends,
Due to the fact that the Walt Disney World Resort is not closing the Theme Parks until March 16th, we will continue to host the UCA International All Star Championship with the precautionary measures we have put into place. We hope you understand how quickly the situation has been evolving over the last few hours. Because so many of our teams have worked so hard to be here and have already arrived in Florida, we are going to proceed with our isolated competition format as planned with the event ending Saturday evening.
The following precautionary measures were announced earlier today to significantly reduce the number of people in the venues and large crowds in general:
• All UCA International All Star Championship teams will compete one time on Saturday only.
• Only the families and fans from the team that is on deck, on the floor, or just finishing will be allowed in all competition venues.
• To enable social distancing, all award ceremonies will be online only (no live presentations) and available free of charge on Varsity TV on Varsity.com.
For those who have not yet checked into your Disney hotel or picked up your commuter tickets, if you choose to cancel, although we are bound to Walt Disney World’s cancellation policies, we – Varsity Spirit will be issuing you a full refund. If you choose to cancel, please contact your registration specialist.
If you have already checked into your Disney hotel, picked up your tickets and have used them at the Theme Parks and decide to leave early based on the recent developments, we – Varsity Spirit will be fully refunding any unused portion of your package.
The Theme Parks will be open until the close of business Sunday for you to enjoy if you choose to do so with your teams. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this unprecedented situation.”
source: Varsity Cheer Twitter
updated 1:50 am EST – Friday, March 13, 2020
MSAA New England Cheer @Worcester State MA – CANCELLED
Gateway Championship – St. Louis – CANCELLED
updated 12:57 am EST – Friday, March 13, 2020
Varsity announces via Twitter: The Quest Recreational Championship and the UCA International All Star Championship this weekend in jeopardy…
Tweet reads:
“As you may have just seen, the Walt Disney World Resort just announced that they will be closing the Theme Parks on Monday, March 16th. Note that the hotels will remain open at this time. The Quest Recreational Championship will continue as scheduled tomorrow. Please understand that we are diligently working with Walt Disney World in regards to the potential impact it may have on the UCA International All Star Championship. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we gather more information from Disney throughout the night and will share it with you as soon as we can.”
updated 9:02 pm EST – Thursday, March 12, 2020
CHEERSPORT – Colorado Grand Championship – POSTPONED
Bowie State Cheerstarz 2020 – POSTPONED
Universal Spirit-The Grand Championship – POSTPONED
USA Non Affiliated Rec Championships – POSTPONED
updated 7:34 pm EST – Thursday, March 12, 2020
CHEERSPORT-Kansas City – Midwest D2 Championship – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT-Kansas City Grand Championship – POSTPONED
CSG Dance Nationals – POSTPONED
COA – Nor Cal Nationals – POSTPONED
Athletic Championships – Tulsa DI & DII – POSTPONED
ACP Bid Championship – POSTPONED
ACP Disco Open Championship – Trenton – POSTPONED
ACP Power Dance Nationals & TX State Championship – POSTPONED
Aloha DI & DII Championships – POSTPONED
updated 6:54 pm EST – Thursday, March 12, 2020
JAMfest – Louisville Championship – POSTPONED
JAMfest – JAM Bash North Georgia – POSTPONED
Epic Tour: Ocean City 2020 – POSTPONED
Colonial Championship 2020 – POSTPONED
Double Down Championships – Smoky Mountain Championship DI & DII – POSTPONED
Empire State Championship 2020 – POSTPONED
Encore Championships – Pittsburgh Area DI & DII – POSTPONED
updated 6:20 pm EST – Thursday, March 12, 2020
ICU Cheer is holding emergency meetings to evaluate the fate of ICU Worlds 2020. Decision will be made in 24 hrs….
updated 5:10 pm EST – Thursday, March 12, 2020
Spirit Festival Nationals – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT – NorCal Grand Championship – CANCELLED
CHEERSPORT – West Coast D2 Championship – CANCELLED
JAMfest – Lucky JAM – POSTPONED
Turn your phone to landscape mode to view the list of competitions
We hope all of you are safe and well. Remember to wash your hands and check back here for any cancellations or further news.
MORE CHEERLEADING CORONAVIRUS NEWS SOURCES:
updated 11:13 p.m. (EST) – Sunday March 15 2020
These are the current cancellations as of March 13, 2020:
Spirit Festival Nationals – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT – NorCal Grand Championship – CANCELLED
CHEERSPORT – West Coast D2 Championship – CANCELLED
JAMfest – Lucky JAM – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT-Kansas City – Midwest D2 Championship – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT-Kansas City Grand Championship – POSTPONED
CSG Dance Nationals – POSTPONED
COA – Nor Cal Nationals – POSTPONED
Athletic Championships – Tulsa DI & DII – POSTPONED
ACP Bid Championship – POSTPONED
ACP Disco Open Championship – Trenton – POSTPONED
ACP Power Dance Nationals & TX State Championship – POSTPONED
Aloha DI & DII Championships – POSTPONED
JAMfest – Louisville Championship – POSTPONED
JAMfest – JAM Bash North Georgia – POSTPONED
Epic Tour: Ocean City 2020 – POSTPONED
Colonial Championship 2020 – POSTPONED
Double Down Championships – Smoky Mountain Championship DI & DII – POSTPONED
Empire State Championship 2020 – POSTPONED
Encore Championships – Pittsburgh Area DI & DII – POSTPONED
CHEERSPORT – Colorado Grand Championship – POSTPONED
Bowie State Cheerstarz 2020 – POSTPONED
Universal Spirit-The Grand Championship – POSTPONED
USA Non Affiliated Rec Championships – POSTPONED
USA All Star Championships – POSTPONED
Twin Cities Challenge – POSTPONED
Tournament of Champions & All Star Prep Nationals – POSTPONED
Tidewater Beach Championship 2020 – POSTPONED
Spirit Festival Nationals – POSTPONED
Spirit Celebration Spring Fling Nationals – POSTPONED
Northside Xpress Regional – POSTPONED
One Up – Syracuse – POSTPONED
Platinum Nationals PA 2020 – POSTPONED
Reach the Beach Dance National 2020 – POSTPONED
Reach the Beach Daytona National 2020 – POSTPONED
MSAA New England Cheer @Worcester State MA – CANCELLED
Gateway Championship – St. Louis – CANCELLED
Mardi Gras Spirit Spectacular (St. Louis) – CANCELLED