Cheerleading is a sport made up of organised routines involving tumbling, dance, jumps, stunting and of course cheers! The main aim is to encourage spectators at an event to well, cheer! In other words cheerleaders aim to draw attention to an event and try to encourage the audience to get involved.

Unbelievably cheerleading began as an all-male activity over a hundred years ago but today an estimated 97% of cheerleaders are female! It can be short, sharp and exciting to watch with routines ranging from 1 to 3 minutes. It requires lots of energy, coordination and athletic skill oh, and an awful lot of team work. It can also be extremely competitive.

The activity originated in the United States and is closely associated with American football and basketball. It is hugely popular there with an estimated 1.5 million people registered in all-star cheerleading and it has now started to gain popularity in Wales. Over 1,114 young people took part in cheerleading via the 5x60 scheme last term, something to definitely cheer about!