The International University Sports Federation (FISU) is featuring Brock Cheer's Sabrina Trolio for their online dance competition to mark the fourth annual International Day of University Sport (IDUS), which takes place Sunday, Sept. 20.
The Federation launched an IDUS dance challenge in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow those interested the opportunity to celebrate and participate from the safety of their homes.
Trolio, a fourth-year Teacher Education (Intermediate Senior) student from Mississauga, quickly put together a thoughtful routine to incorporate the IDUS acronym when FISU reached out to craft a prototype choreography routine for others to perform during the virtual challenge.
"Having Brock Cheer kick off an event like this really means a lot to me," said Trolio. "It makes me proud to be a part of a program that is not only growing the sport of cheer, but also growing the sport all over the world. I hope competing in a challenge like this during these uncertain times can brighten someone's day."
Trolio and her fellow Brock Cheer teammates represented Canada at the FISU World University Cheerleading Championships in Lodz, Poland in 2018, where the Badgers won a bronze medal in the Premier All-Female Division.
"I was excited and surprised when FISU asked Brock Cheer to do this, but I also know how hard our past and present team members have worked to have our team reach a calibre where other athletes look up to us," she said. "We have an international reputation and we're trending upwards. We recently won the International Cheer Union World Championship in Orlando and represented Canada at Worlds in 2018."
Anyone interested is encouraged to compete in the challenge. Participants are asked to film themselves replicating one of the routines by Trolio (Dance I) or Idac Medeiros of Brazil (Dance II) and then post the result on Instagram using the hashtag #LetsIDUS and tagging the FISU account. All entries are encouraged to put their own spin on the cheer routines.
"I am very proud that the organizers thought of Brock Cheer to participate in their International Day of University Sports campaign," said head coach Tara Savoie. "Over the past seven years, I have had a front row seat to witness the Brock cheerleaders train as hard as any other team at Brock and earn multiple podium finishes internationally. The Brock Cheer program is constantly striving to be better with each rep whether it be in the Brock Sports Performance Centre or on the mat in competition."
