Cheerleaders offer pick-you-ups

TO THE TOP: Whangarei's Fantasy Cheerleading's Level 4 team Fantasy Remix are performing at the cheerleading competition in the city tomorrow. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Whangarei's most cheerful day of the year is on tomorrow, with plenty of twisting, tossing, turning, and tumbling along the way, with cheerleading teams from as faraway as Australia in town to compete.

The annual Whangarei cheerleading competition is held at the ASB Stadium in Kensington tomorrow, where doors will open at 11am, and the 20 teams start competing from 11.30am.

There will be 240 athletes in total, from local Fantasy Cheerleading group, to a couple of teams from Australia.

Other teams come from Auckland and the Hawke's Bay, with the ages of the competitors ranging from 4 to 18.

Andrea Hegh, the organiser of the event, said: "It's just fantastic for our region to be able to have this (the cheerleading competition). It's just nice to bring something a bit different."

The teams will showcase their routines to battle for the honour of winning Grand Champions in their levels, with the overall winners set to compete at the Australasian Pinnacle Cheer and Dance competitions in Melbourne in November.

Altogether, 51 cheerleading routines are being performed throughout the day.

The event has run annually for several years, except for last year when matters such as moving to another building kept the local cheerleaders too busy to organise the event, says Mrs Hegh..

-Tickets can be bought at the door on the day: $10 for adults, $5 for children, and free for under-20s.