Cheer: How the Leeds Celtics are setting the pace for gender equality across campus
Established in 2001, and today comprising of 6 different teams, both co-ed and all-women’s, Leeds Celtics Cheerleading are fast becoming one of the most popular sports societies on campus. With both national and grand-national titles to their name, the Celtics compete across multiple levels of difficulty, with teams tailored to a variety of abilities and skill sets. Cheerleading provides a unique opportunity to support and work alongside other sports societies. Cheer attendance at games not only boosts spectator spirit, but also player morale, fostering a culture of partnership and community. Traditionally, the cheerleading team have primarily attended men’s games, but this year, the society are working to change that, by cheering for a wider variety of sports, with a particular focus on supporting women’s teams.
With this in mind, I sat down with Celtics Captain Holly Rattigan, and Match Secretary Lilly Mansfield, to discuss how the society is using their central position to promote women’s sport across campus.
Speaking first about what encouraged them to begin cheer, both Holly and Lilly discussed their desire to try something new at university. With over 160 members, Celtics is a great way to meet new people and make friends outside of your course, whilst keeping fit and learning new skills.
“We’re a huge society…and it’s like one big family.” (Holly)
Many people haven’t tried cheer before, and transfer from dance or gymnastics backgrounds. It’s a sport which requires discipline, strength, and rhythm, with the Celtics training extensively before attending any fixtures.
‘At what point did you begin to notice a gap in the sports that cheerleaders were directed to cheer for?’
“Immediately… ‘[Whilst] we did cheer for women’s sports sometimes… it wasn’t the focus” (Lilly).
The Celtics have been a society for a long time, and naturally, relationships with other sports have developed, leading to traditions and long-established partnerships. In light of this history, the Celtics already had many teams they wanted to cheer for in the upcoming semester, however, there was a noticeable gap in cheer representation at women’s games. Captain of the Celtics, Holly, attributes this to the stereotypical perception of cheerleaders, which has emerged from US cheer culture, “The traditional view of side-line cheerleaders in America was girls with pompoms cheering on men’s games…but it’s something we really want to push against.”
With the new academic year commencing, the Celtics have set out to change tradition and challenge cheer stereotypes, all the while supporting other women’s sports societies.
‘What steps are you taking to ensure women’s sports are receiving the same support from the Celtics?’
“As soon as I became Match Sec, I said I wanted to cheer for women’s sports” (Lilly).
As Match Secretary, Lilly oversees the booking of the cheer team’s fixtures, and it was upon starting the position that she began to notice a lack of cheer presence at women’s matches. She raised the issue with the coaches and committee, and everyone was onboard with extending the scope of the Celtics’ game attendance.
“We loved the idea of girls supporting girls, and the female led societies at the Uni are amazing, so we thought it would be great if we could cheer for them as well … they appreciate the work that has been done to get cheer and other women’s sports the platform, participation and support they have now.” (Holly)
Following these internal discussions, Lilly contacted a variety of on campus women’s sports teams, each of whom were thrilled to receive cheer support at their games and begin creating a relationship with the Celtics.
Alongside match presence, a huge part of building cross-society connections comes from socials. Cheer have always enjoyed collaborative socials with other sports, however, “every time we did a joint social with another society, it was only the men’s [teams]” (Holly).
Conversations have already begun, and dates saved to change this, with the upcoming Celtics season full of socials and appearances at both men’s and women’s games, and for a wider range of sports than ever before, “we’ve got a really nice broad, even split.” (Lilly)
Whilst there is a plethora of benefits to connecting with more societies and teams, at the heart of this move for change was a desire to see women supporting women.
Women’s sport has always faced adversity. Whether it’s through lack of funding, support, or resources, female athletes have all shared in the struggle of gaining equal recognition and respect. By using their platform to promote women’s sports too, the Celtics hope to tackle harmful prejudices, and give female athletes the equal celebration and support they deserve.
“We…love the idea of pushing back against the misogynistic undertones and stereotypes that often come to people’s mind[s] when they think of side line cheer, and we prioritise the girls wanting to support, uplift and encourage other female societies, and hope that this can go some way to change people’s perceptions.” (Holly)
The Celtics have an exciting year ahead, with requests to cheer from the Leeds Gryphons Women’s Ice Hockey team, who have made it into the premiership, and Leeds’s very own professional rugby club, the Leeds Rhinos.
The changes the Celtics are making set the standard for gender equality across campus, and challenge historic gender stereotypes which threaten to limit and undervalue women’s sport.
