The sport of cheerleading is doing well in West Haven, and the recent competition in Universal Studios, Orlando, FL, proved just how well.
The West Haven Seahawks have six (6) levels of cheerleading, and the squads ages range from 5-years old up to 15-years old. One of the levels is a challenger program. Three out of the four competitive cheerleading teams advanced from the Southern Connecticut Conference to the Regional Competition held in Lowell, MA on Nov. 6. All three teams (Junior Peewee, Peewee, Varsity) qualified to compete at the National Pop Warner Competition at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida the first week of December.
The Peewee Cheerleading team is familiar with competing at the national level as they were the 2019 national champions at the Junior Peewee level. The Peewee cheerleaders won the Southern Connecticut Conference and placed second at the regional competition to Billerica, MA to advance to the National Competition for their second time as a team. They performed a flawless routine in a competitive division against many nationally ranked teams including Billerica. The Peewee cheerleading team scored first and are the 2021 National Peewee Division Champion.
The Junior Peewee Cheerleading team consists of 21 girls ages 8 through 10. As a group, this was the first time these cheerleaders advanced to the national level after placing third at regionals with a qualifying score. Approximately half of the girls on this team were first-time cheerleaders. The Junior Peewees performed one of their best routines all season in a very competitive division. They placed fifth in the nation.
The Varsity Cheerleading team has been cheering together for the last six years. At the regional competition, they placed third with a qualifying score for their show cheer routine and placed first for their game-day routine. This is the third time the Varsity Cheerleaders have competed at the national level. They were in a very competitive division and unfortunately did not place for their show cheer routine, however, they placed 6th for their game day routine.
The West Haven Seahawk cheerleading team represented the Ray Tellier Midget Football League and City of West Haven well and competed at a high level at the national Pop Warner Championships.