Woburn Cheerleaders Heading To Disney World After Emotional Roller Coaster
WOBURN (CBS) - A group of young cheerleaders from Woburn is coming to the end of what's been an emotional week. On Sunday, the Pop Warner Trojan's C Team came in third place during regional competitions and were told they were going to Nationals at Walt Disney World. Twenty-four hours later they were told it was a mistake and there would be no trip.
"It was devastating. It's like a roller coaster of emotions," said cheerleader Kaitlyn Spinazola.
"Having it given to you and taken back is just not OK. I had booked my flight as soon as we knew," said parent Nicole Spinazola.
The squad's leaders and parents rallied and were able to convince Pop Warner at the national level to let the 19 girls still compete at the championship.
Pop Warner's National office sent WBZ News a statement saying:
"Unfortunately, due to confusion around a specific scoring rule, there was an error made when we announced which teams qualified for the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships at Disney. We have apologized to the team for the error and completely understand their subsequent disappointment and frustration. We take responsibility for the error and are in the process of notifying the team that was affected that they will in fact be invited to this year's Nationals. We look forward to seeing them at Disney World next month."
"The fact that Pop Warner overturned this is wonderful. We thank them very much from our organization," said Woburn Cheer Coordinator Megan Russo.
Many of the girls found out about the update when they showed up to a team meeting Thursday night.
"It's kind of like a life lesson - never give up. Work hard, put in the work, and see what happens," said parent Shannon Sullivan.
The team will head down to compete at Walt Disney World the first week of December.