PUBLISHED BY PRIDE CHEERLEADING ASSOCIATION |
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Rally! Season 2, Issue 14: May 2023 |
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Welcome Sacramento Cheer Elite to PCA! |
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Every year, May brings us Teacher’s Day, Mother’s Day, Agender Pride Day (May 19), Harvey Milk Day (May 22), Jewish Heritage Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, graduations, and more. This year - if we may - PCA calls your attention to Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. Our “May is AAPI Heritage Month” posts feature a butterfly, which, across many Asian cultures, is a symbol of good fortune, diligence, agility, hope, and/or resilience. (The butterfly is also a spiritual symbol for the transgender community for its natural ability to transform, and as a symbol of ADHD, drawing inspiration from the neurodiversity rainbow infinity.) AAPI Heritage Month inspired PCA to self-educate and share in the following ways: PCA attended a special AAPI month Anti-Bias / Anti-Racism Workshop with Liz Kleinrock, presented by @mabelsride. We came back inspired to discuss something we don’t think enough about: CULTURAL RESPONSIVENESS - leveraging the strengths of individuals due to their culture and identities. Liz Kleinrock helped us realize the importance of reaching youth communities with our messages of acceptance and allyship, which many of our PCA Member Teams do through school assemblies, book drives, and youth center beneficiaries. Must watch: Liz Kleinrock: “How to teach kids to talk about taboo topics” PCA snagged a SURPRISE interview with Taiwanese/Chinese-American author, Joanna Ho - award-winner, best-seller, and former college cheerleader! Joanna writes children's books and young adult novels on themes around equity, inclusion, diversity, visibility, racism, and classism. “Eyes that Kiss in the Corners” was her first. PCA asked Joanna, "Why is it developmentally appropriate - and critical - to introduce these themes to young children?" Her answers shouldn’t surprise you, but some of the bonus footage might! PCA sends a huge “Thank you” to Jo, for the GENEROUS gift of her time! Watch the interview. AAPI Heritage Month is a perfect time to promote Gay Games 11 Hong Kong 2023 and express our joy and excitement about the intertwining of LGBTQ+ and Asian cultures and our awe at the impact this #UnityInCommunity can have for positive social change. Just look at their Opening Ceremony headlining performer group, Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA. PCA encourages you to find Prumsodun Ok & NATYARASA on Facebook and Instagram.
Fun fact! Gay Games is simultaneously co-hosted in Hong Kong (PCA is traveling to Guadalajara.) This is our chance, as a Gay Games Community, to be agents of change in Asia and Latin America. Check out this article on why that’s so important. |
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True Colors by CHEER Tacoma |
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Let’s hear it for CHEER Tacoma, cheering for charity in South Puget Sound! CHEER Tacoma raises money each season for a primary beneficiary serving Tacoma, Olympia, and surrounding communities. Founded in 2017, CHEER Tacoma is a federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit and registered charity in the state of Washington. But more importantly, they are a family - a group of adult, volunteer cheerleaders who use talents and enthusiasm to make the world a better place; one shake of a pompom, one gravity defying stunt, and one smile at a time. Their true colors - black and yellow - represent grit and destiny. Watch this video to learn more about the values and visions of CHEER Tacoma. |
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PCA Educational Summit Announcement: PCA Educational Summit is being reimagined! Summit 2023 is tentatively canceled while we consolidate PCA Events efforts on Gay Games Guadalajara and reevaluate the possible methods for delivering relevant education and possible "spaces" for convening and conferencing. Call to action: Do you have an educational topic you would like to learn about or teach about through PCA channels in 2024? Do you have a lead on an in-person venue capable of hosting multiple PCA teams in 2024? Do you have access to professional-level videoconferencing, streaming or on-demand video hosting, or online event production platforms? Let us know! Email director2@pridecheerleading.org Gay Games 11 Guadalajara 2023 (November 1-12, 2023) Why go?: Spread the mission of charitable cheerleading to the world! Support LGBTQ+ athletics across the globe! Build community within your team, across PCA, and with other like-minded athletes internationally! Fundraise to support LGBTQ+ causes! (A call for beneficiary nominations is being sent through PCA right now, closes June 3!) Be agents of change! Cheer how you cheer best, whether that is competitively, noncompetitively, or both! Register: Head to gggdl2023.org and smash that Registration button! (And just a tip: check your Passport’s expiration date. Thank us later.) Register as a “Participant” and select “Cheerleading.” Ask your team leadership if someone from your team has already “Created a Team” so you don’t repeat the process and unintentionally take on administrative responsibilities. Get your hotel: All PCA volunteers connected with a Member Team qualify for access to a PCA hotel discount. Time is running out! Ask your PCA Member Team Delegate for more information about the PCA hotel block and plan. Get ready for “Exhibition Cheerleading,” Competition, or both! When you register, read closely about the categories of participation. “Exhibition Cheerleading” refers to all the things we do that aren’t competing (e.g., Opening Ceremonies; volunCHEERing at sports; Closing Ceremonies; and non-competitive routines performed by groups, whole teams, or All-PCA). The All-PCA routine is performed at Opening Ceremonies, at our Cheerleading Competition, and at other venues throughout the week if feasible. If your PCA Team is showing up in force, your Team routines can be performed non-competitively at the Cheerleading Competition (watch examples from CLA, CNY, CSF) and possibly other points throughout the week. Competition divisions are Partner Stunt (Watch Playlist), Group Stunt (Watch Playlist) and Pom Dance (Watch Playlist). Any adult from anywhere can participate in the competition. As with every PCA Charitable Cheerleading competition, community impact and fundraising is at the top of the scoresheet! YES, the amount a group fundraises contributes to the routine score! NEW MODEL: The competitive fundraising for the GGGDL2023 Cheerleading Competition scoresheet will occur as an online peer-to-peer crowdfunding campaign taking place before we travel to Guadalajara, not as an in-person bucketing push at the event. We want all the in-person bucketing we do in Guadalajara to be collaborative, not competitive. Stay tuned for competition crowdfunding dates and details! Start by letting your donor networks know that you will be competing and fundraising this fall! Sin City Classic 2024 We are excited to start getting ready for Sin City Classic Sports Festival XVII in Las Vegas over MLK weekend (January 11-14, 2024). PCA is returning as an official Sports Partner. Our main host hotel will again be The Flamingo Las Vegas. More information will come out at the end of Summer 2023! |
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Get geared up for summer! The PCA ProShop by FSP Designs is always open and ready to serve summer lewks! On every order, 10% goes back to PCA to help us advance charitable cheerleading worldwide! |
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