PORTLAND — Two local high school cheerleaders will represent Maine in London’s annual New Year’s Day parade on Jan. 1, 2019.

Both have been cheering since a young age and said what they most enjoy about the sport are the personal connections they’ve made.

Kassidy Plummer, 16, is a sophomore at Deering High School and captain of this year’s squad. She has never been out of the country and said, “I’m looking forward to just the whole experience.”

Stephanie Brown, 15, is a sophomore at Portland High School and also cheers with the Elite Allstars of Maine.

“I’m most excited to meet up with over 1,000 other cheerleaders from across the country,” Brown said.

Both girls qualified to take part in the parade, which is televised to millions of people around the world, when they attended a Varsity Spirit cheer camp last summer.

The camp was the brainchild of Deering High cheering coaches Nicole Fitzgerald and Alison Bromley, and was held under the auspices of the Universal Cheerleaders Association.

Plummer said about 25 cheerleaders from Deering and Portland high schools attended the camp, a two-day affair designed to help them learn new skills and develop connections and friendships.

Plummer and Brown were chosen from a group of six cheerleaders who tried out for the opportunity. Annie Knowles, captain of the Portland High cheering squad, was also tapped, but is not able to make the trip.

Plummer said the cost to participate in the parade is about $3,400 per cheerleader, which includes the flight, hotel and two meals a day. The athletes are also being provided with uniforms.

The teens will fly from Boston on Dec. 26 with other cheerleaders from New England and return Jan. 2.

While in London, the U.S. cheerleaders expect to have free time to explore the city.

Plummer said she isn’t sure what sights she wants to see first, since she’s both excited and nervous about traveling without her parents for the first time.

The American cheerleaders are all staying at the same hotel and will have one joint rehearsal before the parade, Plummer said, where they’ll perform to “Rhythm Nation” by Janet Jackson.

The parade winds through London’s West End, where more than 500,000 spectators are expected to line the route. It will include more than 10,000 performers from the United Kingdom, Europe and the U.S., according to the parade website, which bills the annual event established 32 years ago as the “world’s greatest street spectacle.”

Plummer said she’s been told the U.S. cheerleaders will stop about seven times along the parade route to perform their dance routine.

What she wants people to know is that cheering is actually “very difficult and challenging” and that cheerleaders “have to really work together to hit our routines.”

She said the Deering squad practices four times a week for two hours, plus one tumbling practice at a local gym, and she values the experience because of “the sisterhood. When we’re on the mat, we’re one team.”

Brown agreed.

“I enjoy cheerleading so much because of the bonds I make with my teammates,” she said. “There is a lot of trust involved in the things we do, and that trust has helped me make the strong relationships with my teammates and coaches that I have cherished.”

Kate Irish Collins can be reached at 710-2336 or kcollins@theforecaster.net. Follow Kate on Twitter: @KIrishCollins.

Deering High School cheerleading captain Kassidy Plummer is one of two Portland cheerleaders chosen to participate in London’s annual New Year’s Day parade.

Stephanie Brown, center, from Portland High School, will represent the U.S. in London’s annual New Year’s Day parade.