UEL Sirens – something to cheer about?

The UEL Sirens are working hard.

They’re working on pyramids, tumbling and basket tosses over and over again, rarely stopping for rest. They’ve increased their practice sessions from two a week to four.

They have a goal to work towards. For the first time in the history of the University of East London’s competitive cheerleading club, they will be representing their university and their team in the most prestigious cheerleading competition in Great Britain, the ICC British Nationals in Nottingham on 21-22 March.

It’s an amazing change from last year.

The Sirens were then known as the Panthers, as they have been for most of the five years of their existence. Attendance was low and the squad had little purpose.

“We didn’t compete and we barely had a routine,” second-year student Mary Carr said. “We were basically a group of people who got together once a week to do a cheer-related exercise class.”

The Panthers had a top-class coach, Gareth Green from the Ascension Eagles, who would only commit to a team that was focused and had goals in mind.

“The history of this club is shocking,” Green said. “Poor attendance, constantly being late and not really taking it seriously. I was shocked when they turned up this year actually wanting to do something.”

The club’s ascent began during Freshers Weekend 2014, when the club was swarmed with interested first-year students.

“During the run-up we were so worried about sign-ups because we were basically asking people to put blind faith in us,” Carr revealed.

But by the end of Freshers, the cheer squad had achieved the second-most sign-ups after football, which Carr said was “a massive shock.”

With the club’s regular membership at over 20, and a new commitment to improving the club and entering competitions, the squad made the decision to rebrand themselves as the UEL Sirens.

“Becoming the Sirens was more than just renaming ourselves, we wanted to be a different team, and we are,” Carr said. “We wanted people to stop thinking of us as a nothing club—and that’s if they were even thinking of us at all.”

Since then, the club have been working hard to prepare for competition. The Sirens were originally going to take part in a university-only competition earlier this year, but had to withdraw due to injury.

Now, though, Carr says that nothing will stop them as they prepare for the Nationals.

“Ideally for our first time we wanted something a bit smaller, but our routine is looking good so why not make an entrance at the biggest competition in British cheer?” Carr said.

The team are feeling confident, although there have been some bumps along the way. One member dropped out recently, which left the club scrambling to fill in the hole, particularly in their pyramid structure. And since the music for their routine was written by a professional company and built around the existing routine, Green and the squad have to keep any changes in line with the music.

But the Sirens have several advantages they can take with them to Nottingham.

“Our biggest advantage is no one knows what we’re capable of,” Carr said. “We’ve kept our music, uniforms and routine off of social media so when other teams see us and the line up and try to scope the competition, they’re not going to find anything.”

Carr added that Green “hates to lose” and has designed the routine to fulfil all the judges’ requirements.

The Sirens also have drawn inspiration from watching Green train the Ascension Eagles, one of the top professional cheerleading squads in Britain. The Sirens use the same facility as the Eagles, the Talent Central at Gallions Reach.

“Ascension’s training is insane,” Carr said. “The times we show up to training early and see their Level 2 squad we’re completely taken back because it looks so perfect. It’s certainly inspiring to be surrounded by that.”

The Sirens will have to rely on all their determination to finish in top place at Nationals. Carr said the team are “excited and nervous.”

“The anticipation is the worst,” Carr added.

Green is simply pleased that the team are taking themselves seriously, and he said good results will come the club’s way.

“This is the furthest this team has ever come and I honestly didn’t see it happening myself,” Green said. “If this year isn’t their year, next year will be.”

And Carr believes that the club has just started its period of growth.

“I’d like to see the club as one of UEL Sport’s most successful and diverse,” Carr said. “I want it to be a desirable club and for everyone to be proud of what they’ve achieved as a team.”

The competition in Nottingham will be the Sirens’ first step towards showing the rest of the cheer world their untapped potential, and Green is sure that the club will show up at their best.

“It’s been hard work dealing with this team, but I can see this year that nothing stops them,” Green said. “Someone drops out? Not a problem, they never give up.”