NRG Studios Illawarra have achieved the rare feat of having two teams selected to represent Australia in the Cheerleading and Dance World Championships, held at Disneyworld in Florida this April.
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It’s the second time the Wollongong studio has had a team selected for the much coveted competition. Their Open Jazz and Senior Jazz teams will see 15 Illawarra women aged 14 to 19 up against elite athletes from around the globe and their moves broadcast on the ESPN sports channel.
Open Jazz captain Maddi Daffara, 19, is excited for her second world championship and said the American atmosphere is very similar to the Bring It On movies – though much friendlier.
“It is insane. There are cheerleaders everywhere … there are so many people and they’re all there for the same thing,” she said. “We couldn’t even get into watch because there was that many people.”
Miss Daffara and her team have been training since the beginning of 2017 and said it was so satisfying knowing their hard work has paid off.
Both NRG teams were chosen for a partial scholarship to the competition (a “bid) after receiving the highest judged scores in their categories at the Australian All Star Cheer & Dance Championships in late November.
Co-owner of the studio Samantha Reis said their dancers were relatively young compared to most other competitors but it would be an amazing opportunity for them to hone their craft further.
“The American and Japanese teams are just so together and so experienced and often a lot older as well. Often it’s adults who are professionals who are dancing against them,” Ms Reis said. “They just feed off that energy and really learn a lot from it and push themselves.”