Rally! Season 3, Issue 4: January 2024

Sin City Classic Recap!

January 12-14, 2024 was the 17th annual Sin City Classic; the 4th annual (with one COVID exception) for PCA, and a recordbreaker for us in all ways!

158 total registered volunCHEERleaders for the weekend

12 (unofficially 13) out of 14 PCA Member Teams represented 

30+ hours of volunCHEERleading opportunities for each volunteer

136 VolunCHEERleaders on the “cheer bus” tour to support sports on Saturday. (We needed 3 buses! Thank you, Triple J Tours aka lasvegasbus.com!)

160 VolunCHEERleaders performing and fundraising at the Sunday competition (which includes Sunday-only participants and local drag celebrities from the Imperial Royal Sovereign Court of the Desert Empire, Inc.)

24 very special tiaras handed out to Top Bucketers

45 gold, silver, and bronze medals handed out to highest scoring partner stunters, group stunters, and (new in 2024) pom dancers, too

$3,000 was our 2024 STRETCH GOAL for fundraising for Golden Rainbow

~$1,000 cash collected in Spirit Buckets from the Saturday bus tour

~$3,000 cash collected in Spirit Buckets from the Sunday competition

AND EVEN MORE money was raised during other appearances over the weekend and from PCA’s electronic donation collection.
 

How much did we raise?

After all of the cash was added up and double-counted, electronic transactions were downloaded and processed, and motions were voted upon and approved by the Board, PCA donations to Golden Rainbow from this event totaled: $6,000! We achieved DOUBLE our goal, and it’s really no surprise. Cheerleaders - especially cheerleaders in Las Vegas - will “DOUBLE DOWN” when it counts!

What kind of impact can that have on Golden Rainbow and its client community?

$6,000 could fund emergency housing for individuals who find themselves suddenly homeless... one person for 2 years, or a family of four for 6mos. $6,000 could pay for new doors/cabinets/windows AND update the HVAC system for a unit in Golden Rainbow's new Permanent Housing Placement Program.

Golden Rainbow's Executive Director, Gary Costa, writes:

"You have no idea how important funds like these are for the organization. As you know, we have a small staff and low overhead. We operate on a small budget but make a huge impact. Your support means the world to all of us. On behalf of everyone who is served by Golden Rainbow as well as the staff and board of directors, THANK YOU!!!!"

Join PCA in celebrating the donations, the medalists, the bucketers, the guests and partners, and the special people and moments of the Sin City Classic by engaging with PCA posts on Facebook and Instagram.

MEDALISTS

Group Stunt Division:

🥇 Fab 5

🥈 Duraznos con Crema

🥉 SCEatItUp

Partner Stunt Division:

🥇 Tango Trio

🥈 Starbucks Lovers

🥉 Chair SF

Pom Division:

🥇 Wet A$$ Pom Team

🥈 Army of Skanks

Each issue of Season 3, we are releasing another one of the FACES of PCA video interviews by David "Dirk" Smith. Dirk is a videographer and sports psychologist, and a dear friend to PCA who sees us from the inside out. He promises to one day be a performing volunCHEERleader, too, but we couldn’t possibly love him any more than just for who he already is. Dirk has provided a platform for our cheerleaders to express how PCA has contributed to their identity, their journey, their sense of belonging, and their mental and physical fitness. Watch these personal stories and you will appreciate the tangible benefits of exercise, sport, philanthropy, and community that we’ve experienced through adult cheerleading.

January’s FACES of PCA video: Crys and Jessie from CHEER Tacoma.

In this FACES video, Crys and Jessie describe not only the impact of charitable cheerleading on the community, but the benefits it provides to their own family and to each of them personally. PCA’s tagline reminds us that we are “A community for charitable cheerleaders and charitable cheerleaders for every community.“ That first clause is one we tend to take for granted. PCA creates community. The athletic activities we participate in provide a healthy physical outlet, and the camaraderie within and across teams creates a strong and broad network of emotional support. This video footage is from Sin City Classic 2023, but Crys and Jessie also deserve huge shoutouts for their critical volunteer roles with PCA at the Sin City Classic 2024. They helped with money counting and videography on Sunday, and the event production and post-production would have been impossible without them. 

January’s Featured Partner Organization is The Greater Los Angeles Softball Association (GLASA). Behind the magic of the Sin City Classic multi-sport tournament and festival event is the organizational foundation laid by GLASA. PCA re-entered partnership with GLASA this year for the Sin City Classic 2024 in the middle of the frenzy of planning and executing Gay Games Guadalajara. But we entered without hesitation. Even though we knew we would have only about a month to pull it together, the relationships that GLASA has built with PCA, and the consistent support their volunteers deliver, gave us nothing but certainty that this would be the best Sin City Classic ever. GLASA produces this tournament with passionate and selfless leadership, following the legacy of late Tournament Director Ken Scearce. Each year since Ken’s passing, the Sin City Classic organizers have celebrated Ken’s life and impact by recognizing other dedicated leaders in the LGBTQ+ sports community. The night before Sin City events kick off at the Compete Sports Diversity “Petey”  Awards, one nominee is selected to receive the Ken Scearce Leadership Award. Yes, this is turning into a plug for one of our own. The winner of this year’s Ken Scearce Leadership Award was none other than CHEER Seattle Co-Founder and recently exited PCA Board Treasurer, Mark Hedelund. “In the last 10 years, Mark has volunteered hundreds of thousands hours to founding and growing both organizations where he has served in practically every role on the leadership board. Mark’s leadership has helped Cheer Seattle grow by 45% in the 2023 season alone and has helped collectively raise over $100,000 for charity.” Read more in this article by Dirk Smith in Compete Magazine. 

Every year since 2021, PCA has surveyed its Member Team volunteers to learn more about who we are. The survey includes questions about identities and involvement. It is an opportunity for people within our organization to voluntarily provide PCA with information that helps us understand our present makeup and also to set goals toward becoming the broadly representative and fully inclusive organization we aim to be. The PCA Demographic Survey 2024 link will be sent to Member Team Delegates to provide to each and every member of their organizations. Survey is scheduled to close at the end of March. Last year’s survey received 171 responses from our family of over 500 volunCHEERleaders. Our goal for 2024 is to get 300 responses!

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