USA ParaCheer Team selected to represent the United States in the International Cheer Union World Championships
Bartlett, Tenn., March 23, 2018 – USA Cheer has announced a team that will represent the US National Teams in the ParaCheer Unified Division at the International Cheer Union (ICU) World Championships in April. The competition will take place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on the grounds of the Walt Disney World® Resort in Florida on April 26, 2018.
The ICU is the international governing body for cheer, and is comprised of 110 Member Nations. Their World Championship hosts athletes from around the globe. The US ParaCheer National Team is comprised of 24 athletes, ages 14 and older, with a minimum of 25% of the team being comprised of athletes with disabilities.
“We know all athletes will be inspired by the US ParaCheer Nationals Team,” says Lauri Harris, the Executive Director of USA Cheer. “Inclusion and increasing opportunities for all athletes is our core mission, and we hope this team serves as a catalyst for even more teams to form. This is an exciting time for the USA and world cheer community. We know the US ParaCheer team coaches will do an amazing job highlighting the talent of these great athletes.”
The US ParaCheer National team is coached by Lee Trudell, Shanon Lerch, and Beccy Sullivan, all of whom have international coaching experience at the high school, college and professional level. They are currently the spirit coordinators at DePaul University and Loyola University-Chicago.
“This is a new, incredible opportunity for athletes with and without disabilities in cheerleading,” says Lee Trudell. “The team is excited to represent the United States as the first ParaCheer team in the country at the International Cheer Union Championships. We are grateful to USA Cheer and ICU for this opportunity.”
More information about USA Cheer and the US National Teams is available at usacheer.org. For more information about USA Cheer, please contact Sheila Noone, media@usacheer.org.
About USA Cheer
The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for-profit national governing body for all disciplines of cheerleading (including Traditional Cheerleading, STUNT, and Club Cheer/All Star). USA Cheer has three primary objectives: promote safety and safety education for Cheer in the United States; help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; and represent the United States of America in international Cheer competitions.