13-04-2025
Cheerleading group joyous after winning bid to compete at Florida World Championships
A Bradford cheerleading club are jumping for joy after booking their place at the World Championships next year.
Relentless Cheer and Dance, formerly known as the Luvabulls, attended Ice Cooler 2025, an event hosted by Incredibly Cool Events in Stoke-on-Trent a fortnight ago.
There, they shone with a number of eye-catching performances and scores, and the club's senior team (15+) were one of four groups (bids) to confirm their place at next year's World Championships.
It will take place in Orlando, Florida, April 2026, and Relentless will be hoping to put on a show once again.
Reflecting on the club's achievement, head coach Ciara Patchett, who formed the club just three years ago, told the T&A: 'It's always been on my agenda to get to a world stage, but we've only been running as a club since 2022.
'You want to aspire to these types of things; however, you never expect it to come so soon.
'I think it's a credit to everyone at the club, whether it's the coaches or all the kids who show up on a weekly basis.'
Patchett added: 'Since setting up, our students have always had it in their heads - that it is possible to reach something of this magnitude – but they've absolutely gone for it this time and fully deserve it.
'It's a great thing for my younger athletes to look up to because they can now be inspired and see exactly what is possible if they continue to work hard.'
The Florida-bound senior team (Image: Submitted)Giving her thoughts on why she feels the club has progressed to world level so quickly, Patchett admitted: 'Every year we've just got bigger and we're up to over one hundred students now.
'We've upped the amount of training we do, which has naturally attracted more students, and our aspirations have continued to grow as a club.
'The students and coaches have continued to feed into that.'
Patchett added: 'Winning the bid to get to the World Championships really made me sit back and reflect on what we've achieved in three years.
'It feels like a lifetime, but three years is not a long time at all, so what we have managed to achieve in that period is nothing short of remarkable.'
As head coach Patchett works extremely hard to balance work-life as well as coaching at Relentless, and although it can be physically challenging, she admitted that it's something she needs in her life.
'It's hard work and extremely tiring because I'm a full-time teacher as well, so training comes after a day at work,' Patchett admitted.
'I think that shows just how much passion and love I still have for cheerleading and coaching because it is long, and I don't get to see my family lots of the time.
'Realistically, I do it because I love it, and this moment makes it all worthwhile.
'In the cheerleading world, this is one of the top competitions you can quality for, so it's a dream come true.'
A joyous Ciara Patchett - head coach at Relentless (Image: Submitted) When established in 2022, Relentless were then known as Luvabulls, but the club decided on a name change two years ago.
Giving the reasons behind it, Patchett said: 'Luvabulls was originally setup through the Bradford Bulls Foundation, so I changed the name so that people knew we were two separate things.
'The reason I changed it to Relentless is because I preach to my students regularly that it's important to never give up, no matter how challenging something can get.
'Life can be hard and there will always be things that get in the way, but it's how you battle through those challenges.
'So, I thought Relentless was a fitting name for what we're trying to achieve.'
If you are interested in attending Relentless' cheerleading sessions, you can find out more by emailing: Relentlesscheeranddance@ or by heading to the Relentless Cheer & Dance Facebook page.
The club welcomes students from ages 2-18+.
Furthermore, Relentless are currently self-funding their trip to Orlando, so if any businesses are interested in sponsoring the club to help with their USA trip, you can contact them by emailing: Relentlesscheeranddance@ or by heading to the Relentless Cheer & Dance Facebook page.
