The BLACKPOOL SCORPIONS have been together for 7 years now  being known as the Blackpool Area Tigers for 18 months in the early days. As Tigers, we were pretty successful bringing home trophies from all Regional and National Competitions entered.

None of the team had ever experienced cheerleading before the Tigers formed and after a few advertisements at various sports clubs, news spread and a cheer squad was formed in January 2001.

At the first competition, the WCA Classic International Open in Dundee during April 2001, the team came third place. Not a bad start for a team with only nine girls and three months together!! Here's a picture from the event.

In July 2001, we had a small change in squad members and were one girl smaller than in April, but we still managed to win a 4th place trophy at the BCA Nationals, Loughborough.  A huge achievement and the experience  of meeting some stiff compeition whetted our appetites for more cheerleading.  It also gave us the drive to be better at what we did.

At Blackpool in November 2001 the BCA Northern Classic Competition was the third and final competition of our first year together, the team came Second. It was a great way to end the year and a brilliant way to start 2002.

The UKCA National competition held on the Isle of White during February 2002, saw us steal 3rd place and also enter the Indivduals Division for the first time. After one year of cheerleading, cheerleader Nicola Baines, 14 at the time, took 2nd place and was also successful in her tryout for Junior Team UK. We were so proud of her and the coach trip home was a riot. Nicola was asked by the local paper about her win and here is a photo of her celebrating courtesy of Rob Lock, Evening Gazette.

As we reached our 18 month anniversary, we went to the BCA National Championship again and secured fifth place. A true testament to the quality of the teams now competing at National level.  Nicola Baines, Carolyn Hawker and Olivia Johnson all represented our team in the Individuals Divisions and once again brought home two trophies from 2nd and 6th placements.  We also entered the stunt group division for the first time and secured a 4th place trophy.

In August 2003, a change of team management meant we changed our name to Blackpool Scorpions and formed a new club committee consisting of Team Manager Pat Nyland, Secretary Diane Pears and Treasurer Jacqui Hawker and several other parents pitching in when and where help is needed.  Since then we Scorpions competed in our home town for the second time at the IDTA Regional and were awarded 1st place in Senior Cheer and 2nd place in the Stunt Group division!! It proved the new team was working and we wanted to win more than ever.

We took a quick break and then it was back to hard work for the UKCA National competition which was held in March 2003 at Manchester. Nicola Baines and Jenna Robinson entered the individual divisions and bagged 1st and 2nd place trophies in the Junior B and Senior categories. Well done you two!!  This won them both invitations to compete again at the Velodrome in Manchester but this time against the BEST individuals in Europe at the European Championships. Both came away with more trophies for 2nd and 3rd places.

Since then we have started a PeeWee squad and two of the Senior girls won places in Team UK. We then secured a guy for the team and went on to enter the Co-ed division this year at the BCA Nationals for the first time. We attended the four day event entering the individuals, stunt groups and team divisions during Friday and Saturday which saw us through to the International event on Sunday and training hard at the cheer camp on Monday. This gave us some new ideas and skills for our future events. We did great in all Categories and added no less then ten (count them) trophies to the ever growing collection!!

A big thanks goes to the committee, all the parents and supporters who have been to see us during the recent years. We are under new coaching and management staff now but there are more of us than ever and it certainly makes a difference if we get to see you all support us at each event.

© Last updated: 22 April 2008

2005/2006 Season News

Well we trained all through the year last year including the usual summer break due to so many events, but we managed to take a break this summer of 2006. Phew!

15 July 2006 - Blackpool Promenade - Radio Road Show - Report to follow

We were asked to perform at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool last Saturday and we had an amazing time. It was really well organised and everyone we met was lovely. The audience (of mainly teenagers) were so positive and really cheered us on. We did two performances and then had to leave to go to our first home game at the Lancashare Wolverines American Football in Wigan. They won of course and made a good job of it too! 50-08!! Again we had a really fab time and it made such a great day but left just before the end as it was too cold to perform after waiting for one of the Lincoln Bombers (away team) to be stretchered off to hospital. Ooops. So all in all, a great weekend and what with training going so well, bring on the next event. Blackpool Promenade, here we come!

