UCAF News

9/16/08 - UPDATE

GYM WILL BE CLOSED THROUGH SUNDAY 9/21/08 - GYM TO RE-OPEN MONDAY 9/22/08 ! 

Parents and athletes: Due to the impact of the Hurricane Ike, University Cheer will be closed through Tuesday, September 16th. We hope to re-open on Wednesday, September 17th for regular business and classes. Please continue to check the www.universitycheer.com blog for updates.

Due to the inclement weather expected to affect Houston and the surrounding areas, University Cheer will be closed Thursday, September 11, 2008 and Friday, September 12, 2008 for all team practices, school and tumbling classes.  Private lessons need to contact their private instructor directly for scheduling information.  Please continue to check the website blog at universitycheer.com for updates. 
Everyone be safe!

Cody Wiebelhaus

UC Cheerleaders & Athletes:

UC Camp is August 22nd - August 24th and everyone’s gearing up and getting ready.  I wanted to update everyone on when to arrive, what to pack and what to wear.  Please check your email and the UC Blog posted on the www.universitycheer.com website.

Please read over the following information carefully.  If you have any questions, please contact your head instructor via email or by phone.

Hotel / Convention Center Information:

Galveston Hilton / Galveston Convention Center
5400 Seawall Boulevard
Galveston, Texas  77551
409-744-5000

(The hotel is located in the same parking lot as the convention center)

Dates / Times:

Friday, August 22nd - Registration is from 12:00 to 1:00 PM
Sunday, August 24th - Pick up between 5:00 and 6:00 PM

*Each athlete is responsible for their own transportation to and from Galveston.  If you need to make carpool arrangements, please contact your head coach for your team’s phone list.  Many parents are willing to help out, but make arrangements early.  Also, remember that the staff leaves for pre-camp meetings so contact them before Friday to get team list information.

Registration / Room Key Distribution

Camp begins promptly at 1:00 PM with registration beginning at 12:00 PM.  Make sure you eat lunch before arrival. Registration will be located at the FRONT entrance of the convention center.  Once we check into our rooms will be using the side entrance from the parking lot just like last year.  Registration is simple!  Bring all luggage to the registration table, sign in and a UC coach will direct you to the appropriate location.  All luggage will be held in a room at the convention center.  Signs will be posted in the holding room with your team name.  Once you drop off your luggage you will report to your own head coach in our camp area.  Last year we held camp upstairs in the ballroom, but this year we will be on the ground floor in the actual convention center area.   It is much bigger and ideal for our 13 teams attending.  Parents do not need to stay after reporting to their team head coach.   Head coaches will sign them in, give out their camp name tag and wait for the camp to begin. 

UC has pre-reserved all rooms and will distribute room keys to parent chaperones/teams when they become available.  DO NOT EXPECT to check in to your room until 4:30 or 5:00 PM.  Many rooms may be ready earlier.  I will distribute room keys as they become available to room chaperones.  Students will get their keys for check-in during our dinner break on Friday.

Parent Chaperone Meeting

I will hold a short parent chaperone meeting right after camp begins on Friday.  In this meeting, I will go over the chaperone guidelines and answer any questions.  I will also distribute rooming lists, schedules and activity plans for each team.

Safety

UC is dedicated to the safety of all athletes while at camp.  To aid in the prevention of injuries all head instructors are currently updating their first aid & CPR certifications by the camp start date.  All UC coaches are certified by the United States All Star Federation (U.S.A.S.F) and extremely knowledgeable in the skill levels they are teaching. 

In addition, UC is fortunate to have Dr. Fernando Morales attending this year‘s camp.  Dr. Morales has an office located at University Cheer and is also a senior staff member.  Not only is he educated in the field of chiropractic medicine, but he is a former University of Texas cheerleader so he understands the injuries that occur in cheerleading.  If you have any questions regarding a specific injury or if you need to schedule a consultation, please email him at fmorales@universitycheer.com or you can call him at 281-435-3532. 

Meals

Once again, all meals will be provided by the San Luis Sales & Catering Department.  Everyone enjoyed the quality of food and service provided with our meals last year.  We have adjusted the menu this year to include a more “kid friendly” variety.  Please see the following list of what is being served:

Friday, August 22nd  (Camp begins at 1PM - please eat lunch before you arrive)
     Dinner - Mixed Salad, Chicken Fried Steak, Chicken Tenders, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Dinner Rolls, Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce, Iced Tea and Fruit Punch.

