Cathkin High student cheerleads in the USA
A Cambuslang teenager has told of her pride after performing at the cheerleading world championship finals in America.
Rebecca Mason, a fourth year student at Cathkin High, represented Scotland in front of hundreds of spectators, as the best cheer squads from across the globe came together in Orlando, Florida.
The Scots squad were competing in the team cheer freestyle pom division - a routine involving dance elements and ballet movements – with more than 40 countries taking part.
And having initially qualified for the final after impressing in the heats, the team finished in a creditable seventh place which will now be their world ranking. nking.
Rebecca, who perfects her energetic routines by training 16 hours a week, told the Reformer: ormer: “It felt a bit overwhelming but also very exciting to win the heats and go through to the final.
“Our routine is two-and--a-half minutes long but it feels much longer when the pressure was on to go up against all the other her countries in our group.
“I was so thrilled to hear them announce that we were placed aced seventh overall.”
Rebecca auditioned for Team Scotland last August and became part of the first-ever ver unified Pom team comprised from squads across the country.
Her family held fundraising events, such as race nights and car washes, to pay for Rebecca’s fare and accomodation. The competition itself was held in a new building built especially for the International Cheer Union official official world championships and Rebecca Reb took part in the opening ceremony, cer proudly waving the Saltire Sa to the packed stands. She even managed to squeeze sq in day trips to Disney World W and Universal Studios sbut sb was still training every night n in 30-degreee heat in preparation.
Rebecca’s proud mum Jeanette revealed last year she might not have been selected to represent Scotland if it had not been for her local newspaper.
She said: “I saw an advertisement in the Rutherglen Reformer for a group and took her along. She really enjoyed it.
“She was only four years old at the time, and was still at nursery.
“I think she enjoys the exercise part of it as well as the teamwork aspect, but she also just loves competing.”
Rebecca was part of the Scotland team who travelled to Finland for the European Championships last month. The seniors placed 11th in the freestyle cheer dance category while the juniors finished in 19th. The dedicated teen is now back in training and aiming for another shot at Team Scotland next year.