SQA leading cheerleaders a merry dance

Cheerleading can be very positive for those who participate

When it comes to precision, discipline, athleticism and team building there are few other sports which develop young minds and bodies in such a comprehensive way. I may seem an unlikely champion for cheerleaders everywhere, but in recent weeks I’ve learned a lot about the sport following a request for help from one of my constituents.

Joanne Smith is the manager and coach of Capital Allstars, just one of Scotland’s up and coming cheerleading squads. Joanne took up the sport up while at university and loved it so much she has made it an integral part of her adult life.

So dedicated is she to the progression of the athletes in her team, that she actually trained as an exam invigilator to allow some of her squad to compete in America during exam season. It is on this point she came to see me.

As the home of the sport most of the international competitions take place in the United States. Frustratingly, many of the key competitions take place in the spring, slap bang in the middle of Scottish exam season. In years previous the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) have made allowances for something called an “alternative venue request” whereby athletes competing overseas in any international competition, in any recognised sport, can sit the exam under regulated conditions.

In America, this will involve competitors getting up in the middle of the night to sit the exam at the exact time it’s taking place in Scotland. Coaches like Joanne, who have undertaken the necessary training will then invigilate. This year however, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear, the SQA have tightened the rules around which teams and competitions qualify for the request.

Across the UK, over 300 athletes took their exams in Florida last year while taking part in various international competitions such as the ICU World Cheerleading Championships, USASF Dance Worlds and The Dance Summit. Thanks to this decision by the SQA this opportunity has now been stripped away from some of our Scottish competitors.

The new guidance means that athletes must either be competing in the ICU World Championships or as part of a designated “national team” to qualify for an alternative venue. This means that teams like the Capital Allstars competing in The Dance Summit miss out. To make matters worse, this tightening of the rules was only clarified after several young Scots had already forked out thousands of pounds for flights and accommodation.

In an effort to get them to change their mind, Joanne and I met with senior officials at SQA. Nothing about that meeting gave us a satisfactory understanding of the reasons for the decision or any willingness by the body to change their approach. It was very much a “computer says no” response.

With a simple “button switch” and without apparent justifiable cause, the SQA have robbed these young people of the opportunity of a lifetime, forcing them to chose between international competition and life-qualifying exams. Scotland’s qualification body shouldn’t be so inflexible and so seemingly determined to stifle passion and enthusiasm for a sport that inspires and offers so many benefits to its participants. This seems wholly wrong and they should think again.

Alex Cole-Hamilton is Scottish Liberal Democrat leader and MSP for Edinburgh Western