When Abbie Harrington took to the competition floor in Florida, she was not only representing her team, she was helping make history.
The Bournemouth University sports scholar is part of Team ParaCheer GB – the first ever Paralympic eligible team to perform at the World Cheerleading Championships.
Abbie and her teammates showed their routines in front of the crowds at the International Cheer Union World Championships which took place in Orlando, Florida from 22 to 24 April. Each year in April thousands of competitors from dozens of countries come to Florida for cheerleading's biggest event.
The judges scored zero points deductions for Team ParaCheer GB in both of their routines.
“To cheer for Britain on such a grand stage was incredible. The atmosphere was amazing from the moment we took the mat. The crowd cheered us on the whole way, got involved in the chant and carried us the whole routine,” Abbie said.
Whilst Adaptive Abilities cheer – featuring disabled and non-disabled athletes in the same team – is a growing sport that has featured in global competitions for about 10 years, Team ParaCheer GB is the first team where all athletes meet Paralympic eligibility.
Abbie’s journey into cheer began less than a year ago when she replied to a recruitment advert on social media. Rick Rodgers, one of the coaches who along with Chantal Epp had developed the adaptive abilities division, invited her along for a training session and she instantly fell in love with the sport.
She has been awarded a scholarship by SportBU which she says has helped her develop as an athlete. “Building up my strength has been a big challenge. Being unable to walk, all of my strength has to start from my core and upper body. The strength and conditioning training I get as part of my sports scholarship helped with this massively,” she explained.
The financial benefits of the scholarship helped fund her travel, accommodation and equipment costs for the performance in Florida. This also meant that she could focus more time on raising funds for her team, which is run as a small charity.
Abbie and her teammates are now keen to build on their successful showcase at cheerleading’s biggest stage to help grow their sport.
“We have aspirations to showcase in many different countries and after speaking to athletes in Canada, Australia and America it's likely that in the future these countries will be making their own Paralympic eligible teams. This will hopefully mean that it will become a competitive division in the future,” she said.
“To represent Team ParaCheer GB was an absolutely amazing experience, it means so much to help grow an incredible, inclusive sport.”
