Mayo cheerleader on Team Ireland at World event

A PARKE, Castlebar, teenager is a member of Team Ireland who will be competing at the Cheerleading World 2022 competitions which will take place from April 23 to 25 in Orlando, Florida, at the ESPN World Wide Sports Complex.

Team Ireland will compete on an international stage with teams from over 40 other countries worldwide.

Team Ireland is made up of athletes from all parts of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Co. Mayo is being represented by Taylor Flynn (18) from Parke.

Taylor, a Leaving Certificate student at Davitt College, Castlebar, has been training with Team Ireland since 2020, but, due to Covid, is only getting to compete at the world event later this month.

She is also part of the fantastic Stuntworx Elite Cheerleading Club in Galway for the past four years and is also competing with her club team, Alliance, alongside another Mayo girl, Ellen Neylon from Knock.

Both girls travel to Galway two to three times a week to train and have put in huge effort, time and commitment along with their teammates and coaches over the past three years to reach their goal of competing at the highest level.

Cheer sport finally received recognition from the International Olympic Committee as an Olympic sport back in July 2021, so Olympic qualification is the next big focus.

As cheer is completely self-funded, fundraising is a regular part of the athletes lives, so any support, big or small, would be greatly appreciated.

Please check their Go Fund Me page on Facebook, Go Fund Me Team Ireland Cheerleading, or alternatively contact head coach Hilton Holian at hilton@stuntworxelite.com for further details on any cheer related queries.