Official statement on Ukraine
The ECU President has issued an official statement in regards to the ongoing events in Ukraine. See full letter below, the original message can be seen here: Support Letter to Ukrainian athletes
To whom it may concern,
It is with enormous concern and shock that the European Cheer Union has been observing the events in Eastern Europe over the past few days. It is our strong belief that violence is never the answer to resolving a disagreement in any aspect of life.
As the governing body of cheerleading in Europe, an international sports federation, we normally do not take any part or position in political situations. However, given the ongoing hostilities on the territory of the sovereign State of Ukraine, we express grave concerns about the safety and security of the civilians in the Ukraine – among them our athletes, coaches and officials.
We hereby express our full support to the Cheerleading Community in Ukraine and the All-Ukrainian Cheerleading Federation. We stand with Ukraine in full solidarity.
Furthermore, we would like to inform our members that we will act in accordance with the recently released International Cheer Union’s policy statement by temporarily banning Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials (this includes judges) from international events. This temporary ban also applies to the upcoming ICU European Cheerleading Championships in Athens, Greece.
Additionally, all cheerleading events in the Russian Federation and Belarus will be excluded from ECL events until further notice. This decision is based upon the official statement of the International Olympic Committee from 27th February 2022: “The IOC EB today urges all International Sports Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus. They should /…/ give the safety and security of the athletes absolute priority”.
We sincerely hope that peace will prevail as soon as possible and that none of our members are harmed.
Yours faithfully,
Aljaž Britvič, ECU President