Bedfordshire Bulls Cheer are hoping to raise funds through their GoFundMe page by collectively travelling the remarkable distance throughout December.

Stephen Pitt, Head of Sport Partnerships at the University, praised the Cheerleading team for their efforts: "It’s great to see our sports team come together and fund raise for others in need at Christmas, especially during the pandemic.

"Coronavirus has brought about so much heartbreak for sports team who have been unable to compete, play or even meet up with their teammates, so it’s fantastic that the cheer team has found a way to work together this winter."

The nominated charities which the squad decided to fund raise for are NOAH Enterprise and the RSPCA.

We’re going to be busy this December! Raising money for NOAH Enterprise and RSPCA Christmas Rescue by “walking” to the North Pole🦌 @uniofbeds @BedsUniSport @uniofbedsnews pic.twitter.com/8KUrPWpSUu

— UoB Cheerleading (@CheerleadingUob) November 30, 2020

The cheer team chose NOAH as their local charity – an organisation that has offered support to homeless and excluded people in and around Luton for over 30 years. NOAH Enterprise provides food, clothing, medical and dental care to those in need as well as running training courses in life and employability skills.

The winter months are particularly busy for the RSPCA – who took more than 2,500 animals into care during the 2019 Christmas period – so the Bulls cheer squad chose to support the charity’s Christmas Rescue campaign. This initiative aims to support animal rescuers in doing their job effectively and safely over the festive period – even on Christmas Day.

This fundraising is yet another example of how the Cheer Team have tried to make the most of 2020. Despite a difficult year, the squad has taken part in training as well as quizzes, giveaways, Q&As and Children In Need activities – all via Zoom or social media channels.

Anybody is welcome to join in the effort simply by tracking their miles using fitness apps and tagging the Team on social media @CheerleadingUoB (Twitter) and @UoBBullsCheerleading (Instagram).

Click here to donate to the Bedfordshire Bulls Cheer fundraising page.

Prior to the team’s Christmas fundraising activity, the squad has faced a difficult year with training, matches and competitions disrupted or cancelled due to the pandemic. As a group sport reliant on stunts and tumbles, cheerleading is a particularly difficult sport to practice alone. However, Cheer President and MSc Forensic Psychology student, Sasha Blackmore, says she is pleased with how the group responded to the challenges of lockdown and solo training. She said:

The season so far certainly hasn’t been what we’re used to, understandably so, but I feel like the committee and coaches have really banded together and made the best out of a bad situation. We’ve worked so hard behind the scenes, coming up with plans A through to Z because the rules and guidelines have been continuously changing, and it has been frustrating at times.

However, my job as president has been made far easier by the incredible girls on the committee and the ever-present dedication of coaches Sarah and Kieran. We’re a pretty positive and supportive bunch anyway, but this year I feel very lucky to be standing by their side and navigating the trials of socially distanced cheer together, with our heads held high.

I have been so impressed by and grateful for the continued commitment of our athletes – we know this isn’t the cheerleading they signed up for but we hope that we will be able to get to that soon, with the strong looking team (and cheer family) that we are building for season 2020/21.

Social Secretary Janel Grant, a BSc (Hons) Business Studies with Marketing student, believes the current fundraising project is testimony to the group’s perseverance and determination to support others – and each other – throughout the pandemic. She said:

We have wanted to keep everyone’s spirits high, from the lockdown at the end of the last academic year to the most recent restrictions, we have invented games and stayed active via video calls. Sasha has even created a Self-Care Advent Calendar for December, which are posted on our Facebook group and Instagram stories.

Being able to interact with people – even if only online – has really benefited a lot of the team mentally and provided a bit of an escape to the world around us as well as keeping us fit and active throughout this time.

With the December fundraising, we chose these charities because every person and every animal deserves to have a home and a safe place to be at Christmas time.

Individual donations do not have to be big, every donation counts, and the money raised is going to some great local causes.

To support the Cheer Team’s efforts, visit the campaign’s GoFundMe page.

For more information about getting involved in sport at the University of Bedfordshire, visit: www.beds.ac.uk/sportbeds/