Cheerleading: Tauranga's Bay Twisters aim to attract more boys to sport

Bay Twisters' Cyclones squad proved their skills at Battle of the Bay 2019, taking out their division. Photo / File

Bay Twisters have some big goals for 2020.

The Tauranga cheerleading team wants to introduce mixed boys and girls teams, place well at competitions and aim to take up to two of their top teams to compete in Australia.

And the non-profit group have received some funding that Bay Twisters chairwoman and founder Rebecca Grigson says will help them towards achieving those goals.

Grigson says just last month they received a major financial boost in the form of two grants - $25,662 from TECT for equipment costs including flooring and another worth $15,000 from NZCT that will be used to buy a "brand new huge professional trampoline".

She says the grants provide Bay Twisters' athletes with a lot of opportunities from "personal development for the athletes as well as new class opportunities – special needs classes, rebound therapy, boys tumble and so much more".

"We are offering boys only tumble, rebound therapy later in the year for special needs and also open gym nights where anyone can turn up learn to tumble and see our new gym and equipment."

Last year Bay Twisters had no competitive boys but Grigson says this year's boys-only tumble classes, which will see tumblers warm up with a coach and learn tumbling skills on a trampoline before progressing through to a trampoline tumble track and then onto a sprung floor, is a good way to get more boys into the gym.

"We have a few boys coming for 2020 teams ... very excited about this.

"I think once a few boys join then so many more will follow, this is a hard sport – we love to have boys in our club, they are very strong and can have such a huge impact on their tumbling as well as throwing the girls in the air for stunts.

"I feel that when you mention cheerleading it sounds like a girls' sport, it's so not. The boys bring another level to the teams, they are strong and have so much power when they tumble."

If boys join their competitive teams, Grigson hopes 2020 will be just the beginning of offering co-ed teams for Bay Twisters.

All of this will be inside their new home in 65a Maleme St, where Grigson says they are likely to be based by the end of this month. She says they have been looking for a venue for more than six months and is excited about having a place of their own.

"We couldn't put down a full-size sprung floor [without a home] and the athletes need a full floor to develop their tumble skills."