Saturday, August 23rd
    Breakfast - Whole Fruit, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, Biscuits with Gravy, Variety of Juices & Coffee
     Lunch - Potato Salad, Sandwich Bar, Chips, Brownies, Iced Tea and Fruit Punch.
     Dinner - Mixed Salad, Macaroni & Cheese, Mini Corn Dogs, Chicken Tenders, Green Beans, Tater Babies, Dinner Rolls, Cheesecake, Iced Tea and Fruit Punch

Sunday, August 24th (We release between 5:00 & 6:00 PM BEFORE dinner)
     Breakfast - Whole Fruit, Scrambled Eggs, Sausage, French Toast, Variety of Juices and Coffee
     Lunch - Cody is still finalizing this meal.  It will be either a Pasta Bar or a Taco Bar.

Cell Phones & Communication

Athletes will be allowed to keep their personal cell phones with them at all times.  We do ask that phones be switched to vibrate or silent mode during class instruction times.  Any student that needs to call home WILL be allowed to do so at ANYTIME.  Please instruct your child to ask their head coach if they can call home and their head coach will allow it with “no questions asked”.  All head coaches will have their personal cell phones with them during classes and activities.  Please keep your head coach’s phone number with you in case of an emergency at home.  You may also contact the following people in the event that your head coach is unavailable. 

Edgar Ruiz - 832-566-6290
Cody Wiebelhaus - 713-501-1600
Heather Nelson - 281-914-7490

*Please note that the above directors of UC will be EXTREMELY BUSY during this camp.  ONLY call them in the event of an ACTUAL EMERGENCY and if you cannot reach your own head coach.  Please do not call them in non emergency situations. 

I can be reached at 832-236-8141 or my husband, Duane Devall at 281-536-7346.  Duane is much better at answering his cell phone and he can always find me!

Camp Schedules

Each team has their own schedule for camp classes, activities and meals.  The schedule varies and is often changed as needed throughout the camp.  For example, we may schedule the team for a 2 hour pyramid workshop.  If the head coach feels they need a break, they may let them go 30 minutes earlier to a different class/activity and add 30 minutes to a later class time.  Students will never be released without parent chaperones present. 

Head coaches will meet with their room parents before each break time and explain or update any schedule changes.  All parent chaperones will receive their team’s specific schedule the first day of camp.

Rules & Guidelines

The UC staff will strictly enforce the following camp rules for ALL participants to ensure the safety of its members.  Parents, please discuss these rules and the consequences for breaking the rules with your child BEFORE they leave for Galveston.  UC athletes that choose to break any of these rules may be sent home and possibly removed from the program.  Anyone removed from the program will not receive any refunds for any fees paid towards the UC program for the 2008-2009 season.

RULES AND GUIDELINES:

1. Follow directions of Head Coach, Staff, and Parent Chaperones.
2. Athletes must wear hair in a ponytail, away from their faces during all classes.
3. No squad member is to be in a staff/coach member’s room – EVER!
4. Tobacco and alcohol products are strictly prohibited.
5. Candles, matches and lighters are strictly prohibited.
6. Athletes must sleep in assigned room – no room switching.
7. Athletes must attend all scheduled classes.
8. No jewelry or body piercing. Placing a band-aid over a body piercing is unacceptable.  
9. No gum or candy allowed in class.
10. No running in hallways or slamming doors.
11. Shoes and appropriate clothing must be worn in hotel at all times.
12. Doors to all athlete rooms must closed and locked at all times.
13. Cheerleaders should be courteous to other Hilton guests.

Packing List (Male Cheerleaders bring matching practice clothes to the Female list below): 

Practice wear: 3 shirts, 3 pairs of shorts, 3 sports bras

            Friday: Outfit 1 – Gold t-shirt, gold sports bra, navy mesh shorts (You will show up to camp on Friday in this outfit.)

            Saturday: Outfit 2 – Black tank, black sports bra, pink shorts

            Sunday: Outfit 3 – Red shirt, red sports bra, white shorts

**You should have already picked up your practice wear. If you do not have it yet, please pick it up at the UC front desk as soon as possible and make any exchanges necessary. Practice wear cannot be picked up if your UC account has a balance unless payment arrangements have been made. We will not be bringing any practice wear to camp, so please make sure you have everything.

