WELCOME

The WACPC, Inc. organization consists of coaches from the state of Wisconsin who share a common goal of promoting and improving their leadership role in the sports of cheer and dance. As the link between spirit coaches and the WIAA, WACPC has a strong impact upon decisions affecting all Wisconsin cheer and dance programs.

“The WIAA and its member schools have recognized and endorsed the Wisconsin Association of Cheer and Pom Coaches as the organization aligned with school-based programs in the state since 2003.  Although a number of other non-school competitions are offered by profit-seeking interests, the WACPC provides competitions and education for cheer and dance teams that embrace the ideals of interscholastic activities.”

                                                                         - Todd Clark, WIAA Director of Communications & Advanced Media

     WACPC Member Coaches should...

• Consistently uphold the integrity of the profession.
• Have thorough knowledge of the safety rules. 
• Respect and support competing athletes, teams, coaches, competition administrators, and judges.
• Actively use their influence to promote sportsmanship.

There will be two listening sessions via Zoom for Dance Coaches.

June 9      6 pm -8 pm

June 11   6 pm - 8 pm

Please use this link.

This will be sent to our membership and posted on our social media. 

Dear Member Coaches, 

We find ourselves in perplexing times with everything we know as "normal" having been cast to the ceiling like a bunch of spit balls, shot in the dark, and completely missing the mark. It has been chaotic for coaches to understand how they may move forward. Our athletes need us during this time to be a beacon of hope, and the light that guides them - but without a plan, how can we do so? WACPC has been the endorsed body of WIAA since 2003, to help lead Wisconsin cheer and dance coaches through the best and worst of times. So, what guidelines does WACPC believe cheer and dance coaches should follow at this time? 

The Department of Public Instruction specifically states, "Public and Private K-12 schools shall remain closed for pupil instruction and extracurricular activities for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year (defined as June 30, 2020)." The ruling from the Wisconsin Supreme Court did not change the DPI directive. All coaches whose program is part of their school’s extracurricular activities, must understand that the DPI directive is a REQUIREMENT. Face to face instruction is strictly prohibited for the remainder of the school year, as defined. 

In addition, WIAA has addressed policies for resuming SPRING sports only, beginning July 1, and has yet to officially address fall and beyond. According to "normal" season rules, fall sports are allowed 5 contact days beginning July 1. While fall sport "open gyms" are allowed during this time, mandatory practices may not begin until July 27. Following the ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the WIAA released a statement that reads in part, "we encourage each member school to make the best decision for their school ... consistent with district policy and local public health guidelines." WIAA also re-confirmed the guidelines as set forth have not changed due to the ruling regarding Safer at Home. 

While return to sports policies and guidelines will be different for each district within our state of Wisconsin, the best path here is clear -- coaches must adhere to the DPI guidelines. Secondly, for the sake of our athletes and coaching staff, coaches should follow the policies and guidelines our athletic directors set for all other sports in regard to use of school buildings, gathering for practices, and camps/tournaments. The latter will vary from school to school once a return to sports is allowed. Even IF an athletic director doesn't demand cheer/dance coaches follow the return to sports guidelines, it is best to do so anyway. By doing so cheer and dance coaches are demonstrating care and concern for the health and safety of their athletes; coaches are giving example to their coaching peers; and coaches are illustrating to their athletic department and administrators that their program falls in line with all other sport programs. All of this together provides a segue to a mutual relationship of respect and teamwork. 

Some cheer and dance coaches may already have clear guidelines communicated by their athletic directors, and should continue to follow them. Those coaches who have been left without any direction from your athletic director or administrators, WACPC encourages you to search out what the guidelines are for the other sports at your school, regarding return to sports, and voluntarily follow them. 

During this challenging time, WACPC is hard at work developing further programming, and information we hope will help guide our members through the chaos. It is our goal to be the support system for coaches through an ever changing situation. Please continue to stay connected to our social media channels in the coming days. 

The Year in Review is now available under Members Only and then go to Coaches Only- WACPC files.

Enjoy!

At this time, WACPC is planning to host all other events as scheduled in January and February of 2021

Each WACPC member received an email  today from one of their District Representatives regarding upcoming WACPC events.

Here is the letter:

Dear WACPC Members,

 We hope you and yours are safe and healthy and surviving this thing called quarantine. As we are sure you are aware, things evolve quite a bit daily.  This holds true for our families, our jobs, and our association, as well. Because of the constant changes, we felt it necessary to send you the most recent news from WACPC. 

WACPC has spent more than 20 years bringing our membership and athletes an excellent opportunity to advance their professional development and skill sets, and we want to continue to do so for many years to come! WACPC’s Fall Conference has experienced consistent growth over the years and this is largely due to you, our members.

However, due to the circumstances arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, we sadly announce the cancellation of our 2020 Fall Conference.  With the widespread effects of the pandemic, including government recommendations and the implementation of social distancing guidelines, crowd restrictions, and other precautionary measures, this cancellation has been made for the health and safety of our athletes, coaches, speakers, and volunteers.

The decision to cancel was not made lightly. Due to financial and contractual concerns, WACPC’s Board of Directors has decided to cancel now to avoid cancellation fees ranging from $10,000 - $40,000 based on a timeline as we grow closer to the scheduled event. A wait and see approach would not be a fiscally responsible decision for our organization. WACPC’s Board of Directors is actively evaluating other avenues of providing professional growth and educational opportunities to our membership and athletes during the 2020-2021 season.

Our dedicated Fall Conference Coordinator has provided us opportunities to continually grow and network, so we are saddened we are not able to see everyone this year. If you have any speaker ideas for Fall Conference 2021, please reach out to Lorie Evers at lorie.evers5@gmail.com.

We anticipate this cancellation may raise questions about other upcoming events.  At this time, WACPC is planning to host all other events as scheduled in January and February of 2021.  The Board of Directors will continue to monitor the situation and work to ensure competition continuity in a fiscally  and socially responsible way.  The cheer and dance committees are proactively exploring alternative measures to our competition series should we need them, to ensure we can comply with government guidelines and recommendations. 

Please continue to monitor the WACPC website regarding updates on all WACPC events. Thank you for your understanding! We look forward to seeing you at the Fall Conference in 2021. If you have any additional questions, please reach out to your District Representatives.

Stay safe and healthy!

WACPC Board of Directors

Cost  is $75  before October 1, 2019 and $150 after this date. Have credit card information ready prior to beginning the registration form.  If paying by check please see membership page for details.  

DO NOT USE THE ONLINE FORM & ENTER ANY INFORMATION IF PAYING BY CHECK.