BCA cheerleading competition 2017

This is a past event which is no longer running.

Friday 14th April 2017: BCA University Nationals Cheerleading Competition at Telford.

The Lincoln Jets – the University of Lincoln’s cheerleading team compete at all three levels and on Friday 14th April we got the coach to Telford to compete in the British National Championships. It was madness on the coach with everyone doing hair and makeup ready for our performances. We were so excited and nervous to perform our routines that we’d been working hard on all year, training tirelessly to perfect.

The atmosphere inside the venue was amazing – with music blasting out and cheer teams everywhere warming up, getting ready and watching the performances. It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to watch all the other teams hitting their stunts and seeing what they have to show.

Before it was time to warm up, we changed into our uniforms and then made our way to the warm-up area. There were different stations for us to practice and perfect different aspects of our routines- tumbling, jumps, stunts, dance and then the whole thing together- before performing to the judges. It was so exciting but also scary, as this is what we had been building towards all year.

First, the level one Co-Pilots performed, then level two Red Arrows and level three Generals. There were a couple of falls but we managed to fight hard to get them back up and hit all our stunts; everyone fought so hard for perfection and it really showed.

After, there was a long wait and a dance with all the other teams before the results were announced. Unfortunately, levels 1 and 2 didn’t place in the top 3 this time round, but we are all so proud of each other with many of us never having competed in this competition before. Level 3 however, came FIRST!! It was so inspiring for us all to see our team-mates up their receiving their medals and trophy saying they are British champions in their division!

Overall, the day was outstanding and I would recommend everyone trying cheer-leading for this experience alone, never mind the passionate and loving friends you will make from being part of the Lincoln Jets.

The Jets practice once a week (more near comp time) where we practise new stunts and form a routine for competition – it’s a great team to be part of both socially and personally and it has really helped my confidence grow while making loads of new friends.