Tutor Hannah from Loud & Proud Cheer has sent us some more pictures from one of this week’s brilliant courses. This one was a basic skills course…
Everybody gave it their all and had a fantastic time. A huge well done to everybody who took part.
Would you like to attend one of our courses and achieve a UKCA qualification? Take a look at our course finder to see which one will be right for you.
We have had lots of fun and exciting courses happening recently, Coach Hannah from Loud & Proud Cheer sent us some pics from Monday’s Leadership Course in Hartlepool…
Everybody had a fantastic day and worked really hard to achieve thier qualification. A big well done to everybody who took part!
Would you like to attend one of our courses? Click here to take a look at our website to find out more and see all of our upcoming courses.
Well, what can we say? This weekend’s Spring National Championships were really something special!
Our team were blown away by all of the impressive performances…
And of course, by everybody’s fantastic cheer spirit!
With a special mention to the Buckley and MCA teams, who showed so much spirit throughout the competition that they took home the Milano Sport and Insure4Sport Spirit Awards!
As usual, DJ Caino was on top form and everyone thoroughly enjoyed a dance with him!
We are very proud to announce that we have managed to raise a whopping £2365 for our chosen charity, the amazing Teenage Cancer Trust since March! A massive thankyou from us to everybody who has donated or been involved in raising these funds.
The whole competition was a huge success and we have received lots of fantastic feedback. Bring on the School Championships! Have you got your tickets yet?
Don’t forget to check out and follow our Instagram feed for full pictures from the comp and full coverage of our upcoming events.
You can also Tweet us @UKCheerleading or get in touch via our Facebook Page
Check out these great pictures with Sir Steve Redgrave at the Sporting Promise Celebration Day
The new season is here! With it comes the busiest time on our competition calendar. Are you competing? Will your friends and family be coming along?
First up, it’s our National Spring Championships on May 17th and May 18th at the Manchester Velodrome. Have you bought your tickets yet?
Whether you are competing or coming along to offer your support and enjoy the day, there are lots and lots of things to LOVE about our competitions! Today, we share part 1 of our top ten favourite things about a UKCA competition…
1. Arriving at The Event
The atmosphere is always electric at our competitions, and as you step nervously through the doors, the noise of chants and laughter fills the air. That tingly feeling in your stomach hits and you just know that it’s going to be a very exciting day!
2.Heading Down to The Dancefloor
Making your way to the warm up area and knowing your team is coming on soon is when the butterflies really hit! Staying focused and supporting your team members keeps you in control.
3. Enjoying the Show!
Watching the other teams perform and cheering them on is really fun and exciting!
4. The Mascots
Spotting the mascots and the silly costumes always makes us giggle. We love to see supporters making a big effort, dancing, clapping and showing their cheer spirit!
5. Fun & Friendship
UKCA Cheerleading is truly The Sport of Smiles, we love to see friendships bloom and develop at our competitions. Supporting each other and meeting new people with the same passion is what it’s all about. You just can’t help but have fun at a UKCA comp!
Don’t forget to check back for part 2 of our top ten favourite things about a UKCA competition!
We want to hear about your experience too! What are you doing to prepare for the competitions? Whether you are making banners, practicing hard, designing a mascot costume or working on your chants – let us know and send us your pictures! We love to see them. Tweet us @UKCheerleading or get in touch via our Facebook Page
One of the most important traits of a cheerleader is flexibility. Getting it right is really important, so we take a look at some common stretching mistakes people make.
1. Not Stretching the Right Muscles
Depending on what you’re trying to learn, there are specific muscles you will need to stretch. To improve flexibility, most cheerleaders want to work on their splits. This means you should work on your hamstrings and hip muscles. Whatever you’re trying to learn, talk with your coach on what muscles you should focus on.
2. Not Working on Your Entire Body
While you do want to focus on specific muscles for specific skills, like the splits, you can’t forget about the rest of your body. For your splits, while you can focus on your hamstrings and hip muscles, don’t forget to incorporate into your workout exercises for your lower back, groin, calves, and quadriceps. Working on your entire body will help keep you limber and help prevent injuries and soreness.
3. Not Stretching Consistently
When it comes to your flexibility, it’s more effective to stretch more often for shorter amounts of time as opposed to the other way around. Don’t stretch for an hour once a week. Not only will you be sore the next day, but it will also take longer to improve your flexibility. Instead, stretch every day for 10 to 15 minutes. Or, stretch twice a day (in the morning and at night) for 10 minutes.
4. Not Stretching Slowly
Don’t rush through your stretches. This isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. You want to hold poses and stretches for as long as you can. Moving too quickly can cause injuries and reduce the effectiveness of the stretch.
5. Not Warming Up
If you stretch in the early morning or when you first wake up, warm up your muscles. Jog in place for a few minutes or do jumping jacks. Stretching cold muscles can cause injuries. Also, it’ll be harder to stretch if your muscles aren’t warmed up.
6. Not Breathing
A bad stretching habit is holding your breath. By taking deep breathes during a stretch, your muscles can loosen and extend more.
