For Immediate Release
Local Middle School Cheerleaders Invited to Perform at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando
Mattoon, IL – (September 21) Seven Mattoon Middle School cheerleaders from Mattoon will be performing in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida on January 1, 2019.
Nine cheerleaders from Mattoon Middle School’s cheer squad were selected as All Americans; seven of those are attending the event. The All Americans attending the Citrus Bowl are: Chloe Hettinger, Ella Bahney, Josie Lee, Julia Morton, Kamryn Conlin, Kiersten East and Leah Stapleton. Selected but not attending are: Ava Willingham and Laney Wright.
The All American cheerleaders and dancers invited to perform in the pre-game performance are trophy winners from Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA), Universal Dance Association (UDA), National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) and National Dance Alliance (NDA) summer camps, brands under the Varsity Spirit umbrella.
Squad members will travel as a team to Orlando to join cheerleaders and dancers from across the country for a week of rehearsals dedicated to preparing them for their Citrus Bowl pre-game performance. The cheerleaders will perform in front of 60,000 fans at this popular college football game in the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The All Americans have several fundraisers planned and are seeking sponsors and donations to help cover the costs of attending the event. Fundraisers will be held on October 4th at the Mattoon Papa Murphy’s and on October 29th at Monicals in Mattoon, Charleston and Sullivan. Flyers mentioning the fundraiser are needed at the time of purchase and will be distributed by the cheerleaders and parents. A portion of sales on those dates will be donated to the cheerleaders. Other fundraisers planned are selling drinks at a vendor fair in the Charleston Health Care parking lot on September 29th and hosting a school Halloween dance. More fundraisers are also being planned.
Donations can be sent to the Mattoon Middle School, 1200 S. 9th St., Mattoon, IL 61938, with checks payable to ‘MMS Cheer’ and including ‘All American’ in the memo. Sponsorship letters can be obtained by emailing amanda.arena80@gmail.com.
The Citrus Bowl has been a college football tradition since 1947. The game gives cheerleaders and dancers the opportunity to perform at the 7th oldest collegiate bowl in the country, as well as the opportunity to visit Walt Disney World® Resort.
For more than 40 years, Varsity Spirit has been the leading organization training cheerleaders and their coaches in proper cheerleading safety technique, stunting progressions and spirit leading activities. Cheerleaders are taught spirit leading essentials like game cheers and pep rally fundamentals as well as proper stunting progressions, a part of a highly acclaimed Safety Awareness Program. For more information about Varsity Spirit, visit www.varsity.com or contact Ian Betti at (800) 238-0286 or ibetti@varsity.com.