Cheer to Compete at 2021 UCA College Nationals
After they were unable to compete at a national event last year due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Avila cheer team will finally get the chance to take the stage again this year when the Eagles compete in the 2021 Universal Cheerleaders Association College Cheerleading National Championship in Orlando, Florida this week.
Avila cheer will be performing routines in the Game Day and Traditional categories, and the squad, spearheaded by lone senior Brooke Riley, debuted the first incarnation of both performances at their send-off event inside Mabee Fieldhouse earlier this month.
The Traditional routine is a piece designed, choreographed and staged by the team and its coaches, while the Game Day routine is a combination of three smaller performances the team typically trots out on the sidelines or courtside at an Avila sporting event: a sideline, the fight song, and a timeout routine. The twist is the cheerleaders don't know what kind of sideline they will be performing, or what order they will do those three routines in – the event staff determines that at random, and the cheerleaders have to adapt on the fly.
The UCA College Nationals are open to college cheer and dance squads from any collegiate division, and all the entrants are subdivided into nine total tiers. The Eagles will be competing in the Open All-Girl division, a tier reserved obviously for female-only squads; Avila will go head-to-head against other NAIA schools, as well as junior colleges and NCAA Division III squads. Due to the unique nature of competitions in 2020-21, there will also be a virtual division for teams who are unable to compete in person; after Avila wasn't able to compete for a national championship at all in 2020, they jumped at the chance to compete in person this time around.
Avila will compete in the semifinals for both routines on Tuesday, April 27, and then in the finals for both events on Wednesday. Competition from Orlando starts bright and early each day: Avila will unveil their Game Day performance in the semis at approximately 9 AM CT on Tuesday, with the Traditional semis to follow at approximately 1:50 PM; the Eagles will then compete in the finals for Game Day at approximately 9 AM on Wednesday, with the Traditional finals to follow at approximately 1:25 PM. Results will be revealed later in the day on Wednesday.
Fans can tune in to watch the entire live stream of the event with a subscription through UCA's website. Stay tuned to Avila Athletics and Avila Cheer on social media for updates from the whole week at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando!
