We are the Bedfordshire Bulls Cheerleading team, part of the University of Bedfordshire’s competitive sport division. This year we are a Level 2 Coed non-tumble team; this is the first year we are entering a non-tumble routine!

I am Sasha, our president, and I will be the one writing the monthly diary entries for Diary of a University Cheerleader. I have to say this will be a new experience for me; it has been a very long time since I kept even a personal diary, but I am excited to be on this journey and to share it all with you. I certainly don’t always have it easy-going as a cheerleader, as I’m sure many of you have experienced yourselves from time to time, so you can expect complete (and sometimes, brutal) honesty from me!

Meet Our Committee

Thanks to Covid we have a small committee this year, which has (mostly) been carried over from last year. Myself, Faith and Janel maintained our previous roles while our treasurer Shiv graduated this past summer and has moved on from the team- we miss her but wish her all the best in her future! But here is a little bit about each of us.

As you know already, I am the president again this season. I began my cheerleading journey with Bulls back in 2018; I had never been a gymnast nor had I had the chance to try the sport before. But uni is about trying new things and when I transferred to Bedfordshire for my second year, I vowed to finally start experiencing uni properly and decided cheer was the way forward! I instantly fell in love with the sport. I felt a part of a family and had so much fun, despite earning the name ‘Human Punchbag’ in my first year! In my second year on the team, I became the treasurer before Covid hit and cut the season short. I’m now studying for my master’s degree, in my 4^th year of cheer (including the lockdown year) and I am so happy to be working as president. I actually started the same year that Faith did so I have been very lucky to have her as a friend throughout this, and now get to work with her as my vice!

Hi! My name is Faith and I’m the Vice President for Bulls cheer team. This is now my 4^th year on the team, just like Sasha! I joined Bulls in my first year of uni because I am a gymnast and thought I would try something similar to gymnastics, because I am used to that type of training, but cheer was something I had never tried before and I wanted to give it a go- I’m glad I did because I love it! This season I’m looking forward to being able to get back on the mat and compete again, I’ve really missed it! At the same time it will really be great to get stuck in with helping the committee run the team and the events that I became used to taking part in over the years. This year, Sasha and I are both coming back from injuries; mine being an Achilles rupture, but I can say for the both of us that we are determined to work hard and be top of our game!

Hi! I’m Janel, the social secretary for Bedfordshire Bulls cheer (again!). I am currently studying BSc Business Studies, and this is my third year as part of the team. My role as social sec involves organising social events for the team, helping committee run fundraisers, orchestrating our tour group and creating content for our social media channels. I’m not only in a flyers position (one that currently lacks Black representation in all forms of cheerleading), but also as a committee member. I know that for myself, and other Black and POC who I have spoken to in similar positions in and outside of cheer, these roles have taken on a whole new meaning for us. I am now a face that other little black girls will look at and say “maybe I can do it too”. Without intending to, I’ve become the role model that I was searching for when I was little. For this I am so grateful. I’m looking forward to a great season ahead and actually being able to compete this year!

Meet Our Coaches

We are very fortunate to have 2 coaches; Sarah and Kieran.

Sarah actually started with the team for the 2013/2014 season and has pretty much been with us ever since! She became a coach and captained Bulls during her Masters degree. After her graduation Sarah remained in cheer, coaching for Bulls while also competing in an all-star cheer team, which she still continues to do.

Kieran also joined the team back in 2013/2014, during his Performing Arts undergraduate degree. He stayed with the team for the 3 years, where he also acted as a social secretary for 2 years, before taking a year out from the team. During this gap, he became part of an all-star team based in Milton Keynes. Kieran then joined forces with Sarah to form their successful coaching duo for Bedfordshire Bulls.

The pair are now in their 5^th year of coaching together for Bulls, they have progressed the team so much and have led us to many successes, and they now even coach a new all-star team based in Bedford. Sarah and Kieran are living proof that once you are a Bull you are forever a Bull- we are very lucky to have them. They are not the first and only athletes that have become part of the furniture over the years, and they sure won’t be the last!

This season the coaches and committee as a collective are excited to head to competitions again so we are working hard to prepare the team for this. We are formed almost entirely of athletes who are completely new to the sport so our goal is not only to succeed at comp, but to also develop each individual’s skills and confidence to allow them to feel accomplished not only as part of a team, but for themselves. At the same time, we hope to inspire them to fall in love with the sport just as we have!

Our History

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As far as we’re aware, cheerleading didn’t actually start at the uni much before our coaches began their journey with the team. In the beginning, there were two teams; one based in Luton and the other based in Bedford. It was only fairly recently, the year before I joined in fact, that the two teams joined together, to include athletes from both of the main campuses.

Over the years, Bulls Cheer have competed in levels 1 and 2, in coed and all-girl, and in level 1, 2 and 3 stunt groups. Each year we have been growing from strength to strength, achieving successes in Legacy, Future Cheer and BCA competitions. We have even previously had dance teams across the years; in Pom, jazz, and hip hop. While we would have hoped to bring at least one of those back this year, what with it being the first season back after Covid we felt it best to focus all of our efforts on creating and working towards an epic return with the one cheer team!

Tryout Success

Before the season began, the coaches and committee were apprehensive about recruitment, considering that the majority of our previous athletes had either graduated during covid, or could not return to the team. We started this year with 4 official veterans confirming their return, and 3 lockdown veterans. So we were amazed with the response we got throughout freshers; we had some of the highest numbers of signups ever! I have to say it was a relief. We were fortunate to have one of our lockdown veterans, Iina, choreograph our tryout dance despite not having even one in person session with us prior to this. She did a fantastic job! We were so impressed with everyone who came along this year- we’ve pulled together a solid team. As we always do at the beginning of the season we have suffered a little instability at the beginning of the season with our numbers, what with late additions and then dropouts. It happens every year, when new students adjust to uni and realise they have a higher workload than expected or that cheer isn’t for them. It can be difficult sometimes having to make frequent changes but we always make it work, and we’re settled now.

So that’s us!

I have to say, I am so proud of the team already; Bulls have been my second family for years now and I’m so happy to be witnessing us thrive. We have a great team and a strong routine in the works.  

Lots of exciting things

We can’t wait to share what we get up to this year with all of you CFHTT readers! To be working closely with CFHTT is an honour, and the close partnership with Pili Pala will mean a lot to Bulls athletes both past and present. We are very lucky to also benefit from CFHTT’s other partnerships with the prizes they have provided this year, so be sure to keep an eye on our socials to see more of them.

This month we will be bringing the first half of the season to a close with our annual army-style boot camp fundraiser, so make sure you check out our socials around the 14^th to watch us be put through our paces with military-like conditioning. This year we will be raising money for the Young Mind UK; they help to support young people with their mental health so that they can look after themselves, feel an if they aren’t alone and then feel empowered to help their peers. We believed this would be a great choice, not only because of our partnership with Pili Pala suicide prevention but also, I personally work with young people who have gone through adverse childhood experiences that ultimately impacts their emotional wellbeing. So this cause feels very important to me and I’m glad the team feels the same way! The following night will be our Christmas meal and quiz before we go our separate ways for the holidays.

See you next month! In the meantime, follow our socials for any updates on what we get up to!

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