By Jenny Suo
A group of Auckland cheerleaders who set a record for the highest basket throw last year are now off to Italy to beat it.
They says the sky is the limit, but for the All Star cheerleaders the roof of their training centre is.
“Breaking the world record is the main aim, so I’m looking forward to getting into the Guinness book if we can,” says cheerleader Drew Ashby-King.
The North Shore group of six are about to travel to Rome for a European version of the Guinness World Records TV show.
“When I first got the email I though maybe it was spam,” says coach Kimberley Ramsay.
“I replied and said we’d love to come to Italy, who wouldn’t. Then it just kind of kept going, and turned out to be real, which is amazing.
They are trying to break the record for the highest basket toss – a manoeuvre where a cheerleading group launches a flier as far up into the air as they can.
“To do a good basket throw you need lots of technique and not necessarily the weight because I know people who are heavier but can go higher – so really it’s technique and a strong base,” says cheerleader Kate Mann.
The All Stars set the world record for the highest toss at 5.2m last year, only to have the title taken from them months later by Australia.
But they are confident they can get it back.
“We’re going over there to break that record and I’ve kind of already told them we can break it, I’m pretty sure we can – the roof is 6m and we’ve already hit that,” says Ms Ramsay.
Ms Mann has the flying part sorted, so now it’s up to her team-mates to ensure a safe landing.
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