A WOMAN from Saltash has been recognised at this year’s West Country Women Awards for her work in sport.

Emilie Perring runs Plymouth Cheerleaders, a dance school located in the city. They have an Elite team that represents professional sports teams in the South West. The original cheerleading team started in 1998 and performed for The Plymouth Raiders Basketball Team for 22 years, however, most recently the club’s work has been recognised at the 2023 West Country Women Awards, taking home the prize for the ‘Women in Sport Award’.

The category “represents opportunity, recognition and empowerment of women in sport, with this category celebrating all women in all sport sectors.”

Speaking about her success at the ceremony, Emilie said: “Receiving recognition for the work we do gives a sense of accomplishment and value. It makes me feel extremely proud and that our hard work and efforts have paid off. There are a lot of hours and time away from family that gets put into delivering what we do, with all the work completed on top of full-time jobs. I am grateful to Wollens, our category judges, and The West Country Women Awards for recognising this and the amazing work that my team does.”

While the group’s success is to be celebrated, it was straight back to business for Emilie. She said: “We have been extremely busy planning our Christmas show for our students so we went straight back into what we do best!”