The Isle of Man has taken a huge leap onto the global sporting stage by achieving official recognition as a competitive nation by the International Cheer Union (ICU).

The worldwide governing body for cheerleading accredited the island following the success of ‘Phoenix Rising’, the island’s elite level cheerleading team who won two bids to compete at ‘The Summit’ in Florida last year - one of the most prestigious all-star cheerleading competitions in the world.

This recognition now opens doors to more opportunities, such as participation in world-level events and potentially the Olympic Games, should cheerleading be added as an Olympic sport in the future.

A spokesperson from the Move It dance studio in Douglas commented: ‘This achievement would not have been possible without the generous support of the local community and the Isle of Man Arts Council, who helped make international competition a reality for Manx athletes.

‘With cheerleading’s growing international profile and its ongoing push for Olympic inclusion, this means that, in the years ahead, we could see the Isle of Man flag flying proudly on the world stage, represented by our very own athletes.

However, to ‘fully embrace’ this opportunity, Move It is calling for the island to make the ‘crucial next step’: establishing a National Governing Body (NGB) for cheerleading.

Louisa Boyd, director of artistic operations at Move It, said: ‘This would allow Manx cheerleaders to access further funding, compete at even higher levels and build a clear pathway for future generations.

‘This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the island to cement itself on the world stage in an emerging sport.

‘We’ve made it this far thanks to the incredible support of the Arts Council and local organisations, but now we need to take the next step and we can’t do it alone.

‘Imagine seeing Manx athletes stepping onto the global stage, knowing we helped pave the way for that moment. That’s what we have the chance to do right now.’

Louisa and her team at Move It are calling on stakeholders, including local politicians, the Arts Council and sports organisations, to come together and help ‘shape the future’ of cheerleading in the island.

The popularity of cheerleading and dance in the island was recently demonstrated by the ‘Isle Dance’ competition at two island venues back in February.

The first Isle Dance competition took place in July last year, with the latest contest introducing the new dance category ‘lyrical and contemporary’ alongside ‘cheer and hip hop’ and seeing 462 dancers take part overall.

This event attracted more than 700 attendees throughout the day from eight island dance schools.

A ‘duo’ section was also held in the middle of the day, allowing parents, grandparents, siblings and family friends to join in and compete.

Each duo made a donation to take part, with the funds going to the nominated charity ‘A Little Piece of Hope’.

For more information or to get involved in the creation of a cheerleading governing body, you can contact Move It dance studio at help@moveit.im or call 07624 384512.