After discussion was put on hold at the district's July 19 meeting, the Seaford Board of Education approved a varsity cheerleading field trip to Disney World in Orlando, Fla. for the Universal Cheerleading Association Nationals Competition in February 2013.
When the trip was first proposed, board members were worried about issues such as security and supervision, but varsity coach Lisa Ferrari was able to rid those concerns, securing ample adult chaperones in addition to a male security guard.
Before declaring its approval, the board had a few final details to sort out. Trustee Bruce Khan raised a question about the amount of people traveling, considering the trip was proposed for 28 people but 29 airline tickets are on hold.
"We put a deposit down for an extra seat in case of an injury, or in case someone gets pulled up from JV," Ferrari answered. "I spoke to the Disney representatives and they allow you to place five people in a four person room if need be. We can always take an extra parent chaperone if not, but the ticket's not paid for. A $50 deposit was paid to hold it."
Khan also questioned the road to Florida and whether or not the student athletes would be missing class to compete in the qualifying events.
"We are entering the Toms River and the Hofstra competitions right now," said Ferrari, a district social studies teacher. "If something happens, if we don't receive the bid, we can ask the Universal Cheerleading Association to get into the Poconos Regional. I don't foresee that happening, as we could've just received a bid at cheerleading camp this past week but we wanted to compete with the schools."
"All competitions take place on the weekends," she added. "Disney is an exception, but besides that, everything takes place on Saturday and Sunday. This is my fifth year coaching and none of the girls have missed a day of school for cheerleading before."
The Seaford cheerleading squad has not made the trip down to Florida in more than a decade. The trip will be paid for through fundraising efforts.
