Only the top 1% of All-Star Cheer teams receive a bid to compete in the World Cheer Championship, or “Worlds”. This spring, RISE Athletics in Great Falls is sending four teams that earned a bid to compete, the most teams they’ve ever had receive an invite.
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Head Coach Emma McCarthy says, “Each year we've kind of consistently grown, which is really awesome because at the beginning it was just our older teams that were getting invitations, and now we have our youth teams. I think our youngest athlete going to Worlds this year is only six years old, so it's pretty awesome.”
The teams earned their bids after a competition in Tacoma in January, with four teams earning a place within the top four in their respective divisions, competing against 60 teams.
The teams with RISE Athletics that earned an invite are:
- Elevation: Youth Level 1 (ages 7-10)
- Altitude: Junior Level 1 (ages 7-15)
- Ozone: Senior Level 3 (ages 12-18)
- Atmosphere: U17 (international division) Level 3 (ages 9-18)
The All-Star Cheer program consists of about 50 girls ranging from age 6 to 18, some of which compete on multiple teams. Last year, three of the teams competed in Worlds, and Ozone took 9th place.
As they often compete out of state, the cheer teams held a send-off performance for the community, where they showcased their World competition routines, and raised funds for their trip to Florida for the championship in April.
The showcase also featured performances from their new Senior level 4 team, Dauntless.
In its first year, this is the first level 4 team Great Falls has ever had.
The show also had dance performances from Sole Dance Academy and the Rocky Mountain College Cheer Team.
McCarthy says, “For us to be able to kind of do a showcase in our hometown of Great Falls is an awesome opportunity just to have friends and family show out, and for these girls to be able to perform in front of all their friends.”
The World Cheer Championships will take place in Orlando, Florida from April 25th-28th, 2025.
RISE Athletics is the only competitive cheer program in Great Falls, and will be holding tryouts for their seventh season in May. Click here to learn more.
