Cheerleader Rosie off to a flyer for Scotland
A Neilston teenager has jetted off to the states to represent Scotland in a world championship competition.
Talented Rosie Jenks has flown out to Florida to compete in the Cheerleading World Championships with Team Scotland.
It’s the second time the 14-year-old has represented her country in the competition which sees teams from across the globe flock to the Sunshine State in a bid to make the top 10 of the best teams in the world and be crowned champions.
Rosie, who is also a member of cheerleading club Solid Rock Cheer and Gym in Linwood has trained as a cheerleader since 2019 after doing gymnastics for a number of years. She is a flyer, which means she is tossed high into the air by her team mates.
Rosie’s mum, Katy is “immensely proud” of her daughter’s achievements, she told the Express: “She started cheerleading just before covid hit after doing gymnastics for years and she said she fancied a change and she’s never looked back.
“Now that this is the second time Rosie has represented Team Scotland over in America, she now knows what to expect and she is super excited.
“She did it last year and she was nervous with it being such a huge competition, the scale is huge, but she’s really looking forward to it.
“She’s amazing, she trains so hard and puts her all into it. Me and her dad are both immensely proud of her and her achievements.
“The competition will be streamed on Olympic TV now that it has Olympic status and that’s a huge achievement also.
“She’s super excited and hopes she and the team can beat last year’s success where they made history by making the top 10 for the first time.We are all rooting for her and the team.”
Last year, Team Scotland made history as they became the first youth median elite team from Scotland to make it through to the finals on day two of the contest. They subsequently secured tenth place.
Rosie and her family have had to fork out for the trip with Katy telling us: “We will be in Florida for around three weeks as Rosie has training camps. It also allows her to get used to the heat and the time difference and things like that, but the trip is very expensive.
“There is very little funding available and especially with it being predominantly a women’s sport.
“We have been very lucky to have Rosie sponsored by local companies, one of which being Steven from Steven Cameron Funeral Directors, he’s been very generous in sponsoring Rosie and we can’t thank him enough in helping us with this trip’s costs.”
Steven said he is “delighted” to be able to help a local lass, he added: “I know Rosie’s parents through working in the care homes and they are lovely people. When Gareth said Rosie had been selected to represent the country I had to jump on board and help.
“I am delighted to be helping Rosie with this and going forward. We try to keep our funding community based and this is the perfect community with Rosie being from Neilston, training in Linwood and us being in Paisley, it’s fantastic and I wish her and the team all the best ahead of the competition.”
The competition kicks off in Orlando, Florida on April 26.