From Lisa Saline (UPA):
Minneapolis (May 19, 2010) – UPA Cheer & Dance announces that the Cheerleading World’s Paid Bid will be awarded to a Level 5 team. Level 6 teams may still capture an At-Large Bid from UPA for Cheerleading Worlds.
“After surveying a variety of gym owners, it was expressed numerous times that the Level 5 teams are looking for a championship that will guarantee an opportunity to go home with a paid bid to the 2011 Cheerleading Worlds at Walt Disney World,” says Lisa Saline, UPA President. Lisa agrees that the Level 5 teams are having a more difficult time capturing the paid bid opportunities. Her staff, more often known as ‘Team UPA’, decided that by allowing the paid bid to be locked in for a Level 5 team, that this would allow gyms, both small and large, the opportunity to attend Worlds in 2011.
UPA’s qualifying event is the AmeriCup Championship scheduled for February 24-27, 2011, in Minneapolis. This is an open championship. UPA encourages gyms to bring at least two squads in the case that they do earn a bid, paid, partial paid or at large. This way they have a pool of kids to draw from in the case of roster changes that may arise.
UPA will be awarding the following bids for 2011:
CHEER
- 1 paid, Level 5 only
- 3 at large, all Level 5 and Level 6 eligible divisions
DANCE
- 5 partial paid, all senior and international open eligible divisions
- 5 at large, all senior eligible divisions
- 5 at large, all international open eligible divisions
For more information on UPA and the AmeriCup Championship, check out http://www.upainc.net.