Dreams became reality for a Steinbach cheerleading team called Strike Force this past Saturday.

The 17-person co-ed Scorpion Elite Cheer team attended a competition in Regina where they won a bid to the Cheerleading Worlds; one of the biggest honors a cheer team can receive.

“This is the highest caliber of competition out there,” says Director and Head Coach Tiffany Recksiedler. “There are 11,000 cheerleaders from over 500 teams across 40 different countries so it’s a really big deal in the cheerleading world.”

When Recksiedler and her husband began the Scorpions cheer program back in 2010 they never expected it to get this big. She says many cheerleaders on the team last weekend have been with them from the very beginning and have grown and developed alongside the program.

Recksiedler adds that this is the first time any cheer group from Steinbach has made it to this level. “We are super proud of them for their accomplishments, we can’t believe this is even happening.”

Strike Force has been subtly working towards making this bid all season, notes Recksiedler, but the athletes hesitated to talk about it for fear of getting their hopes up too high. Still, the constant practice between two to four days a week gave them the necessary skills to make this happen.

Finally, on Saturday, when their hard work was rewarded, Recksiedler says it was a sweet release of emotions. “People were crying because they were so overjoyed,” she reflects, “It’s amazing how much love and support that you get after that moment.”

Recksiedler indicates that her team had been practicing hard up until Regina and plan on doubling their efforts as they work towards this massive competition coming up in April.