In February 2025, cheerleading was recognised as an official sport by sportscotland (and corresponding agencies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) for the first time, signalling a new era and recognition for the sport.
Nothing proves the power and growth of the sport more than the Scottish Schools Cheerleading Competition, which this year celebrated its 10th anniversary. We caught up with Kirsten Brady, a former elite cheerleader, PE teacher, and one of the organisers, about the event and the sport’s future potential.
Cheerleading falls under two categories; sideline cheerleading (think the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders) and Allstar cheerleading, which is further divided into cheer and performance cheer. Cheer is the acrobatic or stunt type cheerleading where people are lifted up into the air, while performance cheer includes dance elements, with athletes competing in divisions such as hip hop, pop and lyrical.
Kirsten’s background is in performance cheer, having first started cheering and dancing when she was 5 years old. She competed at a high level up to the age of 21, qualifying for multiple World Championships along the way.
The school’s event tries to replicate what an Allstar cheerleading competition would look like, without the usual expense: “Being a cheerleader outside of school is really expensive, and the cost that it brings to some families to attend training and competitions makes it inaccessible for a lot of people,
“So we have tried to mirror that but in a school environment, where it is the school that pays as opposed to parents, to open up the sport to more people.”
Having ran for the first time in 2015 as a competition for Falkirk schools only, it grew each year, and by 2019, there were around 350 people in attendance at Grangemouth Sports Complex. The event then had to take an enforced break from 2020-2022 due to the pandemic.
Up until that point, the event had been run by another teacher, Caroline Miller. However, a promotion at work meant she no longer had the time to commit to running the event, so in 2022, she put out a plea on Twitter to see if anyone would be able to step in and lead the event forward from 2023 onwards. Kirsten and another teacher, Jennifer Park, were selected, and the event has grown arms and legs from there.
400 young people attended the relaunched event in 2023, exploding to 900 in 2024 and an incredible 1600 at this year’s event. The event has even outgrown its original Grangemouth home, this year moving to the home of the Glasgow Caledonian Gladiators basketball team. It is also now open nationally, with teams travelling from as far as Wick for this year’s event.
Being a teenager is really challenging at the moment, and Kirsten has seen the positive impact the event has had on those taking part, and is thankful to the teachers who give up their time to support pupils to rehearse and attend: “It takes a lot for teachers to be willing to take their pupils along because they’re obviously sacrificing all their time as well, but it’s worth it when you see the kids enjoying themselves,
“Girls have grown in confidence being part of their groups, often achieving things they never felt they would be able to do, for example performing on stage, and with it they are learning valuable skills that they can apply to other areas of life.”
This sentiment has been echoed by teachers and schools across the country:
“Being part of the Scottish Schools Cheerleading Competition has had a profoundly positive impact on our young people. It’s not only boosted young women’s participation in sport but has also helped foster a strong sense of teamwork and unity amongst them.” – Hyndland Secondary School
“Girls in our school rarely get the opportunity to perform or compete at events of this size. The Scottish Schools Cheerleading Competition has allowed them to demonstrate their talents and find a passion for performing without any barriers.” – Smithycroft Secondary School
While the sport is still overwhelmingly female, the event has seen growth in the number of boys taking part, going from 2 or 3 at last year’s event to 10 or 15 this year.
However, Kirsten has seen the biggest impact in wheelchair users, with 6 or 7 entered this year: “It was amazing because it’s obviously quite difficult for them, but they have been able to get up on the stage and still be involved,
“It’s about finding ways to include them in ways that they can, and it’s helped to make the event a lot more inclusive. It’s something we’d like to build further on in future years.”
With the event growing as it has, Kirsten and Jennifer are looking for some extra support to help run future editions of the competition, which is starting to become unsustainable for two teachers working full time.
Like everything at the moment, costs are also going up each year, so they are thankful for the support of their sponsors, PE5 Sports Tours and United Cheer Apparels. They are hoping to access funding in the future to try and keep costs for schools and entries as low as possible, so it can still be accessible for everyone.
I asked Kirsten what she felt the impact would be of cheerleading now being recognised by sportscotland, with potentially some additional funding and governance into the sport.
“I think for a lot of people it gives cheerleading the credibility it’s not had for a long time,
“It’s something I used to find so frustrating because being a cheerleader involves so much teamwork, strength and athleticism that a lot of people have no idea about, so it gives a bit of validation.”
For many of us growing up, cheerleading existed only on TV and primarily in American sitcoms where it often wasn’t shown much respect (the popular girls are cheerleaders etc.). However, with modern-day media, it is a lot more accessible to see sport like this happening, and shows like ‘Cheer’ on Netflix have opened it up to new audiences. You only have to watch for a couple of minutes to see the skill and athleticism involved.
However, Kirsten believes the big game changer will be the funding that the sport may now be able to access, particularly for things like equipment, which can be difficult and expensive to come by: “I hope that you’re going to start seeing more grassroot level stuff. There‘s these massive, expensive competitions but sometimes all you need is a group or a class to attend!”
You can watch back some of the action from this year’s Scottish Schools event and keep up to date with plans for next year by following @SSCheerleading on Instagram.
