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Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland News

National Squad training has begun in ernest with talented new and returning cheerleaders.

We are still recruiting! If you feel you have what it takes to represent Northern Ireland please contact squad Director karen@ukca.org.uk

Criteria details are on the UKCA website and also the AllStars Facebook page. You can try out along side the new squad during one of their training sessions. Here are some pictures of the Northern Ireland team’s auditions and training:

Coaching Courses – see the diary dates page for details:
October running in Belfast-
Street dance workshop
Leadership
Basic skills
Basic Tumbling

There are funding opportunities for 3 of these courses- visit Cheer Northern Ireland facebook for details.

Don’t Miss out!

European Cheerleading Championship 2012 to be held in Italy

The 2012 European Cheerleading Championship and Junior European Cheerleading Championship will be held in Riccione, Italy on June 30th and July 1st 2012.
After intense talks and a visit of ECA president Vojko Korosec to Riccione in August, ECA decided to hold the 2012 ECC/ JECC in Italy. Riccione offers a new arena, the Riccione playhall, to host the ECC/ JECC and the mayor of the city promised full support for this event.

Ingolf Neumann, ECA board member and head of the ECA Championship Committee:
“We are convinced that we’ve found a superb partner to host our championships in 2012. FICAD president Riccardo Cavalieri showed us good reasons to hold ECC in Italy and we think that Italy will be a great host to athletes, coaches and spectators from all over Europe.”

Riccione is a city on the Adriatic coast. It has experience in hosting big sports events, such as the XVII Seniors Athletics World Championships in 2007 with more than 9.000 participants or the annual “beach volleyball festival” with some 1.000 athletes.
ECA is the European governing body for the sport of cheerleading. ECA hosts the annual European Cheerleading Championship and Junior European Cheerleading Championship with up to 1.500 athletes competing for the European title.
For further information please feel free to contact ECA via e-mail:
european-cheerleading@gmx.de

Cheerleading deliver skills for Life

“My husband and I encouraged our daughter into Cheerleading because we wanted her to gain the joy that comes from being part of a team and we certainly havn’t been disappointed.”

“Cheerleading has motivated her to be her best but also, as part of a group, encouraged her to see herself as part of something bigger, that comes from being aware of others needs too.”

“We know these are characteristics that will stay with her for life”.

Catherine Myer – Northern Ireland

UK Cheerleading Association now partnering with Artemis in Belfast

Artemis is delighted to be partnering with the UK Cheerleading Association to develop the sport of Cheerleading in Northern Ireland.

Having completed a successful summer camp in the Girls Model campus in August 2011, the UKCA are develping a range of exciting new initiatives for this Autumn continuing over the next year, including:-

two new Cheer Clubs, (based in Girls Model Campus, Fridays 6-9pm and Grosvenor Grammar Campus, Thursdays 6-9pm)

To download the pdf Flyer for the Belfast Wolves based at Grosvenor click here)

Coaching courses to train in Basic Cheerleading skills and Tumbling skills (at Boys Model Campus)
(For pdf flyer click here)

National Team training on Saturdays, 10am-2pm, twice a month at Boys Model.
N. Ireland National Championships on Friday 30th and Saturday 31st March 2012 (venue will be confirmed soon).

Northern Ireland All Stars Auditions

The UKCA Home Country held it’s 2nd annual auditions for sought after positions on it’s 2011/2012 National Team on Saturday 20th August.

The four-hour selection programme attracted Cheerleaders from across Northern Ireland and it was good to see an even greater proportion of clubs represented this year and with 100% turnout showing as UKCA registered members.

The audition programme proved very successful with all candidates achieving required scores in each of the selection components, stunt work, tumbling skills, choreography and flexibility.

The squad Director and selection panel are delighted to announce a 21 strong team for the forthcoming season.

This is another great boost for the Cheerleading organization, highlighting yet again the success UKCA has in developing individual athletes across the UK and in particular Northern Ireland. Since 2008, UKCA has been developing within the Home Country offering, Coach Education, Workshops, Festivals & Competitions.

The successful team will be revealed by 27th August 2011.
Follow the Allstars on FACEBOOK

and also the Home Country Executive on the following link http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheer-Northern-Ireland/188713114528550

Upcoming Courses in Northern Ireland

16th October – 10:00-16:00 – Cheerleading Leadership Course – Boys Model School, Ballysillan Road, Belfast, BT14 6RB
29th October – 10:00-16:00 – Cheerleading Basic Skills Course – Belfast Model School for Boys, Northern Ireland
29th October – 10:00-13:00 – Street Cheer Workshop – Belfast Model School for Boys, Northern Ireland
30th October – 10:00-13:00 – Basic Tumbling Course – Belfast Model School for Boys, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland Team UK at the European Cheerleading Championships

Team UK lifted One Gold, Three Silver and One Bronze Medal

Emma Bell from riada Rockets receives the team certificate form ECA Presedent Vojko Korosec
European Cheerleading Awards
Karen Graham NI Rep and Coach of Riada Rockets pictured with colleague Cathy Bell-Allen to the left Mr Marko Morel International Relations Mayors Office Ljubljana, CENTRE ECA President, RIGHT Mr Franc Zalar Slovcenian Heart Foundation exchanging gifts between two nations at a civic reception for Karen & Minors team
Riada Rockets at European Cheerleading Championships
Riada Rockets minors at the opening ceremony ECC
Team UK line up for the opening ceremony
(EU2) Saxon Stars minors at opening ceremony
Mayor of Slovenia Mr Zoran Jankovic, ECA President and Mr Franc Zalar opening address ECC 2011

Cheerleading is ‘going from strength to strength’

This article was published by the Ballymoney and Moyle Times

Published on Wednesday 11 May 2011 12:10

LAST month saw the United Kingdom Cheerleading Association host its third National Event in Northern Ireland.