11 July 2006

Well on the 6 and 7 May 2006, we entered the Manchester Velodrome for the fourth time as the Scorpion Cheer Team, having had two amazing seasons of trophy winning, we can only describe the moment as extremely nerve racking. Competing at the UKCA National Championships is our favourite time, being able to build more complex stunts and pyramids and work at a level not accepted elsewhere, it's the perfect outlet for 12 months of team work. This year was a little more scary for us as we had to develop more as a squad than ever before! After losing Sarah, Mike, Mark and Joe to University, Colin to the Stars, team coach and captain Ellie to her career and Hannah into early retirement  we had to start over again, promoting Juniors into what was left of the Senior team, PeeWees into the Junior team and generally rearranging roles so that our best flyers became bases and new team members became back tucking flyers - we really had our work cut out. Not to mention that our Co-ed Cheer Team had no practice where all team members could be present. We even thought about pulling the entry, but we just love to cheer so much, we decided what the heck! 

For us, the competition started late on Saturday evening, presenting 3 cheerleaders for the Individuals divisions and also two Stunt Group teams before the night was out! Needless to say - our nerves started the moment we stepped through the doors. As results were postponed until the following evening, we then had to pack up and return bright and early the following morning so that the PeeWee Cheer Team could compete at 9.15 the next morning. That meant travelling from Blackpool, kitting up, registering, warming-up, practicing and then taking the floor all within 2 hours! Our day started manic and continued to be so until lunch time when the dance categories took over. Finally, after hours of dance, Guinness World Record attempts and Street Dancing classes, the moment arrived for the results. We had really mixed feelings on how we had done and hand-in-hand we received really mixed results.  The team did us proud however, bringing home 10 trophies. The Junior B Cheer Team had pulled off three 2 and a half high pyramids, the PeeWees having tripled in team numbers were awarded 4th place, the Junior B and Senior Individuals entrants bagged massive trophies proving our Senior team holds 2 of the best cheerleaders in the country with 2nd and 3rd place awards and our Senior Cheer Team made 1st place, for the 3rd year in a row! Who could ask for more eh? Despite all the comings and goings and training brand new teams for Nationals in a very short space of time, we secured the title we so desperately wanted to maintain and brought back the Shepley Spring Cup which signifies all-round cheer excellence! 

27 May 2006

The Wolverines welcomed us into their Den on Friday for a social gathering consisting of food, drinks, live music and good company at Wigan RUFC. Beautiful grounds and great social facilities. Although a little awkward at first for the teams had never met each other, the night soon loosened up, especially when trying to organise everyone for a team photo... chaos isn't the word!! Still, I'm sure it will tell it's own story when posted on the site soon.

It was a shame we had to leave early, especially as the bands were really hotting up but the distance counts against us a little for such occasions such as this...there were several nominated drivers among us and so we might have to prepare better next time... 

A large thanks has to go to Dan, John, Michael and Steve for the invitation and for making us feel welcome. Oh... and one other name crops up when you ask anyone about the night... Littler.... he was the one - and I'm sure everyone knows who I'm talking about anyway - but the one cheeking everyone into buying more and more raffle tickets. Did anyone even know whether the raffle got drawn.........???

Sunday, gave us one day to recover from the event before we had to clap eyes on them again. We went over to their training for an induction into American Football. After a tutorial about the game and how we will make the cheering work for both the teams, we were invited to use their club house for a quick practice session which is making all the difference at the moment. Again, the the Wolverine team and committee made a huge effort in making us feel at home and we look forward to the next occasion we can work or play together! PS - see the photos now added.

30 April 2006

The WolverinDen is home of the best American Football programme in the UK. The Lancashire Academy of American Football includes teams at all levels of the game, from non-kitted Flag Football at Cadet and Junior levels, to kitted American Football at Junior, Youth and Senior levels.

The Lancashire Wolverines squad have been working hard to put in place an organisation and team capable of making an impact in league competitions. The team have settled in at their new home ground, Wigan RUFC, and so are ready for the games to begin.

And we have some great news. The Wolverines have asked us to join forces with them for their forthcoming season and although we have associations with other teams from time to time, this will be the first squad we have worked closely with and that we will cheer on the sidelines for with regularity.

The Scorpions can expect to be travelling to meet the Wolverine team and prepare for the games ahead very shortly thanks to Dan and Michael who set out to create the partnership. It was good to meet Dan and John at Scorpion training on Sunday. Hopefully this will give them an idea of what cheer skills we can provide at their home games.

All in all, it appears that the two teams have similar drive, determination and goals and so we look forward to a happy and successful union with the Lancashire Wolverines for the new season.

Make sure you check out and diarise the events dates above too.

