Needles high school is proud to announce that one of its cheerleaders, Aniela Patalita, will represent our school and community in the annual New Year’s Day Parade in London,England on January 1, 2023.

Cheerleaders, dancers, and drum majors who are invited to perform in the London New Year’s Day Parade are part of a select group of All-Americans identified at Varsity Spirit summer camps across the country. All-Americans are chosen based on their superior cheerleading and leadership skills. Aniela Patalita attended a USA camp at the end of June where she was selected.. Only the top 12%of the cheerleaders and dancers from Varsity Spirit camps earn the chance to participate in a performance of this caliber.

Aniela Patalita will perform with Varsity Spirit All-American in an exclusive performance on Piccadilly. Since its inaugural parade in 1987, the London New Year’s Day Parade attracts over 10,000 participants from the USA, UK, Europe and beyond to delight a street audience of over 500,000 and TV audience, which reaches more than 500,000,000 annually. 

“It’s really hard for me to describe exactly how thrilled I am, but it’s a lot.even before camp I was thinking about the trip. Just the honor of having made the team; the trip seemed too unrealistic. Now I have the opportunity and it’s truly once in a lifetime, never something I would have previously considered. More than just London, it’s the parade, and I’ll be on TV; it’s not just a leisurely trip, it’s something special that I’m getting to be a part of. It’s very validating for how hard I try to work, especially when we don’t have as extravagant a team as bigger schools with more opportunities do. I’m obviously already excited, but I can’t wait for the shock to hit when that uniform comes in the mail.”  

Aniela will be accompanied by her mother and her coach, Ms. McKee.