Please help our local dance teams start practicing with the CIF sports team guidelines!! Hart District and the LA County Department of Health are not allowing dance teams to start having practices when they start allowing the CIF teams to practice. All of the SCV dance teams are highly competitive high school sports teams, and thousands of hours of practice are put into having a successful year. I've been on the Valencia High School dance team for the past three years, waking up every day at 6am for practice before school and putting in many hours and many weekends for long rehearsals. I was devastated when last competition season was cut short and nationals were cancelled for all dance teams. Dance team requires a tremendous amount of commitment and training, but oftentimes our hard work goes unnoticed by people who do not understand our dedication. This year is my senior year, and this is my last chance to have a competition season which I have been desperately looking forward to. I will be heartbroken along with hundreds of other dancers, especially seniors, if we are unable to compete this year. We need to start practicing now in order to be ready to compete in January. Dance is our passion, and we dedicate so much time and energy to represent our schools in the best way that we can.

All of the high school sports teams under the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) have a plan in place to get back to practice and to eventually compete. However, dance team is not included in this organization, and as of now, the LA County Public Health Department and Hart district will not be letting us practice as a team for fall or even spring. But just because we are not under CIF does not mean we are any less competitive. If dance teams expect to compete, we must have time to learn choreography, practice, and clean our dances before January, the start of competition season. In order to qualify for nationals, we must compete in regionals starting January. 

Dance teams will easily be able to follow health guidelines and keep safe. Dancers usually spread out to have space anyway and will have no problem staying socially distanced. Our sport does not require any shared equipment, and coaches and dancers can be trained in whatever sanitization protocols are in place according to the school rules. We can also accommodate to practicing outside. By signing this petition, you are supporting local dance teams in their efforts to get district and county approval to begin practicing within the same safety guidelines that are being implemented with CIF sports teams on campus. Please support the dance teams in SCV so that all of the dancers, their families, and coaches can have a competition season this year.