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18 years of the Carshalton Cheerleaders
The Carshalton Cheerleaders were established in 1993 by Jean Eve, and started as group of just 12 girls aged 9-12. In 1995 the girls were asked to join the family at Crystal Palace Football Club and have become known as the Palace Crystals ever since.
The elite team of the Carshalton Cheerleaders, previously known as the Palace Crystals, is now focused entirely on competition skills and supporting local community events, in 2011 they renamed to Crystals Intensity.
Crystals Intensity now have 25 members aged 14 – 20, but it doesn't end there. There are 9 other groups in the Carshalton Cheerleaders with a total of 150 cheerleaders, dancers and gymnasts starting from age 4.
During the 1998 World Cup the Crystals Intensity had their first national television appearance on the COCA COLA commercial filmed at CPFC. Since then the Carshalton Cheerleaders have also appeared on "Bright Sparks", Michael Barrymore's "My Kind of People", Cilla Black's "Moment of Truth" and the re-released music video of C&C Music Factory's "Everybody Dance Now".
In 2001 the Palace Crystals and Cheer Magic dance squad travelled to South Carolina in the USA to compete, and returned triumphant with their tallest trophy.
In December 2004, the girls returned to the states and this time competed in 11 divisions including stunt groups and solos/duos. They did not disappoint. The MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas saw the British flags raised a total of 6 times over the weekend, including 2nd place in Senior Allstar Dance and 4th in Senior Allstar Stunt Groups. (See News)
The eldest squads (Crystals Intensity, Pom Crazy Gold, Cheer Magic Jnr & Snr) compete every July in the International Open Cheerleading Championships, currently held in the 12,000 seater Nottingham Arena. These and the younger squads have other competition opportunities throughout the year including the Southern Classic, held at Guildford Spectrum.
Every year the whole team takes part in the Carshalton Carnival, Cheam Fayre and charity events. Cheerleaders over the age of 14 are given the opportunity to take part in the London New Years Day Parade. The Carshalton Cheerleaders have also accepted invitations to perform at the Easter Parade in Maastricht, the New Years Eve Parade in Chantilly and the New Years Day Parade at Euro Disney. |
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