A PAIR of East Renfrewshire schoolgirls are preparing to rub shoulders with the cheerleading world’s top talent.
Rosie Jenks, from Neilston, and Ellie Bannister, of Uplawmoor, have been selected for their gym’s under-16 International Cheer Level 1 team, which will compete at The Summit Championship, in America, in April.
Solid Rock Amethyst, which has members aged from 11 to 16, will take to the stage for the prestigious contest at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, in Orlando, Florida.
The youngsters attend Solid Rock Cheer and Gym, in Linwood, which secured an invitation to the event thanks to its success at the Future Cheer Superhero Spirit event at Braehead earlier this year.
Ellie, who is in third year at Eastwood High, is a ‘base’ – one of the athletes holding a colleague in the air during stunts.
Her mum Laura, who will travel with her to the States, said: “Ellie did gymnastics before but moved away from that over lockdown because it was so remote and hard to connect with people over Zoom.
“She had heard about Solid Rock, so we thought ‘why don’t we give that a try.’ “We are really proud of everything she has achieved in a short space of time. She has worked hard for it.”
As well as competing whilst in Florida, the team will also train in top cheerleading gyms and spectate at the ICU Cheerleading World Championships – the pinnacle of all cheerleading tournaments, which sees top athletes from around the world represent their country.
Rosie, who also attends Eastwood High, will take part in that event as part of Team Scotland.
The S2 pupil, who also started out in gymnastics before making the switch two years ago, now faces a packed schedule that will involve juggling school work, hours of weekly practice and travelling to different gyms for national training sessions every fortnight.
Rosie’s mum Katy, who will join her on the US trip, said: “The Summit is the highest level of competition in cheerleading. Getting there is a massive achievement for them.
“Rosie got a phone call to go with Team Scotland as well.
“It’ll be on telly, on the ESPN channel.”
The team are looking for sponsorship ahead of the US trip and anyone who would like to help can message them via their Facebook page or email solidrockcheerandgym@outlook.com.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here