On a typically bright day in Florida, Taylor Flynn, a young 20-year-old cheerleader from Castlebar, Co Mayo, is participating in the Cheerleading World Championships (known as the Cheerleading Worlds) in Orlando, her third time doing so.
“We have four separate Irish squads competing in three distinct events,” she reports via a Zoom call. “Presently, we’re witnessing one of our junior teams in their final competition. We typically train twice daily: once during the cool mornings and again in the cooler evenings, in an attempt to elude the intense daytime heat. Training in Florida’s climate is not something Irish individuals are generally accustomed to.”
In Ireland, cheerleading, or simply ‘cheer’ as the athletes call it, is a rapidly expanding sport. The previous year, at the World Championships or ‘Worlds’ as they are typically referred to, Ireland’s Coed Elite and Junior Hip Hop teams both made it to the final round, finishing in commendable 10th and 8th positions. This year, Team Ireland managed to secure the ninth place.
“Cheerleading clubs can now be found in every Irish county such is its growing popularity,” Flynn continues. “However, a lot of people are still unfamiliar with it. Even some of my own relatives who have been aware of my involvement in cheerleading for years, often mistake it for gymnastics or think it merely involves waving pom-poms around. They’re not aware that it involves other competitive teams. I constantly endeavour to educate them by showing them videos of my routines. The Netflix series ‘Cheer,’ has enjoyed widespread popularity and has certainly raised awareness, I believe. I’m confident that a documentary will help raise recognition within Ireland, as the sport is still largely unknown here.”
The documentary she refers to is titled ‘Eat/Sleep/Cheer/Repeat’, which showcases Team Ireland’s driven bid for the Cheerleading Worlds post-Covid. This ambitious project took five years to complete and was filmed using the skills of cinematographer Eleanor Bowman. Under the leadership of renowned director Tanya Doyle, it follows the journey of Taylor and her fellow cheerleading hopefuls, Jessica, Dean, Jayleesa, Bláthnaid, and Rickie.
Every athlete boast their individual narrative, standing poetically on the brink of maturity from youth. Jessica is known for her glitz and glamour while Bláthnaid tackles dyslexia head-on. If you require a friend with a sharp eye for bronzing products, Dean is your port of call. Rickie, the inked mixologist, faces temporary ejection from the squad, only to forge a comeback fitting for a sports film. Jayleesa, star athlete and vaccine sceptic, is torn between her convictions and the global stage of the World Championships. The team handles numerous delicate issues such as sexual orientation and shenanigans in the spray-tan booth, overriding worry being their capability to cheer.
Doyle comments on the uncertain direction the film would take, which led to documenting multiple characters. “The necessity was to keep pace with them. Taylor is a hard-nosed individual who embraces this way of life. She committed to three weekly trips from Mayo. Numerous critical decisions had to be made during the editing process. We commenced filming Olivia when she was merely 11, and she’s now 17. Shane, an extraordinary tumbler, unfortunately didn’t make the final cut due to limited space for all the captivating narratives and individuals we encounter.”
During her youth, Doyle was a cheerleader; thus, her search for a female-dominated sport ripe for a thorough exploration led her back to competitive cheerleading. She expresses awe at the advancement in the sport, stating, “Plenty of the girls in the Irish national squad used to be gymnasts. Their abilities are astounding. But cheerleading is not merely team gymnastics, it’s more than precision and individual performance. It’s a collective endeavour. Their spirit of unity is what attracts numerous folks depicted in the film.”
Cheerleading has evolved beyond token sideline performances. In 2016, the International Olympic Committee acknowledged the International Cheer Union as a sports federation. There are anticipations for cheerleading’s debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The team devote significant chunks of their time traveling nationwide and undergoing training thrice a week. Doyle mentions, “It’s a gruelling eight hours a day as the competition approaches.”
The fascinating evolution of cheerleading, steeped in gender connotations, began as an activity exclusive to men before the second World War. In 1923, the University of Minnesota broke this norm by introducing the first female cheerleaders. The emergence of US legislation, Title IX, in the 1970s, outlawed sex discrimination in federal fund acquiring educational institutions, sparking a massive blooming of women’s sports, inclusive of cheerleading. By the 80s, cheerleading had fully developed into a physically demanding and potentially injurious sport. In fact, between 1982 and 2017, cheerleading saw the highest rate of immediate catastrophic injuries compared to any other high school sport.
Nonetheless, there still exists a degree of uncertainty differentiating the traditional school cheerleading, sited along the boundaries of other sports, from competitive cheer, the acrobatic club sport centred on stunting, tumbling and jumping. The legal classification of sport and athletic activity continues to be a contentious point for this largely feminine pastime.
The documentary ‘Eat/Sleep/Cheer/Repeat’ exhibits cheerleading as undeniably sports-like. Each team executes an elaborate 2½-minute routine, characterised by complex coordination between different aspects like back-spotting and tumbling, the latter further subdividing into activities like tucking and springing. Flyers, the participants who are thrown and rotated mid-air, necessitate equal parts core strength and bravery.
Doyle remarks on the exceptional effort and vigour that goes into their training. “They traverse the country, practice thrice a week, and as competition nears, they spend up to eight hours a day perfecting their routines,” he says. Their sheer dedication and tenacity warrant his profound respect. Cheerleaders are beautiful people with equally devoted and supportive mothers who assist with transportation, costume designing and fundraising through bake sales. Doyle attributes the existence of cheerleading in Ireland largely to these efforts.
Hilton Holian is another notable name in Irish cheerleading who served as the chief coach during the documentary’s production.
Doyle speaks fondly of Hilton and his spouse, remarking on their congenial nature and enormous support to the children. Hilton, though modest, constantly provides encouragement to the kids. During their first cheerleading event in Belfast, it was a sensory overload with the loud noises ping-ponging everywhere and the all-encompassing smell of makeup and hairspray. The sight was equally chaotic as participants were seen in various stages of their warm-up routines. They spotted Hilton among a squad of girls who ranged in age from seven to fifteen, imparting them with a quirky wisdom about hair height and its relationship with God, which left a lasting impression. “Eat/Sleep/Cheer/Repeat” hits theatre screens on May 17th.