Reunited in Palm Springs! |
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The last Pride on the #PCAPrideTour for 2021 was the first in-person Pride for many of our volunCHEERleaders since the onset of the pandemic! Palm Springs Pride (Nov 6-7), hosted by Cheer Los Angeles, was a heartwarming reunion for PCA! Bountiful buckets of cash were raised and donated to local LGBTQ org, Sanctuary Palm Springs, to support LGBTQ foster youth and teens transitioning into adulthood. PCA teams in attendance included @CHEER San Francisco, @Cheer Los Angeles, @Cheer New York, @CHEER Seattle, and @CHEER Tacoma. Enjoy photo and video on PCA’s social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. |
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Earlier this month, in Brighton, UK, the Federation of Gay Games met for its Annual General Assembly meeting. Delegates and Directors voted to select the site of the 2026 Gay Games. From a spectacular short list, Guadalajara, Munich, and Valencia, the winner was: VALENCIA, SPAIN! It is a dream come true for the presumptive host city. “Valencia will bring a rich dimension to the Games and, this being the first time a Games will be held in Spain, it will have a positive impact on the city,” says Gay Games Co-President, Joanie Evans. |
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From Dia De Los Muertos (11/1) and Diwali (11/4) to Veterans Day (11/11), to Transgender Awareness Week (11/13-19), and Transgender Day of Remembrance (11/20), and to Native American Heritage Month (the whole month), November brought a lot of meaningful reflection. We take the time to highlight two here: During #TransgenderAwarenessWeek, PCA elevated and centered transgender people and causes, shared tips for allies, and shed light on stories and experiences to advance advocacy around the issues of prejudice, discrimination, and violence that affect the transgender community. On #TransgenderDayofRemembrance, PCA honored lives lost to anti-transgender violence from a broad level and encourages local communities to do the same. For Native American Heritage Month, PCA cheered for our Indigenous family & encourages you to learn about National Day of Mourning, organized by the United American Indians of New England (UAINE) and Unthanksgiving Day, also known as The Indigenous Peoples Sunrise Ceremony held on Alcatraz Island. |
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Meet A PCA Team: Cheer Salt Lake |
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Happy 10th Bday, Cheer Salt Lake! As one of the six O.G. Founding Member Teams of PCA, tell us about Cheer Salt Lake’s role in getting PCA up and running. Founder and CSL Delegate, Valina, remembers… “I remember this coming up after GG9 in Cleveland. Paul from CLA and Ryan from CSF approached me and asked if we could hold conference to formalize PCA. Since Salt Lake City was the most central place, we were thinking of meeting up here. The physical meetup in SLC never happened, but that didn't stop us. We did everything virtually well before the word "Zoom meeting" was a household term. And where is the PCA formally incorporated? Salt Lake City! The reason being it was much much easier to form a Non-Profit in the State of Utah than in California, Illinois, New York or Washington. And thus Salt Lake City is the home of the PCA.” What’s on the horizon for Cheer Salt Lake (aside from the breathtaking sunsets, of course)? “I won't sugar coat it, Covid hit CSL pretty hard. We were in the middle of tryouts when the team last met in March 2020. We were planning on getting back together in October, but the Delta variant and Utah's rather poor vaccination rate hasn't helped. Along with that, our gym where we were practicing closed down for good, so we don't even have a place to practice at the moment (If anyone can help us out with this, please let us know!). However, Cheer Salt Lake has survived worse. We still have a good solid group of core members who will make sure we bounce back stronger than before. This has given us time to really think about putting the team in a different direction based on what we learned at the PCA Summit last year. So, expect a fresh new look and feel for the team when we are able to get back together again! In fact, we have an AMAZING beneficiary we chose in February of 2020, and have been excited to announce it since.” A question from PCA’s Equity & Inclusion Committee: “What is it like to be an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in Utah, where LGBTQ+ people fight some of the toughest fights” “The number of young kids who are kicked out of their homes in Utah for being LGBTQ is staggering. Another issue is the suicide rate here extremely high (sometimes as high as 60% above the national average) with the highest risk being LGBTQ youth. These are issues that Cheer Salt Lake takes seriously, and we partner with organizations to help! One definitely has to take a different approach to advocacy here than in other parts of the nation. Salt Lake City itself has a rather large LGBTQ population, but the community here doesn't have a centralized hub like the Castro or the Village. It is said we have the gays who wanted a place to get away from the "gay scene" and live a simple family life. So, we have the community, we're just different on how we approach things here. The secret of being an advocate in Utah has to be to reach out and build bridges. We have a political action group called Equality Utah, and they work tirelessly to build these bridges. Because of their efforts, Utah has an LGBTQ inclusive non-discrimination bill that is unheard of in other "red" states. Our Republican governor is working to try and solve the LGBTQ suicide issue. In fact, he made national news by reaching out and speaking to our LGBTQ community at our vigil for the Pulse Nightclub shooting. Also, one can say Utah released the flood gate of gay marriage across the county as being the first red state to win the right. Also, our Pride Parade includes members of the church who dress their sunday best and march in support of the LGBTQ community. However we still have plenty of issues here to solve. As for Cheer Salt Lake, we love to work with organizations and causes with this bridge building mentality. Organizations like Provo Pride, which holds a small pride festival just down the street from Brigham Young University; and Ogden Pride, bring much needed support to our neighbors to the North. We have worked the past three years raising money and collecting donations for the Volunteers of America Homeless Youth Resource Center. They have an amazing program designed specifically to reach out and help homeless LGBTQ youth in Utah. We also have to fundraise differently here. For example, it is illegal for us to hold beer bust fundraisers in Utah because of the strict laws regarding alcohol, but we CAN have FABULOUS DRAG SHOWS. (In fact, one of Brigham Young's sons was a fabulous Drag Queen named Madam Pattirini in the late 1800s). It is against the law for us to hold a raffle, but we can have an "opportunity drawing." And we may be the smallest team in a much smaller community, but we have the biggest spirit!” |
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Gay Games 2023: What's Next? |
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Even with the postponement of Gay Games 11 from 2022 to 2023, the planning in Hong Kong has not lost momentum! Feel the excitement build in this hot new teaser video! Did you notice anything new? New dates, new name “Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023” carried over into website (www.gghk2023.com) and social (@GayGamesHK2023), and a new logo and brand identity. According to the website, “Previously displaying the six colours of the pride rainbow on the sail, the new GGHK icon showcases a more colourful and undulating rainbow pattern; the six colours of the pride flag still feature prominently but are now joined by black, brown, pink, baby blue and white…[to] represent the communities of marginalised people of colour, trans individuals, those living with HIV/AIDS and those who have been lost.” Pre-register for Early Bird Access (mid-2022) and get a discount of HKD 200 off your participation fee! #GG11HK #UNITYINDIVERSITY |
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It’s comeback time! PCA returns to Las Vegas for the Sin City Classic Sports Festival January 14-16, 2022 with new and improved opportunities to volunCHEER at sports, perform cheers & stunt routines, compete for medals, fundraise for charity, and bond with your PCA FAMILY! Join us Friday for the Welcome Party, Saturday for volunCHEERing at sports, and/or Sunday for the PCA Charitable Cheerleading Competition (now on separate days by popular demand)! Registration will all be available SOON at PrideCheerleading.org. For now, get your hotel - and get thirsty! |
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Give PCA Merch for the holidays! |
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Has your cheerbuddy has been naughty or nice? Nice. We thought so. Gift them a PCA fanny pack, face-covering, scarf, or hoodie from the PCA ProShop by FSP Designs. Order now for the holidays! 10% gets donated to PCA with every order! |
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