The Antrim Forum was the chosen venue, with its capacity to cater for approx 2000 over the action packed weekend.

The Friday programme started the proceedings with both primary and secondary schools performing in the disciplines of Pom Dance, Recreational Dance and of course Cheerleading which incorporates the technical elements of stunts, pyramids, jumps, tumbles.

Schools from both north and south of the border presented their teams to an International Judging Panel, a first visit to N.Ireland for this prestigious panel of judges but no strangers to UKCA’s Club and Elite National Events on the mainland.

The 3rd NI National Event attracted the attention of the VIPs as a result of the major development in cheerleading over the past 24 months in N.Ireland, headed by Home Nation UKCA Representative, Mrs Karen Graham.

Both participation levels and skill level here in NI has reached a parallel with our colleagues in England, Scotland & Wales with UKCA continuing to be the driving force behind coach education workshops, clinics and ‘come and try’ sessions delivered throughout out the province at Universities, Schools and Community Clubs.

Saturday Competition categories presented a higher level of competition to a swollen audience commencing with the Community Level Cheerleading categories and Pom Dance. Teams were in attendance from the whole of Ireland and all were judged to a tight criteria by again an International panel of Judges.

The positive feedback from this panel was very encouraging for the Home Nation and all participating teams, who, were delighted and proud to have the standard in NI recognised on target with the remainder of the UK.

This feedback is just the boost that NI has been striving hard to earn having only been introduced to the sport back in 2008.

The competition was to a very high standard with local teams again making their mark and taking major titles as follows:

TEAM UK SELECTION

The Riada ROCKETS Squad based in the north coast and trained by Home Nation Northern Ireland All Stars Squad Coach,Karen Graham, received an honorary prize at the Championships with a major announcement made following the award ceremony of the JUNIOR A Team winning a bid to compete as part of TEAM UK in Ljubljana this July at the European Championships.

UKCA have been selecting their 2011 UK TEAM from their National Events to represent UK at European level in July 2011 and for NI to be recognised and win a bid to compete at this International level was a great achievement.Selection commenced at the Manchester Velodrome on March 18th and 19th at the UKCA Elite Nationals with the winning teams from all age categories competing to win a bid for a place on Team UK.

NI All Stars, the newly formed NI Home Nation Team established by Riada Rockets Coach & UKCA Specialist Karen Graham, positioned third at this prestigious event on the 19th March , a great achievement for a new National Team, but sadly needing a first ranking to earn a European bid, so for the Riada Rockets Junior A home team to achieve the minors bid at the Home Nation Event last weekend on home territory was a fabulous surprise and achievement for Riada Rockets members and coaches.

England , Scotland and Wales did not have a young team at the required standard represented at the Velodrome this year leaving UKCA International judges to source their talent in N Ireland and this they did with the Rockets Team scoring a clear 27 points ahead of all other minor teams.

The prestigious ECA competition will take place on the weekend of 2nd and 3rd July in Slovenia and will be televised to a world audience.

United Kingdom Cheerleaders Association is a founder member of the ECA (European Cheerleaders Association) and is proud to offer its members a competition pathway to prestigious International and Worldwide events.

Riada Rockets Head Coach Karen Graham & UKCA NI Representative said: “All the foundation work since 2008 has been greatly rewarded with the news of a home team attaining the high standard to represent team UK, especially when it is my own local team.

“We have worked hard to increase our skill level and to share knowledge and passion in the sport to many clubs schools and colleges and sporting colleagues and the hard work has certainly reaped its rewards”.

“In my role as NI Rep I am delighted with the growth and popularity of the sport of cheerleading and have personally monitored and encouraged the growth and development both in participation and skill level throughout Ireland.

“To have great feedback from Heads of PE Departments comment on how the sport has ‘empowered their pupils and raised self esteem and confidence’ makes it all worthwhile.

“One Head commented on how ‘cheerleading has given those pupils who are not team sport participants the opportunity to increase fitness levels and find a sport which they can achieve personal goals and feel included’.

“Sadly cheerleading does not receive the credibility it deserves and still struggles to have recognition as a sport. This is due to the commercial American culture and strong influence which determines to keep the activity commercial.

“Lack of knowledge of the sport and certainly the media portrayal of vanity and dance shadow this incredible and unique sport.

“I find it undeniably frustrating that sporting agencies which have the authority to determine NGB status for our sport recognise gymnastics and dance yet shun cheerleading.

“Cheerleading is so unique in that it embraces tumbling

(gymnastic skills) , stunts, jumps (stamina, core power and lower and upper body strength all in demand), building of pyramids, arm motions and vocals (all aerobically demanding) in one routine. It most certainly is not dance.”

Unknown to many cheerleading has four disciplines:

1.Cheerleading as outlined above

2.Pom Dance which embraces cheer arms , jumps, vocals and team formation work.

3. Cheer Dance which demands leaps, splits, high kicks and pirouettes ( very technically demanding embracing ballet and rhythmic gymnastic skills)

4.Street Cheer street dance/ hip-hop influence with the common skills of cheer vocals and jumps which unite all four disciplines.

The original establishment of “cheerleading“ was to entertain fans at university / college matches hence the entertainment and dance factor and use of vocals.

The demanding technical elements have take cheerleading to new heights as a sport but sadly the picture portratyed via lack of knowledge and media influence is an entertainment.

The organisation is lobbying hard to achieve the recognition cheerleading deserves along with gymnastics, football, hockey, swimming to name but a few and to achieve Olympic status.

To learn more about the sport of smiles and to hear of all our success stories please visit www.ukca.org.uk .

Here you can also find out information on local clubs and classes and keep up to date on all events, festivals and workshops.