Memphis, Tenn., October 16, 2017 – USA Cheer is proud to announce that Dominique Burke, a STUNT athlete, will be included in the Women’s Sports Foundation Annual Salute to Women in Sports. Dominique will take the stage as part of the procession of female athletes during the annual banquet recognizing excellence in sport on October 18 in New York City.
Billie Jean King founded the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1974 with the goal of advancing the lives of girls and women through sports and physical activity. This year marks the 38th year that the Women’s Sports Foundation has hosted the event, which recognizes athletes from every sport from basketball to snowboarding. This is the fourth time an athlete from STUNT has been recognized by the foundation.
“The Women’s Sports Foundation welcomes the sport of STUNT into the women’s sports tent, along with other aesthetic sports like gymnastics, diving and some skiing and snowboarding events,” says Deborah Slaner Larkin, Chief Advocacy Officer of the Women’s Sports Foundation. “STUNT is developing to ensure girls and women are being provided the same educational experience that boys receive, with comparable numbers of competitions, squad sizes, scholarships, and a standard competitive format.”
Dominique is a senior at Alma College in Michigan. She studies psychology with a minor in educational studies and plans to pursue graduate school for social work. Dominique has been captain of her STUNT team for the past two years, and has been named STUNT 1st and 2nd Team All American, and was also voted the 2016 MVP. “STUNT has taught me that through hard work and knowledge of a subject you can achieve anything you set your mind to,” says Dominique, “and how to persevere when you encounter adversity.”
“I could not be more proud of all that Dominique has accomplished and I am thrilled to have her represent us at the Women’s Sports Foundation,” says Lauri Harris, Executive Director of USA Cheer, which developed STUNT. “She is a fine example of everything we want a STUNT athlete to be and she is a role model for upcoming and current STUNT athletes.”
Created by USA Cheer to be an additional sport option for female athletes, STUNT was derived from traditional cheerleading and developed to fulfill all NCAA emerging sport requirements, and has consistently met all minimum requirements for consideration. STUNT removes the crowd-leading of traditional cheerleading and focuses on the technical and athletic components, which include partner stunts, pyramids, basket tosses, jumps and tumbling skills.
For more information about STUNT, please contact Lauri Harris at 916.799.3199, or media@usacheer.org.
About USA Cheer
USA Cheer is a not-for profit organization and is the national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading. USA Cheer exists to serve the entire cheer community, including club cheering (All Star), traditional school based cheer programs and the new sport of STUNT. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.