Galaxy All Stars qualify for World cheerleading championships in Florida

​It's an incredible achievement for the club which first opened its doors 15 years ago with a primary goal of providing an alternative, inclusive sport for young girls to participate in and it quickly expanded with around 100 members now within its talented ranks.

There's been no shortage of success for the club run by coach and proprietor Aoibheann Carlin who balances her passion for cheerleading and sport with her full-time job in the fire service.

However, winning two of the available two world championship bids at the fabulous Stunt City event the Antrim Forum two weeks' ago was the pinnacle of the club's achievements and beyond many members' wildest dreams as they now focus their attention on performing in front of the world's best in the USA next April 2025.

There were over 550 competitors at the Antrim venue on the day from clubs across Northern Ireland and around 1,000 spectators watched on as Galaxy All Stars made a clean sweep of the prizes while senior representatives 'Reign' and Junior team 'Zodiac' reigned supreme, crowned Grand Champions in their respective categories.

Better was to come as both teams were later handed invitations to the 2025 Summit World Championships in Orlando, a scenario which certainly set the pulses racing amongst the girls when the results were announced [check out the accompanying video for reaction].

"All our teams that took part in Stunt City each won in every division they were entered in," beamed proud coach, Aoibheann. "We basically couldn't have performed better. We won everything that we were eligible to win on the day. They won their divisions, whether it was junior level one or senior level three and the 'Hotshots' won theirs which was mini level one," she explained.

"The other two teams were in their performance category just to get comfortable with performing and they got their medals and certificates. They did brilliantly.

"Our junior level one won Grand Champions for all the level ones. So that was from the youngest right up to the oldest who were competing that day. And our senior level three won the level three grand champions. Those were the only two we were entered in for and we picked both up which was amazing.

"With the world's bids for the world championships, the top two teams from the whole day get offered these world bids.

"It's so funny because for so long many of our older girls, for years they've been chasing a bid and have been trying for years because most of the events will give out just one or two. You have to be the very best on the day in the entire competition to get it. So they're extremely hard to get.

"For us to walk away with the two of them is just insane. Especially because I felt I had dropped the ball a bit on this occasion because I was behind the organisation of the event.

"I was praying for a win and would've been more than happy with a win so I'm delighted. The only thing is now I have to work out how to get around 40 athletes and all their parents to America next year," she laughed.

Competitive cheerleading is not the kind you see depicted in Hollywood movies with pom-poms and dance routines; it is a high energy, highly skilled acrobatic routine which combines stunts, tumbling from gymnastics, jumps and dance.

Timing and simultaneous execution are key in the sport. It's an incredible spectacle with plenty of risk but with lots of reward as testified by those winning teams at the Antrim Forum who will represent their city and indeed the country at the world championships.

"We're a small club sitting with around 100 members which is small in terms of what we do and the sport we are involved in. Hopefully now I think I have another coach starting in the near future so hopefully we will be able to grow over this next year and we'd love to see more kids involved in it.

"It's not just pompoms and dance routines - cheerleading is a sport in its own right.

"I was coaching trampoline and I was looking to expand that and ways to do it where I could work with more kids. I wanted to provide something for bigger numbers and realised there was a gap in the market when it came to cheer. A lot of the trampoline clubs in America did trampoline, cheer and tumbling and that's something we didn't see here.

"At that point I didn't have the money or background or experience that other gymnastic clubs to invest in a gymnastics club, so when I came back from America I got on a cheerleading course and it rocketed from that where we've let the trampolining side of things slide and our focus now is just fully on cheer which has got bigger and bigger,

"There's this misconception that it's people shaking pom-poms but there is a version of cheerleading that involves that but the type of cheerleading we do is called All Star cheerleading which is a lot more athletic based. It's a combination of tumbling which is like your gymnastics, lifting and throwing each other in the air. They have to perform jumps and dance as a team so synchronicity and performance comes into it when it comes to scoring.

"One of the reasons I love it is you get people starting at all ages. There are people who started at university and it's great to see it emerging more and more in the university circuit.

"Also it's brilliant for getting young girls, especially teenage girls involved in sport. Our biggest pool is for young teenage females and if they're not involved in sport from the age of three or four they're kind of written off which is not the case at all with cheer. You don't have to be super flexible. You don't have to be a certain build or height. As it's very much a team event, there's a role for everybody no matter your shape or size or strengths or weaknesses.

“You don't have to be able to do everything which makes it a really inclusive sport."

Aoibheann coached the senior team to success but special mention to Galaxy coach Abbie McCloskey, also part of Team Reign, who coaches the junior team to world qualification.

"For me personally it's about balancing it with working full-time and now doing event production as well. I'm really enthused by the fact the junior coaches coming up behind me are showing such strengths.

"I coach the senior team and they won one of the worlds bids but the other team is coached by one of our senior athletes, Abbie McCloskey, who is now in her first year coaching in the sport and she's got a team to worlds. She's studying for her A-levels and also has a team she coches going to world championships.

"We've now got coaches coming through with that passion and drive and who want to see the kids hit new heights."

The club are hoping for continued success this weekend when they take part in the popular ICE [Incredibly Cool Events] show also at the Antrim Forum before hosting a Stunt only event at the Millenium Forum in Derry on May 26th.

With those world bids in the bank the work doesn't stop there and members are currently fundraising to ensure everyone involved can make that lifetime trip to the USA next year.

"Now our big challenge is to try and make it possible for all the kids that were there to go to Florida so we'll have some fundraising as it could cost nearly £2,000 per person. So we will be on the lookout for sponsors in the next few weeks and months."Get in touch through Galaxy's Facebook page or contact Aoibheann if you would like to sponsor the girls and keep a close eye on the various fundraising activities.