7 March 2006

 We had pleasure in watching Nicola B and Coach Pete compete at the Future Cheer, Regional Midlands competition, Loughborough University, on the 4 February 2006 as part of the StuntandCheer Allstars cheer team. Nicola joined some of her old Scorpion team mates (Mike, Marie, Colin and Nathan) as well as others from Leeds University, Sussex Tornados, Rising Stars and many more teams to compete in the Co-ed Cheer Division where they put on one of the best cheer routines we've seen in this country. This is the first time we have seen the best of the UK's best, put through their paces to deliver an original, technically difficult and unique cheer display. Watching Mike and Rachel perform the first all-British entry in the Partner Stunt division was also amazing and even now we can't believe how far you guys have come over the last couple of years. Marie took home the second place trophy in the Senior Individuals section proving that all of these team members have what it takes to compete as Internationals.

All of you can be proud at competing at the highest level in the UK. The results just did not illustrate how good you really were. Way to go guys.

7 March 2006

26/27 November 2005 - IDTA Northern Classic, Winter Gardens, Blackpool - What can we say? The only time we enjoyed it was when the teams were actually on the floor competing (when allowed!) and doing what they do best. The prep squad, Junior and Senior cheer teams along with a Co-ed and Senior Girl Stunt Groups, plus 2 individual entries illustrated superb cheer skills and certain performances were second to none. We can't muster up any other positive comments so this is probably the shortest event report we've ever done!! Photos from the event now added.

30 April 2006

Cheering for Blackpool Football Club on 13 November 2005 went really well, as you can tell by the football result - 5-2 to Blackpool!!  The management said we brought them luck as they really needed the win to be brought out of the relegation zone and with a new club manager in charge too, that's just what happened.

When we weren't demonstrating on the pitch we were still cheering the team on from the stands and making quite a noise about it all. BFC kept us well supplied with tea, coffee and cold drinks and with biscuits at half time, we felt right at home .

At the end everyone, including the fans said how much they had enjoyed it but we'll not report the cheeky comments!!   The Commercial Manager said she definitely wanted us back again....so not bad going and good for fundraising too.

Confirmation received that the Team UK Co-ed Cheer and Team UK Senior Girl Cheer teams have gained 5th and 6th place at the Cheer World Championships in Japan, November 2006.

Last updated: 28 August 2006

On 12 June 2005, the Scorpions did a Sponsored Walk in order to try and raise funds for competing. We are seriously lacking in fundraising ideas and attendance, so thanks to all of you who turned up and please ensure that everything is that can be done, is being done to raise money for the squad. Have you collected your sponsor money yet?

Saturday 2 July and Sunday 3 July 2005 saw the squad performing at the World War II 60th Anniversary event. Performances were carried out throughout the day on both days at Lawson's Field near Stanley Park. All cheerleaders for all teams were represented.

Tram Sunday on 17 July in Fleetwood, saw all teams take part in the parade and perform afterwards. A good day and a warm response as usual.

We thought you might like to see a newspaper article about one of our male cheerleaders, Mike. As there's been so much going on with Mike's cheerleading career recently (he even receieved the Cheerleaders' Cheerleader award nominated by his own team members for achievements during the last 12 months) the press thought it worthy of a half page spread in the local paper. Mike has done a lot to increase awareness and viability of male cheerleaders in the UK in the last two years and we think the article as well as continuing to heighten this impression, is well derserved on merit. Well done Mike.  Click here to view article - you may have to wait a minute for the print to become clear and legible.

21 June 2005

We decided to take the Juniors to the BCA Scotland (Glasgow) competition held the first Sunday in June this year, and we all had a great time. After getting up at 3.30am to get the coach at 4am the team had a very early start and a long day ahead. A very long coach journey later and the Juniors poured out of the coach at 8.30am to meet up with Dani and go through warm-ups and last minute practice before the stunt group took the floor. Originally due on at 9.15, we were lucky as the scheduling was late getting started so we had a little more time then expected to wake ourselves up and get going. The Junior stunt group team took the floor and performed fab considering that they only had one week of practice together (as two of the team had to step in at the last minute) and a fourth place trophy was awarded.

