Cheerleaders Sweep Summer Camp Awards

For the second year in a row the Bishop Ireton Varsity Cheerleading Team has received the Spirit Award and the 1^st Place at UCA Camp Competition at lake Braddock High School in Burke, Virginia. It was a very special vwin for the Varsity Cheerleading team, capturing all of the awards at the Universal Cheerleading Association Summer Camp Competition on August 19^th-21^st. The first two days of the camp the teams learn cheers, stunts and routines. On day three, all teams enter 2 competitions; to perform what they have learned and compete against the 17 other local high schools attending the camp.

Bishop Ireton Cheerleading Team once again took home the 1st place trophy for the cheer and stunt competition! This year, they also took home the 1^st place trophy for the dance and stunt competition. The Bishop Ireton Cheerleaders competed with 17 local teams including Lake Braddock, Oakton, Chantilly, Hayfield, Edison, and Wakefield High Schools.

The Universal Cheerleading Association has a tradition that the best team over all wins the Spirit Banana Award; the most sought-after award and it is given to the team with the most team spirit! Again, for the second year in a row, the Bishop Ireton Varsity Cheerleading team home the Spirit Banana!

This year UCA gave out a new award called the Leadership Award. All of the teams in the competition vote for 1 team that is their favorite team to receive the coveted recognition. This year the Bishop Ireton Varsity Cheerleading Team received the Leadership Award, a plaque to be displayed at the winning school. Finally, in this award winning camp, 4 girls were selected as UCA All-star Cheerleaders. The BI UCA All-stars are Ashley France, Carolyn Isham, Alese Zeman, and Alex Isola.

The Bishop Ireton Cheerleading team took home all of the awards given at the UCA Camp an unprecedented achievement! Athletic director Bill Simmons commented, “Coach Hope has taken a group of talented girls and quickly developed another team of exceptional performers. I think we may need a new trophy case for all the hardware this exceptional team is accumulating.” The cheerleaders public debute is Friday, September 4th when the Cardinals open the 2009 football season at 3:30pm for a rare Friday afternoon opener against Archbishop Carroll High School of Washington, DC.