Doing my part to spread the word to benefit spirit teams across the country
About two weeks ago, I received an email from Emily Hazelton, one of the officers for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill All-Girl Cheerleading Squad. I was very inspired by what she sent me. Here's what she wrote:
I was inspired mostly because I admire people who take the initiative to do what's right not only for themselves, but for the people they care about (part of the reason why National Spirit Network exists in the first place). Unfortunately, there are some coaches out there that don't have their team's best interest at heart and I truly applaud Emily and the rest of the team for having the courage to push forward on their own this season.Greetings,Thank you in advance for taking the time to read this message.I am contacting your gym on behalf of the competitive all-girl cheerleading squad at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.My name is Emily Hazelton; I am an undergraduate student here at UNC and an officer this season for the all-girl club cheerleading team. Whether you are a fan of our darker blue or red neighbors down the road from us surely we share the same love for cheerleading. Our team has a love for competitive cheerleading and what it had to offer for us before college. We all desire to carry this experience of friendship and sportsmanship throughout college as well.Our school team is coed and does not compete. We are not part of the athletic program; we are underneath campus recreation as a club sport here at Carolina, meaning we have to fund everything on our own. We cannot afford to go to as many events and competitions as we would like, so in order to create a larger fan base and grow our squad throughout the community we are looking to do some exhibitions.This is a huge rebuilding year for us as we were taken advantage of and let down by a negative coach from last season who did not have our best interest in mind. So, as an officer I want try something new in hopes of being able to leave behind a stable program for students to come after I graduate. We want to continue to share our passion and encourage girls younger than us to stay involved with cheerleading.In summary of all this, please contact our team (through me) if your gym hosts any exhibitions where you would think it would be possible to include us in your schedule. What we could offer (depending on the date, as we have not had full choreography camp yet) is to perform a brief routine, some of our NCA cheers, do a meet and greet/take pictures with fans before or after your teams perform, or even just help out with setup as well as other event needs.As I stated earlier, we had an unfortunate experience last season and are now running the club as student officers without a coach or much professional assistance. Through this transition we are relying on our prior knowledge, experience, and connections to redeem ourselves and rise to our full potential. If you would like to discuss or inquire about any of this, contact me however easiest for you. If this is something you do not have interest in or cannot help us out at this time please feel free to contact me if anything changes down the road. For example if you would host something like camps/clinics with Carolina cheerleaders at your gym.Lastly, if you know anyone else in the “cheer world” that you could pass this information along to it would be greatly appreciated!Thank you,Emily Hazelton
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| Photo courtesy of UNC All-Girl Cheerleading Facebook Page |
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| Photo courtesy of UNC All-Girl Cheerleading Facebook Page |
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| Photo courtesy of UNC All-Girl Cheerleading Facebook Page |
As you know, National Spirit Network doesn't host any of the events listed on our website, but if we did, I'd definitely invite them to perform. So now I'm reaching out to you! If you've got an event that you'd like to invite the team to, contact Emily Hazelton at ehazelt0@live.unc.edu! You can also check out their website for more information about the team.
Good luck, ladies! I know you all have what it takes to make this season one of the best yet!
Featured Contributor
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| Sable Talley (@sabletalley) is the CEO of National Spirit Network (formerly U.S. Cheer & Dance Directory). Her experience with cheerleading and dance goes back as early as 2000. Cheering in jr. high and school developed her passion for the sport, which carried on through her college and early adult years coaching and administrating recreational and high school cheerleading. She also received coaching and judging certifications through AACCA, USASF and Cheer Ltd. After hanging up her coaching and judging caps, she continues to thrive in the spirit industry with the National Spirit Network. |