Then the whole team had warm-up and were on the floor shortly after the Stunt Group and all before noon. Again another fourth place trophy was awarded which is a great result too. The team were excellent to watch demonstrating all round good cheer skills and ended up competing against some of the best Junior teams around including Bluebells, Allstars, Goldstar and Stars. A real challenge and we are so proud of them. There are always last minute changes due to unforeseen circumstances which they have to learn to work with and the Juniors managed to overcome the hic-ups (and tiredness!!) like Pros. It was a long wait for the awards ceremony and another long journey home but all well worth it in the end. Well done to all the other squads competing there too. There was a lot going on and we're sure we missed saying hello to some of you that we know. (Photos from the event have now been added - click here to see them).

14 June 2005

Well the last week in May was an extremely busy week for the Scorpions, Thursday 26th was Awards Night at Layton Institute again and we had a great time. As soon as the full results and pictures are on the site, we'll let you know by posting a link here.

Then Saturday and Sunday saw us at Glasson Docks performing demos like last year and wowing the crowd with our stunts and pyramids. PeeWees, Juniors, Seniors and Co-eds were all involved and it was fun way to raise money too. On Bank Holiday Monday we hung out with Radio Wave again. They asked us to help promote the England Women's Football which is about to begin and this ties in nicely with the Seniors performing with UKCA at the Sports City Stadium this Sunday whilst the Juniors are competing in Glasgow.  See, there's never rest for the wicked!!

A report on the BCA Glasgow comp will be added shortly after the weekend. I guess we just have to wait and see what happens up there, but I know the team are excited and looking forward to the new circuit. They also can't wait to see some of the friends they have made from the other teams over the last year.

Well, that's all for now. Have a safe journey everyone and I guess we will see you all there.

2 June 2005

Congrats to all the Senior/Co-ed cheerleaders for all your hard work, determination and sheer excellence which paid off yesterday at the Velodrome in Manchester. We are so proud of your success for the Team UK try-outs. We know you will deliver and represent the UK at the highest cheerleading standard possible. Wha'ts more... we're right behind you every step of the way. We know there is a long way to go before Tokyo, but we are there for you. This year, like every other year, it just keeps getting better and better. The successful candidates will be announced shortly.

16 May 2005 

May 1st, 2005 saw us take centre stage at the Blackpool Opera House for the second time in 12 months. After amending and rehearsing the UKCA competition routines, both the Junior and Co-ed teams performed in the Hits from Great Musicals 4 production at special request from the organiser of a Northern dance schools competition. We had a very nervous rehearsal during the day as the team had to quickly get used to the unusual spot lighting and dark surroundings as well as the rake (sloping) stage. After only a few minutes of this, we then went back for the evening's performance which went better then we could have hoped. The reception we had was fantastic and both teams did the routines so well, the dancing and tight motions more than matched the quality of the other dance schools in the schedule. Scorpions, you did it again.

A couple of photos from the event are soon to be loaded on the usual pages.

29 July 2005

On the 6 March 2005 UKCA held their Nationals at Manchester Velodrome and all Scorpion teams took part. We had phenominal success once again as the results page shows. To be honest it was all a bit of a whirlwind for the first six hours of the Sunday competition. We had 10 entries in that short space of time which meant that all four teams had to be registered on arrival, individually booked in at each warm up, perform, have their photo taken and then we had to start all over again with the next entry which included PeeWee (Teenies) team events through to Co-ed Stunt Groups and four Individual entries. It was pretty scary as the co-ed team music had only been finalised the night before and so no full practice session to music had taken place, plus the standard of competition in our categories was pretty high too. Every year we are having to raise our game so much higher and yet so are all the other teams.

Among all that commotion, Dani managed to lose Nic H's glasses (which were eventually found) causing more panic. We did manage to have a relatively free and relaxing - well as relaxing as possible during comp time - second half of the afternoon until awards whilst the dance competition took place. Then came the awards ceremony which is always nerve racking. We can never sit still and it's very difficult trying to make notes of the results at the same time as fidgeting. The count down as usual through each division is tense, but like last year, we had such success that we all lost our voices as we cheered on the teams. It was actually quite difficult getting everyone safely back on the bus to Blackpool with all their uniforms, medals and trophies in tact.

By seven p.m. it was all over and we were on our way home, flushed with relief, tiredness and extreme happiness as all the hard work had paid off. Now we are just having to decide where we are headed next...

