Mia Smith

Sports Award

Age:

14

Biography

My name is Mia and I have been a member of Premier Star Cheerleading since I was 3 years old. During this time I have trained for up to 9 hours a week (depending on how many teams I was in for the season) and am fully committed to my sport. As athletes we learn fortitude and perseverance, how to work together as a team even through our differences and the importance of hard work but still having fun within that.

Premier Star Cheerleading is in its 26^th Season and is a Charity in the Community Organisation aimed at making the sport available to all individuals. They have classes from 3 years to adult and provide different commitment options depending on preference and circumstances from Recreational fun classes, Local Competitions, National Competitions and International opportunities.

During my time with Premier Stars I have had the privilege of doing them all. I have competed at many different competitions including Cheer City, Legacy Cheer and Dance, BCA (British Cheerleading Association) and Future Cheer.

I have also been fortunate to compete internationally in Ireland as a Mini Athlete in 2019, this was my first international competition; Barcelona in 2022 at the Future Cheer Championships where we came 2^nd and I got to compete on the floor with my little sister, Kiera, who also has a love of Cheerleading.

In 2023 I went to All Star Worlds for the fist time in Orlando, Florida. This was a really tough competition and we didn't get through the bid round to the final but it was a great experience.

In 2024 I competed with my team in Germany at the All Level Varsity Championships and we were very proud to come 1^st in our division.

I really enjoy our experiences when we travel to different locations as a team as we always try to do activities together that really help to bond us as a team. I have had the amazing opportunity to see different places and experience them with my friends and family.

I love cheerleading not just for the sport itself which pushes us physically and mentally but also because of the family like mentality and the close friendships I have formed over the years. I feel like having a separate friendship group outside of school is really beneficial and during years I struggled at Primary School this was a big help as I had somewhere in the evenings where I could go and be with people that understood what I was passionate about and it helped me forget about anything that had happened during the day.

I am now able to start passing on my love for the sport by being a Junior Coach for a younger team within Premier Stars and I really love this part of my Cheer Journey. I work with amazing athletes that have also won a bid to All Star Worlds this year.

In April 2025 I will travel with my team Eclipse (U19 Level 2), Lady Legacy (an Open Level 5 Non-Tumble Team) and Silver (U12 Level 3 and the team that I Junior Coach alongside our amazing Senior coaching team) once again to Orlando, Florida to compete at the Next Level Championships and All Star Worlds.

This is an amazing experience for us all and I look forward to sharing my journey.

"Thank you to the Joe Humphries Memorial Trust for awarding me this grant. This will enable me to compete on the Allstar Worlds Stage alongside my team mates. It is an amazing opportunity and I am very grateful."