A Newcastle cheerleading squad has secured spot that will see them compete in the world championship in America in 2023.
The Northern Sparkles Cheerleading team competed in the Cheer and Dance competition in Nottingham, organised by City Cheer, where they secured the world championship spot that allows them to compete in sunny Florida next year.
City Cheer is a provider for cheerleading competitions, where teams are put forward to compete for different bids. The Northern Sparkles Cheerleading Senior team came out top in their category.
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Jacqueline Niblo, who is a management committee member for the group, said the girls are absolutely delighted that they secured the bid. She said: "You've never seen anyone so excited. They were jumping and screaming all over the place. It was just amazing to see because they've worked so hard for it.
"This is such a huge deal for them because in the greater scheme of things we are a very small cheerleading squad. The talent that most of our girls have is just amazing and that was proven when they did so well. We are immensely excited that they won this bid.
"On the night, the girls were just totally ecstatic. They were so happy they were crying at our next practice session after the competition."
Northern Sparkles Cheerleading, which is currently based in the west end of Newcastle, held its first session in a small community centre in Kenton but has grown over the years, with some of the girls cheerleading since they were six years old.
Jacqueline said: "One of the girls who came to the first session when we started continued on and is now our head coach, Alix. She also competes in the senior squads. This has been Alix's dream since she was six years old and they're going to the world championships, which is amazing."
Jacqueline raised the point that cheerleading is very competitive and not the stereotype that everyone sees it as. She said: "People have a very mixed conception of cheerleading because they think it's girls on a football field and it's absolutely not that at all.
"It's a very competitive and a very much growing sport in this country. It's now recognised as an Olympic sport as it's a mixture of dance, stunting and gymnastics. It's all those three into one. It's very exciting."
While the sport is competitive, there is a strong community among those who take part with all squads supporting and cheering each other. She continued: "It's really amazing to watch how friendly the kids are to each other and how they cheer each other on all the time, it's very much a community-led squad, and we pride ourselves on this. It's really lovely to watch.
"During the competition, there was a real cheerleading spirit the whole time the squad was there. Everyone was cheering every other group on. It was lovely that the other squads were so happy for our girls when they got these awards."
Northern Sparkles Cheerleading is now planning to raise money, not only to help send the squad to Florida, but to also find a new home for the girls to practice.
She said: "At the minute we don't have sufficient room for the girls to practice and we have been looking around for quite a while for somewhere we can call our home. The new space will allow us to develop the squad because there are more things we can do. A lot more kids can also get involved because cheerleading is becoming so popular at the moment but we just don't have the space.
"A big part of running the squad is to fundraise. We've always done small scale and some bigger scale things within the squad. We've got a really good bunch of parents who are very committed to it also.
"We set challenges for all of the squad to raise a particular amount. During the lockdown, everyone was doing some sort of activity to raise money and we raised about £2,000. One little girl, who was six, actually started to do tumbles and cartwheels around a green at a home where her grandparents were, and they all just put money in the pot.
"From speaking to people who have been to Florida before it's an immensely expensive thing but no matter what it takes we will get there. The girls have worked so hard and some of them have been with the squad for so many years, this is the thing they have been working towards. We will do everything in our power to raise the money to get them there."
If you want to find out how to get involved or fundraise for Northern Sparkles Cheerleading you can visit their Go Fund Me page.
