Shellharbour's Carmel & Co Cheer squad.
Shellharbour's Carmel & Co Cheer squad had three wins and another three top four finishes at the recent NSW State Championships at Sydney Olympic Park.
The Australian All Star Cheer Federation tournament featured some of the top cheerleaders in NSW in a sport that is growing in popularity every year.
The championships are an important lead-up to the National Championships later this month, with Carmel and Co also to be represented. Carmel & Co Cheer squads were among the leading clubs and competed in various levels and stunt categories at the state titles.
The club's three state title winners were "Mysterious Strangers" (Level 2 Youth Group Stunt), Tayla Lloyd and AJ Lovatt (Level 3 Teen Partner Stunt), and Diamonds (Level 3 Senior Cheer).
Among the other top performers were "Chickapow", who finished fourth in Level 1 Junior Group Stunt, while "Titanium" were fourth in Level 2 Senior Group Stunt, and Miranda Blades and Jasmine Ford were runners-up in Level 2 Teen Partner Stunt.
"Cheerleading competitions are getting bigger and bigger," said Carmel and Co owner Carmel Blades. "Aside from the traditional Pom [dance component] and Cheer [the stunts component], we now see a lot of squads compete in Group Stunt, Partner Stunt, Jazz and Hip Hop."
Ms Blades said cheerleading was getting so popular that the National Championships later this month would be held over four days.