Basingstoke Wolverines preparing for Olympics in 2028

Wolverines Cheer Academy founder Sharon Gibson said it was "a phenomenal sport for young girls"

Cheerleading will not be an Olympic sport until 2028, but the BBC has spoken to one UK troupe already hard at work preparing, after placing eighth in the World Championships in Florida last year.

The Wolverines Cheer Academy in Basingstoke has around 300 athletes with the youngest member aged just three years old.

Since it was founded in 2014 it has gone from strength to strength, and in May last year around 40 athletes when to the Florida, United States for the sport's biggest event of the calendar.

Jess, aged 10, has previously being in a winning troupe and said: "It's a really good feeling to win.

"When you take to the floor smoke comes up and everyone is cheering, you feel like a superstar, I just love it."

(L-R) Rosie,12, Daisy,11, Jess, 10 and Lola, 11

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) officially recognized cheerleading as a sport in July 2021 after 12 long years of campaigning from the International Cheer Union.

"A lot of people think that it's just about dancing with pom poms but it really is an athletic sport," say head coach Chloe Gilbert.

"We like to say it's a mixture of gymnastics, aerobatics and dance with jumps and stints, it's the best sport for doing a bit of everything and it's a lot more intense."

Two of the Wolverines' teams are also heading to the World Championships in Florida next year in April.

(L-R) Sophia,19, Roxy, 14, Caitlyn, 16 and Grace, 14

Cheerleading has 89,000 athletes in the UK, with just over 900 teams in England, said Joey Gamper-Cuthbert, who chairs the board of the sport's national governing body in England.

She said: "Cheerleading doesn't just happen in America, here in the UK it is a growing sport.

"It is a team sport that encourages personal growth, confidence, leadership skill but most importantly trust."

Rosie, aged 12, said she loved the sport "with all my heart" and that it was great for meeting people.

"The best thing about cheerleading is just the friends that you make and the confidence you gain," she said.

Eleven-year-old Daisy agrees, saying: "Cheerleading has enabled me to trust people a lot more and have faith that they'll catch you."

Lola, aged 11, said: "I'm here everyday training, for 3-4 hours a day on top of school but you get used to it - I love it."