Press Release
Cheerleading is not under the UHSAA umbrella but they support most of the UHSAA sports by providing a spirited atmosphere at games and promoting school spirit.
Many cheer teams in Utah have a competitive component to their programs and these schools compete in and out of state at regional and national competitions. These competitions are sponsored by national companies and are hosted all over the country. Utah cheer teams do very well against other states. We are proud to say cheer is in their third year of forming an organized club sport for cheerleading in Utah.
The 2015 State Competition will be held on Jan. 31 at Salt Lake Community High School (Bruin Arena, 4600 South Redwood Road). This competition will be directed by Lori Rupp and Kellie Chamberlain. Both have served as competition directors for UHSAA in the sport of drill.
The cheer teams competing in state cheer will have to qualify at a region competition held on Jan. 17 at Salem Hills High School (150 North Skyhawk Blvd., Salem) or Jan. 24 at Corner Canyon High School (12943 South 700 East, Draper). The cheer coaches in Utah want to provide a quality competition and safe environment for their cheer teams by following the National Federation Spirit Safety Rules.
The competition has engaged the help of current and former University of Utah, Weber State, SUU, SLCC and UVU cheer teams as well as the Jazz Fit Stunt Team. These cheer team members and coaches have lent their expertise in spotting and judging as well as performing exhibition routines. Utah secondary cheer coaches participated in a statewide survey to develop this program and hopefully build on it for years to come.
We could not do this without the help of an advisory board (Sheri Anderson-North Sanpete, Jill Schofield-Fremont, Anne Degreef-Juan Diego, Cindie Simmons-Salem Hills, Whitney Lunt-Corner Canyon). We are hoping that student bodies, school administrators and the media will support our efforts to provide a quality educational experience for Utah high school and junior high cheer teams.
The state competition will begin at 10 a.m. and the cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children 5 years and younger. Sponsors for the spirit award is Backstage Teamwear. This will be given to the school that has the most spectators attend the competition.