Penicuik cheer and dance group storms to victory

The team, who train at Ladywood Leisure Centre every Sunday, will now compete in the European Championships in Liverpool in June.

At the recent Jamfest northern section event in Blackpool, used as a warm-up for the Euros, Ultimate Storm’s 74 members picked up nine awards.

Head coach Louise McClure was delighted with the haul,but admitted it was an emotional day for the club.

She said:“It was completely overwhelming. We were fairly confident in being able to do good routines, but not prepared for the results we got.

“The kids were completely emotional. It was just fantastic for them to do so well.

“Two of our members lost their mum, Tracey Wilson in October. She was very involved in the club with parent support, so I think it was very emotional for us.

“Our junior cheer team won first place, then our senior team did the same. We got a couple of second places too.

“The main thing was that we got the overall grand champion award for all the teams combined. We also got the spirit award.

“It’s about the behaviour of all the children, coaches and supporters. So the spirit and overall awards were the best two. And quite emotional.”

Winning the overall award in Blackpool also gives  Ultimate Storm the chance to compete in the home of cheerleading, the USA. However, given the costs involved, Louise admitted that a Stateside trip isn’t a given just yet.

She said: “That gave us paid entry for a competition in the States in 2017. We don’t know if we will go, though, to be honest. It’s the money side.

“It would probably cost £8-10,000. The entry fees have been paid by the competition organisers.

“There are different places we could choose to go to . We would probably pick Florida. We went there in 2010 with just nine girls. This would be a much bigger group though, probably about 30 to 35.”