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Can you believe it worlds week already ! This can mean only one thing we get to release our interview with Team England Para athletes. last year  the International Cheerleading Union (ICU) invited ParaCheer International to bring a team of disabled and non-disabled athletes, to showcase at the 2016 World . This was a world first which blossom into the beginning of a whole new division in competitive cheerleading.

(picture below showcases the amazing athletes that made history and helped to create this new competitive division for 2017.)

Because of them and all the people who work so hard behind the scenes.  We have two competitive teams which are Para Pom and Para Cheer who will be representing us at 2017 ICU (International Cheerleading Union). We had the chance to speak to 2017 Para athletes and find out why they wanted to be apart of this amazing organisation.  First lovely lady we spoke to was Sarah.

Name: Sarah Bishton

Which Team: Team England ParaCheer

Role: Base

Disability: I have a condition called Non-Epileptic Attack Disorder. This means that I have seizures that are currently uncontrollable. This causes an obvious problem when Cheering because I can have a seizure at any time. When working up to a major competition like Worlds it gets a little stressful and also working so hard you get incredibly hot; unfortunately, both these things can set off a seizure.

Age: 20

Career Goal: I am currently studying at University in Birmingham, I hope to graduate next year with a degree in Events Management. This is what I want to do in the future, plan events. Maybe even the next big cheer competition in the U.K? You never know!

Share something that makes you happy: I love being round my friends and having fun, which is one of the things that attracted me to Cheerleading; Everyone on the team is like a family, you know them so well and everyone is working towards the same goals.

Share something most people don’t know about you: I am allergic to kiwifruit, which every time I tell someone they are surprised.

How many years’ cheer/dance experience do you have? I started Cheerleading when I went to University last year.

Which cheer/dance teams are you part of or have you been part of in the past? I was part of UCB Cakes and I soon caught the cheer bug. I joined the all-star team that my uni team coach runs, Elite All Stars Infinity, and I competed with them at the end of last season and have continued to compete and train with them this season.

Why did you want to join Team England ParaCheer/Pom? Because it is a team that is breaking moulds and making cheerleading available to everyone. This is important to me to be part of the team that is making cheerleading more widely available and to be able to be a representative.

What’s your favourite part of being on Team England ParaCheer/Pom? All the amazing people we get to meet through the team and the people on the team. I have made friends that I would never have even met in my life if I hadn’t been on the team.

Are there any stunt/technique adaptations you make which you find especially interesting? The adaption I have for my condition is that I have a safe word. If I start to feel unwell or think I am going to have a seizure then I say this word to my stunt group and they know to immediately stop doing the skill and to get the flyer down quickly, either with me being involved or they are prepared to be able to safely bring the flyer down without me. I find it so interesting stunting with the two wheelchair users on the team, the flyer and other bases really have to adjust the centre of gravity of the stunt and sometimes need to learn totally new methods of doing certain skills.

What have you learnt while being a part of this team? I have learnt lots of new skills and new names for skills that I didn’t know before. I have developed so much whilst training with Team England Paracheer and I hope to continue to be able to learn new things and develop as an athlete.

What are you most excited to experience at Worlds 2017? Seeing all the famous teams and getting to have some time in Disney World.

If you enjoyed this article comment below and stay tune to read out interview with our next Para athlete tomorrow.

Thank you for sitting down with us Sarah  and good luck at Worlds 2017