Name Liv

Team: Team England Junior Advanced

Position: Side base

Age: 16

Career Goal: To win gold in the Junior Advanced division at the ICU World Championships 2019. Also to hopefully globe in the USASF World Championships one day.

 

Hi Liv

HI Caroline

 

What does it mean to you to represent your country?

I feel honoured to be given the opportunity to represent my country and show the rest of the world how far English cheerleading has come. When wearing the England uniform I feel that I am an advocate for all the cheerleaders from home, and all I want is to do good by them and make my country proud.

 

What do you most enjoy about Cheerleading?

What I enjoy most about cheerleading is the bond I have created with my team. To me, being part of a team means encouraging and supporting each other not only during the routine and at training but in everyday life as well. If I’m ever having a bad day I know that my teammates will be there to pick me up and encourage me. My team is like my second family.

What do you feel are your main strengths in Cheerleading are?

I personally feel that my main strengths are in tumbling and performance. I have always had a passion for tumbling ever since I was little and I have been lucky enough over the years to have brilliant coaches invest their time into helping me develop this passion. When it comes to performance I can’t get enough of it! I find it makes doing a routine so much more fun as I love dancing and being sassy. Also performing helps me to ‘stay in the moment’ during the routine and therefore I am more focused on my technique when it comes to skills.

How many years have you been on Team England for e.g.  first year, second year etc

This is my fourth year on Team England. I competed on Senior All Girl Elite in both 2016 and 2017 where we won bronze and then gold at Worlds! Last year Team England decided to create the first junior national team and so I tried out in hopes of taking on this new challenge and becoming a part of historical experience. I was fortunate enough to make the Junior All Girl Advanced Team and we went on to win silver our first time at Worlds. This year I am super excited to take the ICU Junior Worlds floor again with such talented athletes!

Why did you want to try out for Team England?

This year is the last year I am age eligible to be on the junior national team and after having such an amazing time last year I decided that I wanted to take the ICU Junior Worlds floor one last time. Also, last year I particularly enjoyed training with athletes from across the country who are of a similar age to myself and who all have such a great attitude, skill set and experience.

Name a quote that keeps you motivated.

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” – Tim Notke

Favourite skills e.g cheer stunt, tumble or dance move.

My favourite skill is a double twist basket. At first, I found them terrifying! Getting my head around how to set off the basket toss before flipping was extremely hard for me. As I practised them more though I began to realise that they were not actually scary and in fact, it is extremely fun being thrown up in the air and twisting above peoples head. It’s a nice way of combining tumbling and baskets, both of which I love.

Share something that makes you happy:

Something that made me happy was seeing all the young cheerleaders that came to support us at the Team England showcase. The knowledge that they look up to me makes me feel proud of how far I have come since I was their age, and I hope that I am being a positive influence for them.

Which ICU Team are you most excited to see and why?

I am so excited to see Team USA Coed! They have such high difficulty throughout their routine and yet manage to perform it so cleanly; they are truly phenomenal to watch. As a Level 6 athlete myself I find it watching them inspirational and motivating.

 How many years of experience do you have in your field?  

This is my ninth season cheerleading. I joined Unity Allstars Peach in 2011 (back when it was Level 1) after much encouragement from Tori, who at the time was my coach at school cheer. Since then I have competed on pretty much every level team, including five years experience on a Worlds team.

Which team are you apart of or have you been previously apart of?

For the past four years, I have been on Unity Allstars Ruby (International All Girl 5). However, it has been my dream to be on Black ever since I started cheerleading and this year I was finally old enough to have the opportunity to follow that dream. I decided that I wanted to take on the new challenge of Level 6 cheerleading and have thoroughly enjoyed it so far.

What was it like when you attended try-outs for Team England?

Every year attending Team England try-outs is very nerve-racking and every year the standard at try-outs goes up. This year the skill set shown by the juniors trying-out was insane; everybody was so talented, especially when it came to tumbling! After lunch, the team list was put up on the wall. Walking towards it I was so nervous, but when I saw mine and my stunt group’s names on the list my feelings were quickly turned into excitement.

What has been your major highlights/achievements while being a part of Team England?

The highlight of my time on Team England over the years, and probably of my entire cheerleading career so far, definitely has to be winning gold with All Girl Elite in 2017. Standing on the podium singing the National Anthem was a feeling, unlike anything I have ever felt, even thinking about it now I still get butterflies.

Describe the funniest thing that’s happened to you while you were at training.

The funniest thing that has happened to me was probably when I was made to do the cheer with a crown and robe on. As I was moving around the floor the robe fell off and I kept stumbling over it, and by the end of the cheer, the crown was hanging from my hair. It was a bit of a nightmare for me but fun for everyone who was watching.

What stunts/ techniques have you found interesting to learn and why?

This year our stunt section consists of a back handspring up from the floor to extension, which is a very advanced skill for Level 4. In order to make this stunt hit, my stunt group found that we really had to concentrate on getting our flyer’s shoulders as she did the back handspring and then all throw together on count 2. I thought this skill was interesting to learn as it requires the great concentration and the bases have to work together and communicate in order to throw in unison.

What does Worlds mean to you?

Personally, I feel that Worlds is a way cheerleaders from across the globe can make new connections and share their culture with those who share a love for their sport. I also believe that as a Worlds Team you are representatives of cheerleading in your country as a whole and Worlds is a way of showing the rest of the globe how the standard of cheer back home has improved.

 If you have been to worlds before what did it teach you?

This year will be my fifth year going to Worlds, however, I did not complete my first year as I was too young. Competing at Worlds has taught me that one of the most important things a team needs to do is communicate and encourage each other on the floor. At Worlds, the UK teams obviously do not have as big a crowd as they do at home and those who are watching usually have to stand at a distance from the floor, therefore the energy must come from within the team themselves.

What advice would you give to someone who was scared to try-out for Team England this year?

I think you should definitely give it a shot- if you don’t try it, you’ll never know what could’ve happened. Prior to the tryout make sure you practice all your tumbles on dead floor and can hit stunts consistently with your group; give yourself the best chance you can at succeeding. When you get to the try-outs just remember to relax and focus on yourself, not on what other people are doing.

What will you miss about Team England and why?

Team England is made up of coaches and athletes from all over the country, most of whom I don’t get to see very often. Over the course of the few training sessions we’ve had together, we have become a close-knit team who support and care for each other. Therefore I think what I will miss most is being able to train and catch-up with my friends from other teams who I normally would only get to see at competitions.

 

What are you most excited to experience at Worlds 2019?

It’s difficult to say what I’m most excited about- the whole Worlds trip is just such an awesome experience! One thing I am looking forward to is walking out on to the ICU floor and hearing the England crowd go wild. All the football chants and singing really get me hyped to compete. I must say the crowd support from our nation is like no other.  

Name a team from the United Kingdom and internationally that you are most excited to watch and explain why?

The UK team I am most excited to watch is Unity Allstars Royal as my little brother is on the team this year and this will be his first time competing at Worlds.

The international team I am most excited to watch is Cheer Athletics Claw 6 as they are my favourite Level 6 team and their routines are always stunning.

Thank you for sharing your story with us and good luck at worlds Liv