The opportunity of a lifetime for one talented Alisal cheerleader came this past summer when junior Danielle Segovia was selected to be part of the All-American cheer squad formed by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, to perform in London’s New Year’s Day parade.
Segovia first started this journey by attending the USA Cheer Camp in the summer in Santa Cruz, along with fellow cheerleaders. Once there she took part in the try-out process where, in four days, she gained her place among ten other girls selected out of a pool of fifty by performing dances learned there. Segovia recalls being “excited yet nervous at the same time.”
Once she was selected, she began looking for ways to pay for this trip. She received many donations, even forgoing birthday presents for donations. The cost of it all was roughly $6,500, which covered everything from the hotel to tours.
Despite all her hard work and sacrifices, it wasn’t until she received the official All-American patch that according to Segovia “made it official.” Shortly after receiving the patch, she received her official USA cheer uniform.
On December 26th, Segovia left from San Francisco International Airport with 95 other cheerleaders on a flight that took ten hours to arrive to London and according to her the eight hour time change which affected her. “I was awake for a day and a half,” the time difference and the difficulties to communicate with family members were moments of anguish but Segovia managed to get through them.

Once settled in London, she was surprised of how beautiful the city is, how
“everything was so clean, the driving on the other side of the road and actually being in Abbey Road.” She then went on many tours traveling London where she visited some of the most famous attractions there, including the London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Cathedral, and Big Ben. Her favorite place during the visit was the famous Windsor Castle. The rooms captivate the essence of London, of which are still being used by the Queen today.
The big parade was next, and it is one of the world’s great street spectaculars with up to 10,000 performers from everywhere, thousands of spectators, and a live TV audience of over one million people worldwide. Unfortunately, it rained during the parade, but it didn’t dampen Segovia’s spirits or the girls’ performance. “We got over it with a smile and it was actually really fun.”

The trip was a major life experience for Segovia who said her favorite part of it all was the sightseeing. “Everything was beautiful and the buildings went from castle-like to very modern.” Her least favorite part, like many other cheerleaders, was the time change. The time change made it difficult for her to accommodate with her schedule as she was very busy with everything. Even through all these obstacles she managed to have a good time that she will remember for the rest of her life and will definitely be back for the 2014 New Years Day Parade.