7. Not Stopping When it Hurts
While it’s normal to feel your muscles tightening, don’t ignore any sharp pains. You could pull a muscle, or worse. Listen to your body; it will tell you when it’s being pushed too far or needs a break. Never force a stretch, thinking your body will respond.
8. Not Wearing the Right Clothing
Never underestimate the power of good practice wear. Your clothing needs to be able to stretch and move with your body. Don’t wear anything baggy or loose and never wear jeans.
Share your stretching tips with us on our Facebook page.
The Kobika Starlites hosted a secondary school’s competition on Wednesday 2nd April at Sir William Ramsay School, Hazlemere. There were 150 participants competing over two categories, with UKCA representative Mel Owen judging the evening.
Five schools produced ten squads, including:
– Wycombe High School
– Great Marlow School
– St Michael’s Catholic School
– Sir William Ramsay School
– Sir William Borlase Grammar School
This resulted in an amazing evening, made even more incredible by the incredible spirit and sportsmanship shown by all the participants and their parents!
Here’s some of the feedback from the event:
Love the way every school supports and cheers all the others. Great atmosphere.
Spectator
We all really enjoyed the competition. Well done to everyone – lots of fun and energy! Thank you for all the effort that you and your team put in!
Parent – Wycombe High School
Great work tonight. Not just cause we won but the effort that the girls put in is down to you and your team! You have persisted and inspired the girls! Tonight I was so proud yet had nothing to do with it all so massive big ups to you and your ladies! Top night.
Head of PE- Great Marlow School
Check out some of the shots taken from the school’s performances:
The Kobika Starlites will be holding another school’s competition in May for primary school and are expecting over 260 participants to compete.
We always enjoy hearing and sharing UKCA team stories, so if you have something you want to share don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us via our Facebook page or Twitter.
We love receiving messages of thanks from our teams. Check out this one we received from Team Spirit Coach Lindsey High:
“I put forward four young leaders to attend the UKCA Cheerleading Leadership course held on Saturday 8th February 2014.
Sienna Naden, Olivia Walllace, Elisa Lee, and Anna Ward were selected over many other young people to step onto the coaching ladder.
The timing of the course, coupled with bursary funding from Greater Sport could not have come at a better point in the year, as we are deep in preparation for up and coming competitions. The girls gained so much from the course and really got stuck in every way possible, now demonstrating great leadership qualities.
They have worked in pairs to deliver sections of the class not only rotating who they coach with but, also which element of the class they teach. This was an idea we discussed so we can all get the same standard and expectation as a leadership team. Additionally, we feedback to individuals to positively enhance each others coaching styles and understanding.
They have been on hand throughout classes to assist with and deliver:
– Warm ups
– Stretch
– Final Choreography for routines
– Correction of technique
– Registration
– Distribute and log uniform
They look forward to each class bringing in their Leadership booklets, logging the volunteer hours and continually developing their coaching skills with a renewed excitement.
Thank you for your support so far in Team Spirits’ Coach Development Pathway.”
Here at the UKCA we pride ourselves on providing the best courses and Cheerleading tuition and receiving messages like this lets us know that we are doing our jobs correctly.
We’re always thrilled to hear stories about a team’s achievements and progression! If your team has a story to tell then please get in touch through our Facebook or Twitter pages.
It’s been a truly positive day for the world of Cheerleading and the press coverage continues. Macclesfield’s Maximum Cheer featured on Sky News today around 5.20pm, talking about how excellent of a sport Cheerleading is whilst showing off some of their skills.
If you missed the report on Sky News, we managed to get hold of these screenshots of the team along with coach Rachael Burrows:
We will keep you up-to-date with all the coverage as it comes through. It’s days like these that leave us with a massive smile on our face here at the UKCA. We are proud of you, say we are proud of you!
What do you think about the news? What’s your opinion? Get in touch and let us know – we’d love to hear from.
Cheerleading is in the press today in a big way. Tory MP Helen Grant has suggested that more women should take up sport. She say’s that Cheerleading is a fantastic way to encourage women to get involved in more activity.
Here at UKCA, we wholeheartedly agree! Not just women either, people of all ages are involved with Cheerleading up and down the country.
We feel that this is a very positive announcement and that the government are finally beginning to acknowledge what we have known all along – Cheerleading is a sport! And a fantastic one at that. We have over 7000 people attending with over 4000 competing in our Cheerleading comp happening in just 3 weeks time!
The announcement has also led to some debate, with certain people saying that encouraging women to take up a ‘feminine’ sport is sexist. Here at the UKCA, we think that anything that encourages the people of the UK to take up this awesome sport can only be a good thing.
Anyone who has tried Cheerleading or actively partakes in the sport will know that it is not for the faint hearted! The hours and hours of rehearsals, the highs and the heartbreaks – we know just how dedicated you have to be!
Read some of the articles here & here.
We are very pleased to see Cheerleading getting recognition in the press, this is a big step forward. What do you think about the news? What’s your opinion? Get in touch and let us know – we’d love to hear from.
