ALHS Freshman Heading to Cheerleading Worlds

Avon Lake's Nikki Worcester joined 19 other members of the Avon-based Ohio Extreme Intensity team that will move on in April to United States All Star Federation World Cheerleading Competition at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

Worcester, a freshman at is a member of the senior level five competitive cheerleading team from in Avon that earned the bid after competing at the Cheersport Competition in Atlanta Feb. 18-19. She also cheers for the high school.

This is Worcester’s fourth Worlds' competition. She sees Tumbles & Cheers as a stepping-stone to collegiate cheerleading. The 14-year-old "flyer" aspires to cheer for either the University of Kentucky, The Ohio State University, Hawaii Pacific University or Penn State University.

She said the competition at Worlds is intense.

"When you see the skill level of the athletes at the Worlds competition, it's pretty crazy,” Worcester said. “This is the caliber of girls I will be competing against when trying out for college cheerleading.”

Worcester said she hopes being a four-year member of a Worlds' cheerleading team will help and acknowledged that being part of the team has helped her juggle school and sports.

Four hundred teams from around the world will compete in the Olympic-equivalent event April 26-30 at The Cheerleading Worlds at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando.

This is the fourth consecutive year that an Ohio Extreme team will compete for a world title in the "Olympics equivalent for All-Star Cheerleading" event. The All-Star team, comprised of girls ages 12-17, will vie against some 400 cheer teams from more than 40 countries.

Worcester’s teammates include girls from Amherst, South Amherst, Avon, Elyria, Mentor, Medina, North Ridgeville, Sandusky, Vermilion and Westlake. 

Heather Zidek, Tumbles & Cheers Owner and Head Coach of the Intensity team said the squad’s earning a bid this year was notable.

“Earning a 2012 Worlds' bid is especially momentous, since half of the 20-member all-girl team are new to Intensity and to Level 5 this season,” Zidek said. She credited Ohio Extreme coaches Derek Sinclair and Courtney Kania as well as the athletes for the team's success. “Our goal at the beginning of each season is to achieve 'Worlds' ranking status and remain one of the top competitive cheerleading gyms in Northeast Ohio and ultimately the Midwest.”