Cheerleaders finding wheel success

But now, inspired by the Paralympics, the 24-year-old is doing just that – as the head of the first-ever integrated wheelchair cheerleading squad.

“When I used to dance I had such a passion for it and when I ended up in a wheelchair I never thought I’d be able to do it again. I thought that was it,” she said.

“It was devastating. Everything I’d ever done was dance – I identified myself as a dancer.

“This has done absolutely loads for my confidence. I’ve got this team behind me who are fantastic and so supportive. It’s really exciting.”

Ms Rodley was 17 when she first suffered symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which affects all her soft tissue including her tendons and ligaments and causes her joints to dislocate.

The young mother, from the Hyde Park area of Leeds, has had to use a wheelchair since she gave birth to her daughter Heidi, now two.

“It was devastating at the time,” she said.

“But I’m somebody who doesn’t give up and I like to see the positive in things. I’ve had my dark days but I like to work forwards, break stereotypes and challenge ignorance about what people can do – whether they’ve got a disability or not.

“Everyone can surprise themselves – it’s putting yourself out there and trying.”

Ms Rodley, who previously competed in stunt cheerleading as well as practising ballet, tap, jazz, Irish dancing and belly dancing, was recruited to head up the squad when she attended a wheelchair basketball taster session at the John Charles Centre for Sport in Middleton, Leeds, around the time of the Paralympics.

The project was the brainchild of Malcolm Kielty, of the Calderdale Community Coaching Trust, which set up the group with a grant from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All scheme.

About 10 members – some able bodied and others with disabilities – attend the weekly sessions in Halifax .

“They have had a lot of fun. I think they haven’t known what to expect because it’s just not been done before,” said Ms Rodley.

“Some of the girls we have got are previous cheerleaders and some have found it difficult if they are completely able bodied and then they are in a chair.

“They realise there are a lot of skills you need to learn to be able to do tricks and turns and make it look good, but they’ve found it really fun.”

The cheerleaders will not be content with merely shaking their pom-poms as their training progresses – Ms Rodley now plans to throw in some show-stopping tricks and stunts to their routines.

Today she is due to visit the indoor skate park at The Works in Hunslet, Leeds, to see its quarter-pipe ramps and explore what can be done on them in a chair.

“There is a lot of stuff I’ve seen on the internet and you can do some of the same tricks with wheelchairs that you can do with BMX bikes – like spins and jumps on different levels,” she said.

“We’ll have some of the able-bodied cheerleaders standing and some of them in the chairs so we can do lifts as well.

“I think that’s really cool because you don’t really have anything else where the two are combined.

We want to integrate it completely so it doesn’t matter what your ability or disability is.”

The squad performed its first routine at a fundraising dinner at The Shay stadium, Halifax, and has been invited to give a display at the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup this summer.

And with unprecedented interest in disabled sports following the Paralympics and the success of star athletes such as Halifax’s own “Hurricane” Hannah Cockcroft, the group looks set to flourish.

“The Paralympics definitely inspired me,” said Ms Rodley.

“I think it has been a huge positive for disabled sports.”

Anyone wishing to join the squad, which trains at Calderdale College’s Inspire Centre in Halifax each Monday from 8pm to 9pm, can contact [email protected] for more information.