Early mornings, countless miles - all in bid for cheerleading glory
A quartet from the North West are part of Dublin-based cheerleading team, Strikeforce Cheer, competing.
(L-R) Karen Breslin, Orla McConnell, Clodagh McGonagle and Megan Moore say it will be a dream come true to take the stage in Orlando, Florida, for the Allstar World Championships [Strikeforce Cheer] Four cheerleaders have said a lot of "blood, sweat and tears" have gone into their dream of competing at this year's Allstar World Championships in Orlando, Florida. Every Sunday, Orla McConnell, Karen Breslin, Clodagh McGonagle and Megan Moore make an eight-hour round trip to Dublin - all for a few hours on the mat honing their cheerleading routine. The quartet are part of Dublin-based cheerleading team Strikeforce Cheer heading to what is considered one of the sport's biggest international competitions.
McConnell said balancing life as a mother of a one-year-old, working full-time, and a demanding cheer schedule has not been easy, but that it would all be worth it when their team performed. About 30 people make up the Strikeforce Cheer team, who are based in Finglas, a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin [Strikeforce Cheer] "We all wake up at about six in the morning," McConnell, 24, from Londonderry, told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme . "Karen and Clodagh come from Inishowen [in County Donegal] and collect me in Derry.
"Then we go to Strabane to meet Megan and from there we head down to Dublin. " Training lasts about three hours before they turn around and make the same journey home. It is a routine the four have repeated week after week, all in preparation for what has been a passion from an early age.
"It's a lot," McConnell admitted, "but we've all put in so much hard work that we can't stop now. " Clodagh McGonagle performs as the "flyer", which is the person who is lifted and thrown into the air by her teammates. [Strikeforce Cheer] As a stunt group within their team, the four also train together during the week, putting in extra hours at a gym in Derry with another cheer group called Titans Cheer to refine lifts, timing and trust.