Two teams from the Pakuranga cheerleading gym All Star Fame won their divisions at the Australasian Majors on the Gold Coast, and three more placed.
Envy won Open all girl level 4 and Duchess won Youth large level 1, the club said in announcing its results this week.
Rockstarz placed second in Senior level 2, and Princesses and Idolz placed fourth in Junior level 1 and Senior level 3.
Close to 100 Fame athletes competed at the three-day competition, held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre from 18 to 20 September.
The trip followed a weekend in which two Fame teams were named Grand Champions at the Spring Carnival in Auckland on Sunday 13 September.
Duchess took the Level 1 title at that competition and Rockstarz took Level 2.
The carnival was held at Eventfinda Stadium on the North Shore.
In the Elite and Novice grades, Duchess, Rockstarz and Idolz all placed first for Fame.
Twinkles, Envy and Glamour placed second in their divisions, and Princesses fourth.
In the CheerSPORT grades, Starlights, Sparkle, Tiaras and Gemz each placed first, and Glitter, Shine, Queenz and Spotlight second.
Macleans College was named Scholastic Grand Champion at the carnival, and Pakūranga College, Macleans, Glendowie College and Bucklands Beach Intermediate each won their school divisions, with Botany Downs second.
All Star Cheerleaders founder Kimberley Ramsay said she was “super proud” of the teams.
“They really did an amazing performance and I know how hard the athletes and coaches have been working on this,” she told the Howick & Eastern Post.
Ramsay said the trip to Australia gives the athletes something they could not get at home.
“It challenges them, exposes them to a higher level of competition and gives them experiences they simply can’t get competing only at home,” she said.
“Competing internationally brings a different kind of pressure, and learning how to handle that is incredibly valuable.”
“For athletes who have dreams of eventually competing at Worlds, it helps prepare them for what that environment feels like.”
She said the result mattered less than what the week would teach them.
“Winning is wonderful, but sometimes losing teaches kids even more.”
“They learn how to deal with disappointment, how to pick themselves back up, how to learn from failure and how to keep working towards something.”
She said the friendships outlasted the competing.
“We always say that kids find their best friends at cheerleading, and many of them will eventually find their bridesmaids here too.”
“The mums and dads also form incredible friendships and bonds through years of competitions, travel and shared experiences.”
Ramsay started All Star in 2001 with 12 athletes training at Whenuapai School, and the club now says it runs ten locations nationally.
She said the sport had changed enormously since.
“The skills are exceptionally harder, there are more levels and pathways for athletes, and cheerleading has become much more athletic and physically demanding.”
“What we have always tried to protect at All Star, though, is the fun, friendships and team environment.”
Her message to parents weighing the sport up was that it taught more than tumbling.
“We live in a world where so much is instant, but in cheerleading you can work on a skill for months before you finally achieve it.”
“Kids learn the connection between hard work, persistence and eventually achieving something they really want.”
In 2024 an All Star Cheerleaders team, Academy All Girl, won the Level 5 International Open division at The Cheerleading Worlds in Florida, which was described at the time as a “dream come true” and a first for a Kiwi team.