Additional Items:

            Sleepwear (must be suitable to wear outside of room)             Cell Phone & Charger or Pre-paid Phone Card    
            Extra loungewear for any free time / Flip flops                           Drinks for Room (Water / Non-carbonated)

            Swimsuit, Sunscreen, Sunglasses, Beach Towel                     Snacks for Room

            White socks & White Tennis Shoes                                             Extra Money (room service, souvenirs, etc.)

             Underwear, Sports Bras, Underclothing                                     Talent Show Material                     

            Shampoo, conditioner, hair spray, deodorant                            Favorite pillow                     

            Make-up, feminine products, other toiletries                               Camera & Camera charger

            Toothbrush, Toothpaste & Dental Floss                                      Medications, Band-Aids, Aspirin, etc. (see note)                    Sports wrap, athletic tape, etc.                                          

            Brush, barrettes, ponytail holders & bobby pins                       

***UC Staff is not allowed to administer any medication to students. Parents of students not attending camp need to give instructions for dispensing necessary medication to the room parent chaperone along with written permission.

                       
Again, we are all very excited about camp. We know that we’re off to a great start this year as all UC teams are looking stronger than ever. Camp should be a time for us to pull together, get motivated about the season, push towards our goals and ultimately build memories to cherish for years to come. We thank you for being a part of our family!

In addition, I’d like to thank all of the room parent chaperones attending camp in advance.You are all so amazing and so much fun! I know the cheerleaders from UC will be easy to organize and as always, respectful to you as chaperones! 

All chaperones need to contact Heather Nelson via email at hnelson@universitycheer.com as soon as possible to confirm that you are still available to attend camp. The rooming lists are being updated and we need to ensure that we still have enough parents. The email just needs to say “I am/am not available to attend camp August 22nd - 24th and your name.”

UC Parents & Cheerleaders, 

The University Cheer staff was devastated over the camp cancellation.  We’ve never had to cancel a function due to weather, but we felt that with the potential danger, having the camp was not worth the risk.  Luckily, we have been able to reschedule the event.  The Hilton and the Galveston Convention Center have been amazing in this situation allowing us to hold our camp during “peak weekend” times later this month.  The new camp dates and times are listed below. 

Thank you parents and cheerleaders for your support in our decision to cancel.  It was a very difficult decision, but your kind emails and text messages made us feel like we made the right choice for our athletes.   

We’re back on for UC Camp 08!  If you have any issues, please email your head coach or me at ucndairforce@aol.com.  

Nicole Leago-DevallOwner / PresidentUniversity Cheer Air Force, Inc.713-880-8346832-236-8141 

New Camp Dates:  Friday, August 22nd through Sunday, August 24thDrop Off/Registration Time:  Registration between 12:00 and 1:00 PM / Camp Begins at 1:00 PMPick Up/Dismissal Time:  Teams begins dismissal on Sunday at 5:00 PM 

*All other camp information remains the same! 

Excused Camp Participants 

Many of you that were previously excused from the last UC camp dates due to family vacations and school cheer functions may now be able to attend.  Everyone on the UC team rosters is expected to attend this camp unless written authorization is given by Nicole.  Email Nicole at ucndairforce@aol.com by Monday with any schedule conflicts.  Only school cheerleading and previously planned vacations will be excused.   

Parent Chaperones 

Cody & Heather are contacting all of the former parent chaperones to see if the new dates work with their schedule. We may need to replace a few since the dates have changed.  We will contact each team via email if new chaperones are necessary. 

Rooming List 

We are doing our best to leave the rooming list “as is” for camp; however we will most likely be adding rooms since we had several athletes on vacation or at school cheer camp for the last event.  Nicole will be editing the rooming lists and resending it to the teams later this week. 

UC Parents and Athletes,

The fall tumbling session starts in two weeks (Aug 18).? You can register online at www.universitycheer.com or in person at the front desk.? Please make sure that you are pre-registered for the class prior to the start date.? The fall tumbling session is open to members and non-members.? With all the summer camps that we’ve had this summer, these classes are filling up quickly.? Secure your spot in the class ASAP to ensure the class does not fill up.?

Thank you,

Cody Wiebelhaus
Senior Vice President
University Cheer Air Force, Inc.
Office: 281.991.1417 x 18
Fax: 281.991.1423
Wireless: 713.501.1600
cwiebelhaus@universitycheer.com
www.universitycheer.com