Abington Youth Cheer Information
Vice President of Cheer: Tara Iacobucci
OCYCA Safety Rep (Cheer): Angela Sulmonte
Cheer email: [email protected]
AYFC Board email: [email protected]
REGISTRATION: $300 for the season
Mighty Mites: Grade 2
Mites: Grade 3 and 4
Peewees: Grade 5 and 6
Midgets: Grade 7 and 8
PRACTICES
All practices will be held at Abington High/Middle School gym. Each team will practice twice a week. Typically, we begin practices outside the week before school starts. Indoor practices will begin the first week of school. These practices are closed-door, so parents and siblings are not allowed. Athletes should be dropped off and picked up promptly at the gym door by a parent or guardian. Please let coaches know if your athlete will not be able to make practice or games. This can be done in the Stack Team app.
**Practice dates and times are determined by Abington High School athletic schedules. We typically get our schedule in August.
Athletes are expected to:
● Come to all practices on time.
● Wear appropriate practice and game attire (no jewelry–including piercings, long fingernails, nail polish, or hard hair clips.)
● Stay for the entire length of the practice.
● Bring a water bottle.
● Fully participate and try their best!
The AYF/C by law states “All cheer athletes will be allowed three (3) absences during the season, except for the two practices before each competition which are mandatory for logistical and safety reasons. Any subsequent absences, or missed practices during the week of competitions, may result in ineligibility from competing with no return of fees”. Please note, if an athlete misses 15 minutes or more due to tardiness or early dismissal, this counts as an absence.
Excused absences include but are not limited to: doctors appointments, illness, bereavement, etc. Please consult both Tara Iacobucci and your team’s head coach with any concerns or known dates the athlete will be missing. If an athlete is unable to practice due to an injury, please send a doctor's note to Tara Iacobucci indicating any and all restrictions.
CHOREOGRAPHY
Athletes must attend all choreography sessions in order to compete with their teams this season. Dates are still TBD but will most likely be two sessions and scheduled on Friday and/or Saturday.
GAME DAY
● All athletes cheer at the varsity football home and away games. The Mighty Mites will be cheering for our 2nd grade football team, and potentially may include Saturday and Sunday morning games.
● Varsity Games are typically played on Sunday Mornings
○ Mites: 10:00
○ Midgets: 11:30
○ Peewees: 1:00
● There may be games played Saturday night if towns request a change.
● On game days athletes must be with the head coach by the designated time.
● For safety reasons, if an athlete is late to this practice, she may be removed from her position in the halftime routine. Please contact Tara Iacobucci & the head coach if your child will be late or needs to leave early.
● Similar to practices, all athletes must stay for the entire length of the game. If this should be an issue, please contact Tara Iacobucci prior to the first practice.
● After halftime, athletes only have a few minutes to grab water and have a snack; they must return to the sidelines by the start of the second half.
● Athletes must attend football games in full gameday uniform (below). There is a possibility that an athlete will not cheer for her team if she is not in full uniform; this will count as an absence. We cheer in all types of weather (heat, cold, rain, and even snow). Please bring weather appropriate apparel:
○ Top
○ Skirt/leggings
○ Bow/hair done
○ No-show white socks
○ White cheer sneakers
○ Warm up jacket
VOLUNTEERS
Parents/guardians are responsible for filling 2 volunteer shirts for each athlete in the AYFC program. They can be filled at any home Varsity or JV game. Details for volunteer spots will come out 2 weeks prior to the beginning of the season.
Stack Team
● Practice and game schedule will be available in the Stack Team app. Please be sure to download this app before the season begins.
● https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stack-team-app/id625607532
● https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamapp.teamapp&hl=en_US&pli=1
Questions
Any questions can be directed to [email protected] or [email protected].