Scotland's cheerleading team takes home gold at ICU World Championships
The squad – made up of members from across the country – flew out to Orlando, Florida last month to compete in the annual International Cheer Union (ICU) World Championships.
Held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, within the Walt Disney World Resort, they were joined by teams and individuals from 120 countries – all vying to be crowned victors.
This year, it was Team Scotland's turn to take home the crown, coming top in the Unified Adaptive Abilities Median Cheer category.
'It was such a great moment,' says team captain Joshua Craik.
'I was just unbelievably proud of everyone. Being able to watch them grow throughout the season and just develop, and being able to go and do what we planned to do – winning gold – completely topped it all off.
'It felt unreal. I don't know if there's going to be another feeling that's going to match it.'
The adaptive abilities unified cheer division brings disabled and non-disabled athletes together as one team. STV News Scotland's cheer team takes home gold from world championships in Florida
For the ICU World Championships, squads are required to be comprised of 25% or more athletes with a physical, sensory, or intellectual disability.
Team Scotland member Danielle Brown has been cheering for 22 years, but was told by doctors and physios that she would never be able to dance again.
'Clearly, I've proved them wrong,' she said.
'Being a part of Team Scotland and being a part of a unified team, especially in adaptive ability, it's just such an amazing feeling to be out there with a team that's from all across Scotland as well.'
Fellow team member Annie Headrick added: 'I never thought I could do it with my disability. I'm blind in one eye, so catching and tumbling aren't really my forte.
'But it worked out really well and they've been really supportive in helping me learn more with it as well.
'[The competition] was actually insane. Everyone was cheering everyone on. It was just really positive and we were all just sharing what we love, so it was really nice to be there.'
Cheerleading's popularity in the UK continues to grow, but often its status as a sport is overlooked.
It can be a dangerous activity due to the nature of routines, particularly those involving lifts and stunts; yet it still carries stereotypes that athletes have fought to dismiss over the years.
'It's so much harder than people realise,' says Team Scotland coach Victoria Orton-Bichener.
'Everyone comes to us and just says 'what sport are you cheering for?' or 'have you got your pom poms?' and all this sort of stuff, but we're here to show people that it's so much more than that.
'It's so difficult, the technical skills that these girls are performing, they're so hard and they take years to perfect. So we just want to show people what cheerleading can really be about.' STV News Cheerleaders 'unbelievably proud' after ICU victory
The International Olympic Committee finally recognised cheerleading as a sport in its own right back in 2021. It hasn't made it into the line-up of sports set to debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, but calls are now underway for it to be included in Brisbane 2032.
Here, sportscotland also granted cheerleading recognition as a sport in February 2025. Team Scotland hopes that this, along with their huge win in the US, will prompt more respect.
National team director Colette Cheape said: 'This is so important in recognising the tireless effort from athletes, coaches, officials, supporters. Over many years they've been working hard to gain the sport the respect that it deserves.
'It's shown the discipline and the athleticism and the commitment that's involved in the sport. Now that sportscotland have turned round and recognised us, that we are indeed a sport, it opens up so many more opportunities for us, and the growth and development of the sport.
'The future's looking really bright and we're really excited to see where it takes us.'
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