5 April 2005

On 27th and 28th November 2004, the Scorpions attended the IDTA/BCA Northern Classic Regional competition where once again our success continued. The results can be found on the appropriate Scorpion web page but in short, we brought home 9 trophies from the Winter Gardens venue in Blackpool. We had a great couple of days but with several scary moments!! Like losing a cheerleader from the co-ed team seconds before taking the floor for the routine, Tasha taken to A&E for her ankle to be checked over, Stacy having to be announced twice onto the floor for her Individual performance after the judges wanted more time and then the sound guy not turning the volume up on her music!! All in all, the team pulled together as much as possible to sort through the ups and downs and we managed to walk away with yet more awards, including 1st place for Nicola Baines (current National and European Champion) and 1st place for the Co-ed cheer team!! Not bad considering we had a whole host of new lads and a few new girlies to train up in such a short time. Well done guys and girls for such a strong effort.

The Pee Wees looked so cute in their new uniforms and did a fab job with their routine choregraphed and coached by Sarah. It was the first performance for nearly the whole team and they did a great job. We loved watching them!

The Juniors coached by Jenni also had a great weekend, walking away 4th place in their category and also with their first trophy in the Stunt Group division - another 4th.

It was also great to see all our old friends from the other teams and have the chance to make new friends. The atmosphere at Blackpool always seems the most relaxed with little tension between most of the competing teams. A big well done to Marie who is now with the Leeds Uni team on her Individual performance. Great start with your new squad. Hello to Damien and Lisa from Katz Elite who came to watch and show off their newest and littlest team member. It was good to see you guys.

Thanks to all the parents who came to support the cheerleading teams and also to Pat and Diane for organising the event, uniforms etc. etc. as usual. We couldn't have done it without you both!!

29th November 2004

Last updated: 24 April 2006

This year has got to be the best ever Scorpion year... we have had several successes, despite all the injuries, and now we have a further four (out of four events) trophies. The last weekend in July at Nottingham saw us take 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th places in various categories!! The team took part only in the "Advanced" divisions - not bad for a team only 3 and a half years old. You can now see the photos from the competition are now on the site and a report on the (v. long) weekend will follow soon....

Fantastic news once again!! The Scorpions bring home another two trophies from two entries at the ECC in Sweden, 3 July 2004. Nicola is now European Senior Cheerleader Champion (that's 1st place for those of you who were wondering). Stunt Group placed 3rd behind two very strong Slovenian teams!! Well done to all involved. What a weekend.... more news in the full report .... Some good stories to be told.....eh Mike??

On Tuesday 15th June, Dixie and Gemma from RockFM's breakfast show came to our training session for the first hour. Click here to read the full report!!

Well what more can we say, WE WON, WE WON, WE WON!! Wooohooooo!!! Go SCORPIONS!! We are so very proud of each cheerleader. We went to Manchester at the weekend for the UKCA National Championships and managed to come away with 5, yes five 1st places plus countless other trophies in 2nd, 4th and 8th placements. In fact we bagged trophies with every single entry bar one (and that was a technical hitch!!). How cool is that?? We still have a couple of results we need to sort out with UKCA but that doesn't reflect on how well we did to get the rest of them.  A full list of results are now available on our Team Results page.  It just goes to show that all the hard work and determination paid off. Click here for a brief report.

On 17 April 2004, the team had a special training session with extra cheer tuition provided by Peter. Peter offered some great advice, assistance and tips on all aspects of our cheer technique. This gave us an edge to our routines that we hadn't previously managed to nail and we're very sure it helped improve our competition scores this time. Thank you so much Peter. Hopefully we can meet up again soon!!

Well the Scorpions Awards night at Layton Institute in Blackpool on 15 April 2004, was a great success. A supper and disco were provided and everyone had great fun (we even played Chicken in the Hen House!!).  The cha cha slide went down well with the parents and lots of family and friends of the team we hadn't met before showed up too!! Awards were given to the most deserving cheerleaders where continual improvement, team spirit and merit had been demonstrated as well as the successful cheerleaders in each of the Scorpion teams.

The full results are listed on the Cheerleader of the Year page along with photos.  Check it out for the v. latest info. And thank you to all those involved for making it all such a successful event!!

If you think your school would like the Scorpions to do a display or run a training clinic, please get in touch. We have fliers available for posting on notice boards if required and have already trained Cardinal Allen school and have a booking with another local cheerleading team.

As for what's next on the agenda, keep checking the events section below for details. We are hitting the next competition (possibly in Blackpool) with hopefully a stepped-up routine (as the "injury-prone three" return to compete with us plus new recruits) as maybe the strongest Scorpion squad ever. PeeWee, Junior, Senior and Co-ed teams will be performing in Blackpool at the end of November.

© Last updated: 11 August 2004