Rochdale cheerleaders secure first place at UKCA National Championships

Rayz All Stars with coach Tracey Ray

Rayz All Stars secured three first place wins on Saturday (17 May) after they competed in the United Kingdom Cheerleading Association National Championships.

The teenies team (Under 9s), the juniors team (Under 15s) and the seniors teams all finished first after competing in their specified age categories.

Coach Tracey Ray said: “I am really really proud of them all. I still can’t quite believe that it happened. I told them on the day that it didn’t matter were they placed, the fact that they went out there and did it was good enough so for them all to have done so well was just the icing on the cake.”

The competition, which was held at Manchester Velodrome, was the first for the club since they rebranded. Tracey added: “This was our first competition since we changed our name and so to win for the first time under our new name and branding was brilliant.”

During the competition, each group had to complete a two and a half minute routine. During the routine, the girls were judged on specific elements including synchronisation, jumps, tumbling and dance.

“The judging is very strict so it is my aim as their coach to make sure that everything is right and I have to be able to produce the right routine for them,” said Tracey.

As well as three first place wins, the junior stunt team finished fourth and the senior stunt team finished third in their competitions.

The cheerleading group have been preparing for the competition since January. Tracey has been helped by Abbi Mellor, Emma Whitworth and Linda Chappell.

Tracey said: “We train every Monday and have been working on our routines since January so the hard work has really paid off. I don’t just do it on my own, I have help from Abbi, Emma and my mum (Linda) so I can’t take all of the credit.”

Now that the club has secured a number of wins, Tracey and the team will be preparing to get involved with charity events over the next couple of months.

“I think there is a competition in November/December time that we might look to get involved with but until then we have a number of charity events that we will be performing at,” said Tracey.