Long Island Cheer Teams Invited to Orlando Summit

A pair of cheerleading squads from Long Island Cheer have won invitations to compete in the prestigious Cheer Summit competition, beginning May 2 at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando, Fla.

The Junior Level 5 Prodigy Legendz and Junior Level 3 Aqua Wildcats received invites after winning qualifying bids at regional competitions in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Nashville, Tenn., respectively, earlier this spring.

The two teams, comprised of athletes from in and around the Sachem community, have trained for months, perfecting their routines while adding increasingly more difficult stunting and tumbling moves to bolster their performances. All intended to help fulfill one goal: getting a Summit bid.

“This is the most exclusive youth all-star cheerleading competition in the nation. It attracts teams from all over the United States and you don’t get here without a lot of hard work,” said Mark Donnelly, co-owner of Long Island Cheer in Ronkonkoma.

Last year’s competition was the first cheerleading competition broadcast online on ESPN3. The two teams perform on Saturday, May 2, and can move on to the championship round on May 3.

“We have the most talented, dedicated teams on Long Island. They’re here every day working, sweating, improving. It’s so rewarding to see all their efforts pay off,” said Melissa Gelardi-Pfaffe, co-owner of Long Island Cheer. “We’ve had a lot of very successful, championship-winning teams, but this is the first time LI Cheer teams have earned a bid to Summit. Congratulations, girls!”

Both teams also competed in the Long Island Championships last Sunday at Stony Brook University, winning their divisions and also taking home the Grand Champion banners for their levels. In all, 12 LI Cheer teams earned first-place banners, another took second, and six teams won Grand Champion titles at the Stony Brook competition.