Spirit nationals
YoUDee receives first place bid for 2014 national championship competition
3:32 p.m., Dec. 12, 2013--YoUDee, the University of Delaware’s award-winning mascot and member of the Mascot Hall of Fame, received a first place bid in the mascot open division for the 2014 Universal Cheerleaders Association College Mascot National Championship to be held Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.
The fun-loving friend of Blue Hen fans everywhere enters the competition as the three-time reigning national champion in the mascot open division.
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In a fast-paced, bid-topping video YoUDee rocks the crowd at Delaware Stadium and inside the Bob Carpenter Center with spirited shenanigans as he mixes it up with the UD cheerleaders, the dance team and the marching band.
Always on the move in the movie, YoUDee connects with kids of all ages both in the community and around the campus, doing everything from leading an exercise class to helping new arrivals and their parents on move-in day.
“The mascot team was so excited to earn a first place bid and be able to compete again this year in their division,” said Sharon Harris, assistant director in the Office of Communications and Marketing and director of the mascot program. ”All the additional hours that were dedicated to making our two-minute video, which accounts for 50 percent of our score, was made worthwhile by this.”
With the fall performance season winding down, the mascot team has been turning its attention to the Florida competition, Harris said.
“We’ve already begun to work on our skit that we will perform at the nationals,” Harris said. “I’m very proud of our team and what they have accomplished this year.”
Also making the trip to the spirit nationals will be the UD Cheerleading Team and the UD Dance Team.
The cheerleaders have been working hard, finishing up a busy football season and moving into basketball and other events on and off campus, said Ben Schreiber, head cheerleading and stunt coach at UD.
“Our coed team is excited to head down to Orlando in January to compete for the 2014 Division I large coed team national championship,” Schreiber said. “We spend some time during each practice focusing on learning and mastering skills for the nationals, and when final exams end we will direct 100 percent of our focus to perfect our routine before heading to Florida.”
“We are competing in the nationals, as well,” Nicole Zehnder, dance team coach, said. “We have two amazing routines in jazz and hip hop and are avidly practicing to perfect them toward a national championship win.”
Fans who want to see a preview of the routines that the mascot, cheerleading and dance teams will perform at the national championships are invited to a sendoff event at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2014, in Gym 1 in the Carpenter Sports Building.
Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Mark Campbell and Evan Krape