THE ANNUAL NEW ENGLAND CHEER AND DANCE CHAMPIONSHIP
The New England Cheer and Dance Championship will be held on Saturday, November 9, 2024 at the Reggie Lewis Track Center located in Boston near Northeastern University. The Reggie Lewis Center is the number one track facility in the United States. The field house, which has over 100,000 square feet, seats 3,000 spectators and will enable you to sit with your cheerleading teams in comfort. The separate warm-up area contains three full-size basketball courts. We will be offering two regulation competition mats (please see the diagram on the web site for the velcro layout) plus an additional strip on either end of each floor, for a 42 x 54 total surface for the cheer teams and two Marley regulation dance floors 42 x 42 for the dancers.
Our competition has been the most successful one in New England because it is low stress and places the emphasis on fun! Every squad will win a trophy. Helpful oral critiques of your team’s routine will be emailed to you immediately following their performance by the technology of DJ Justin O’Hallaran. There will be no more than seven teams in any given cheer division, and these are broken up by age, skill level, and squad size. Dance divisions are broken up by age, squad size, and routine style.
The deadline for competition entry is Friday, November 1, 2024, but register before October 28th to take advantage of our early bird pricing! Teams needing to register late (11/3) please also email moskow_lisa@yahoo.com to be sure your registration has been received.
Over 140 cheer and dance teams competed in our competition in 2023 and we hope to have a similar turn-out this year. The competition will include divisions for all ages: Tiny Mites, Mighty Mites, Mites, Pee Wees, Mixed Level, Junior High-age and 18U Cheer divisions, College cheer teams, and Dance, Step and Hip Hop Divisions for Mites, Pee Wees, Junior High and All Star.
Coaches of cheer teams from the Mighty Mites, Mites, Pee Wees, Junior High and 18U have the option of placing their squad in the Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond divisions.
Our goal is to offer as level a playing field as possible, allowing teams presenting similar skill levels to compete against each other. As you know your squad’s routine elements, please examine your routine closely to determine which category it belongs in this year.
Please see the “Cheer Division’s Level Restrictions” form for a list of specific restrictions, additional critical details, and choreographic recommendations.
We realize that things may change for your team in the weeks between your registration for the tournament and the big day. The week prior to the competition, we will be emailing each team to confirm the age group they have registered in, an email address to send their oral critique to, an update on the number of cheerleaders competing, and a final declaration of their division (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond). Based on this up-to-the-minute information (response required by Sunday, November 5th) we will set the schedule. Once the final grid has been released, NO CHANGES will be allowed unless WE have inadvertently listed your team in the wrong place.
We will have Level Judges in the warm-up area to help ensure that all teams are in the appropriate divisions before you hit the competition floor. Any post-performance concerns will be addressed privately between the coaching staff and the head judge prior to the awards ceremony, if possible.
Feel free to contact judge’s coordinator Lisa Moskow at 413-531-2095 or Moskow_lisa@yahoo.com with any questions or to assist you in evaluating your cheer routine elements.
Each cheer team will have the opportunity to warm up their stunts, pyramids and tumbling prior to the competition and have them checked out by a safety judge. This will be done during a four-minute time frame on a matted section of floor in the warm-up gym. Dance teams will perform on the cheer mats. They will have the opportunity to have their routine checked by a safety judge and run spacing on the surface they will be competing on prior to the start of the tournament.
Tentative check-in, warm-up and competition times for each division are available in the “Projected Registration, Warm-up and Competition Times” form on our web page. A listing of your team’s exact arrival, practice, competition and awards time will be posted on our website by Friday, November 8th, 2024 (or earlier in the week, if possible) in the format of the “Sample Cheer Grid” and “Sample Dance Grid” currently displayed.
Please see the “Cheer and Dance Rules” form available on our website for specific routine guidelines. Cheer Divisions maximum routine length is remaining at three minutes, and the maximum length of the music portion is two and one-half minutes.
We also have a ‘Club’ Division for our Rec cheer squads who do not regularly cheer for games. Coaches must check off the “Club” box on the Registration Form to ensure that their team is correctly entered in these divisions.
An entry fee of $100.00 must be paid for each squad entering the competition (except for teams entering the new “Tiny Mites” exhibition division who have older teams from their same program registering for competitive divisions in the tournament).
Please register your team by October 28th for this special early-bird rate! Teams registering after October 28th will pay $120 per team. However, as payment is not due at time of registration – sign up now!
Please make checks payable to:
New England Cheer & Dance Competition
PO Box 1995 c/o Andy Yosinoff
Brookline, MA 02446.
We are excited that Fine Designs, one of the largest clothes merchandisers in the country with over twenty years of experience will be joining us as our vendor for t-shirts, sweatpants, tank-tops, shorts, sweatshirts, etc.. Personalized onsite souvenir apparel will also be offered.
Flowers for Dream will again provide their services and you can Pre-Order your flowers by going to w.w.w.flowersfordream.com/cheerdance.
Judges will be provided by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, Universal Dance Association, YCADA and the MSAA.
Sponsors of the event are: Fine Designs, The Best Western Inn at Longwood, Varsity Spirit, Lubin’s Trophies, Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine, Flowers for Dream and Midcoast Photo.
The Best Western Inn at Longwood – Host hotel of The New England Cheer and Dance Competition. Stay in comfort and close to the action. The Inn is conveniently located on Longwood Avenue on the edge of Boston’s Back Bay. With 161 rooms and a full-service restaurant, The Inn will surely make your next trip to Boston a great one.
Admission to the competition is $12.00 for adults and $3.00 for children (6 and under).
DON’T FORGET TO DOWNLOAD THE COMPETITION FORMS YOU NEED!
Please contact me if you should have any questions and/or need additional information. I look forward to seeing you at the Reggie Lewis Track & Field Center on Saturday, November 9, 2024.
Sincerely,
Andrew Yosinoff
Competition Director