Two competitions, one location 🏆
New event at the same time & location as Worlds, arrested athlete & Gabi Butler signs wrestling contract!
We have A LOT to cover this week, so let's get started right away!
Summary of this week:
New international competition - at the same time & location as Worlds...
Robert Stone (Steel, Navarro & Trinity Valley) has been arrested
Gabi Butler signs professional wrestling contract
Vote for the best bases & backspots (names added)
22-23 season showcase dates
Poll results: tumbling or stunts?
Team of the week
& more!
This newsletter is long - if it gets cut off in your inbox, click on "View entire message" or “Open online“ at the top to read the whole thing.
2 000 subscribers special!
In last week’s newsletter, we announced hitting 2k subscribers & promised a little “special edition“ to celebrate. Most of you voted to include it in this newsletter (instead of an extra email), so here it is! 🎉
First of all: if you’ve been with us since this newsletter started, we’re very thankful and…sorry?
We just had a look back at previous editions and they were not great. But that probably just means we’ve gotten better at this thing! Let’s see what it looks like in another year or so 🫣
Here are some top moments from the past:
Most opened newsletter: “The Senior Elite song is back 🗣“
Most clicked links: “Rockstar Cheer investigation 🚓”
Most likes: “No more Woodward cheer camps ⚠️”
Most generous readers: Robin & Lily who have supported us with coffee twice ☕️
Most online views: “Rockstar Cheer permanently closes 🔒”
Most discussed: “New XL & all male divisions 😲”
Longest newsletter: probably “All about Jerry's sentence 🚩“
Shortest newsletter:
A whole week without cheerleading drama, scandals, new competitions, or rule changes? Wow, definitely not the case for 2022 😵💫
Through the newsletter, we have covered everything from silly topics to serious ones.
From new uniforms and music, routine theme reveals, and teams switching divisions — to the monopoly investigations + lawsuits (like this eye-opening research in
), Black Lives Matter, fundraisers, 2020 cancellations, and the recent abuse & misconduct lawsuits.Thank you all for sticking with us & the newsletter’s different phases, including cute moments like this:
To sum it up: merci, danke, takk, grazie, kiitos, arigato, tack, gracias - THANK YOU!
🚨 Now, let’s move on to this week’s news!
New international competition - at the same time & location as Worlds...
The ICU (learn what the ICU is here) is apparently hosting a new competition, the “International Cheerleading Cup“ in 2023.
Nothing surprising, right? Well, it will take place at the same time AND at the same location as The Cheerleading Worlds…
Worlds will take place on April 21-24 and this new competition on April 23-24 - both at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Florida.
Here’s part of the official competition info:
“On Sunday & Monday 23 & 24 April 2023, during IASF/USASF Worlds and following the 2023 ICU Junior World & World Championships (…) the ICU will host the inaugural ICU International Cheerleading Cup 2023 specifically for Individual "Club Teams" (not National Teams) (…) that will represent their own team but also their country in high level international competition.
Each of ICU's 117 National Cheer Federations may qualify up to 2 Individual Cheerleading "Club Teams" (up to 12 Club Teams total) for their respective country for the ICU International Cheerleading Cup (…)”
Like us, you might be wondering… WHAT?!
Not much has been explained about the competition (as always), and there are MANY questions left to be answered.
So far, there’s been a wide range of reactions:
Since most of the Worlds divisions are dominated by teams from the United States, some people think this is a step towards a "real world championship".
Some say international teams benefit from it taking place at the same time & place as the other major international competitions. They say it would benefit international teams to have ICU worlds, USASF/IASF worlds, and the new ICC all held within the same time frame and location. As they can’t travel to Orlando as easily as U.S. teams, it would allow them to “do everything in one trip”.
Others strongly dislike this, as they say it will create more confusion, more separation/having to choose between ICU and IASF, and further separate our sport.
Every time decisions are made about international teams, we can't help but wonder... Are decisions actually being made with international teams in mind? Has this actually been discussed with different countries?
Hopefully, more things will be cleared up soon…
Maybe this reply to our Twitter thread sums it up the best:
Find all available information about the event on the ICU’s website by clicking here.
Trigger/content warning: This section contains topics like sexual abuse. Please skip reading this if you need to.
Robert Stone has been arrested
Two weeks ago (in this newsletter) we reported on the lawsuit against The Stingray Allstars. Here’s part of the newsletter:
“The latest lawsuit was filed on behalf of an anonymous John Doe via his mother, Mary Doe, in the U.S. district court in Atlanta, Georgia.(…) the suit named the Marietta, Georgia-based Stingray Cheer company, its owner David S. Jones and three of his employees – Juan Carlos Realpe, Joel Kreider and Robert Stone.”
There’s been an update to the case, and it’s that Robert Stone (former Stingrays Steel, Navarro & Trinity Valley athlete) has been arrested.
This article details everything but is blocked in Europe, so we’ll include some of it here:
“Stone was one of Stingray’s star athletes, the lawsuit alleges. He was lauded for his athleticism and considered a “Cheerlebrity,” according to the suit. He was also authorized to serve as a junior coach and mentor for younger athletes.
The complaint said the sexual assault that took place was “widely known” within the Stingray gym, but that none of the coaches reported the incident to law enforcement.
The Stingray leadership has denied the allegations against the organization in the lawsuit and said it did nothing wrong.”
(Tip: you can still read the article from Europe using a free VPN app or website)
Gabi Butler signs professional wrestling contract
Gabi Butler (who you all probably know) has signed a contract with “World Wrestling Entertainment” (WWE). Here’s what Wikipedia says about professional wrestling:
“Professional wrestling is a form of athletic theater which revolves around staged wrestling. Combining elements from traditional forms of wrestling and reality television, it aims to create entertaining combat shows.(…)”
Read more about it in this article.
Vote for the best bases & backspots
We’ve updated the poll with the first set of names! Let's give bases and backspots more appreciation — click here to vote.
The poll will be updated as more people are nominated.
22-23 season showcase dates
Showcase season isn’t over yet! Click here to see our list of gyms & dates.
Coming up this weekend:
Pack Athletics
👉 Keep adding showcases by commenting below, on our website, or by sending us a DM.
(We’re skipping the most popular article & quiz/poll this week since the newsletter is already so long)
We want to feature your team! Click here to fill out the form for a chance to be featured in a future newsletter 💙
Poll of the week: tumbling or stunts?
28% said tumbling
72% said stunts
Follow our Instagram (@the.cheerbuzz) to vote in the next poll!
Before you go...
Here are some things we think you’ll enjoy!