THE young members of the Deva Cheerleading Academy in Chester are hoping they will have plenty to cheer about after being nominated for a Your Champions award.

The academy is a local community and competitive team. The only qualifications for joining are enthusiasm and dedication.

Cheerleading consists of stunting, dancing and gymnastics. It is very fast paced and provides a great focus for the members.

There is a youth team aged five-11 and a senior team aged 11-18.

As well as competing, the teams perform at many community events, boosting self-confidence and having a sporting focus in life.

The senior team has recently returned from a European Cheerleading competition where it was placed third in their division and has qualified to compete in the finals in April 2013 in America.

The academy was nominated in the Sporting Champion category by Julie Littler, who said: “Naturally, the team is thrilled about the opportunity and are training hard and working to fundraise to allow them to participate there.

“Since this competition they have also competed at a national competition where they came first in their division, which is an amazing achievement.

“We desperately need to raise approximately £5,000 to take the team to America where they will represent their country and compete against the best of the best, as the girls families cannot afford the trip without subsidies.”