Scottish Claymores - American Football in Scotland

Cheerleaders Look for Future Recruits

THE Scottish Claymores have teamed up with Glasgow City Council in a bid to discover our cheerleading stars of the future.

A total of 15 secondary schools in the city have signed up for our first ever cheerleaders' competition, with each team made up of 12 pupils.

The schools will have four weeks to prepare their costumes and dance routines before the gala final at the Kelvin Hall on March 12, with the winners being invited to show off their dance skills before a Claymores game at Hampden in the new season.

The secondary schools taking part include Whitehill, St Margaret Mary's, Kings Park, Penilee, Lourdes, St Andrews, Jordanhill, Drumchapel, Notre Dame, Cleveden, Hillhead, Shawlands, Castlemilk, Hillpark and Bannerman. They joined forces at Gorbal Leisure Centre on Thursday, February 7 for a dance clinic organised by cheerleaders' manager Debbie Jackson and her team. After an introduction, they were entertained by the senior Cheerleaders squad, who went through one of their routines for the new season before settling down for a question and answer session with the school pupils. The cheerleaders also advised those present on dance routines, music and costumes.

Debbie said: "Cheerleading is becoming more and more popular and a couple of the senior cheerleading squad even teach classes to youngsters who are keen to dance, keep fit and have fun.

"The response from the schools has been fantastic and I can't wait to see the routines they come up with and the music and costumes they choose for the final in a month's time.


The Claymores Cheerleaders in action
"The Claymores take our responsibilities to the community seriously and this is a great, fun way of getting involved, particularly with the girls. However, they're not only keen to dance - almost a third of our fans are female, so they have a great appreciation for the sport as well.

"This is the first of what promises to be an annual event and as we become more and more involved with other local authorites I expect the competition to grow even further in size and stature."

The Claymores teamed up with Glasgow City Council, the Lord Provost and Educations Services last year to launch a highly successful Schools Initiative Programme.

The Claymores donated £100,000 worth of books and sports equipment to Glasgow schools and gave every school pupil an opportunity to see the Claymores at Hampden.

The Claymores maintain a commitment to the community in which they work, spearheading a number of school, youth and community programmes including Read to Succeed, school visits, Honour Rows, Flag Football 5-on-5 and Leaders Awards.

The Claymores also hope to launch similar schemes with other forward-thinking local authorities in the near future.

06 Feb, 02 | 10:52 am

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