A WOMAN from Wroughton is heading to Disney to take part in an international cheerleading competition – despite being diagnosed with chronic fatigue in her teens.

Becca Callaghan, 22, who performed as a dancer at the Swindon Academy of Dance, won a place on the England Paracheer team after getting into cheerleading at university.

The team have now been invited to compete against more than 60 countries from around the world at the International Cheerleading Union (ICU) Cheerleading Championships, held at the glitzy ESPN Wide World sport stadium in Disney Land Florida.

“Teams from China, America, Japan, Germany, all over the world, will be there, which is quite exciting,” she said.

The England Paracheer team have a high-energy two and half minutes to show the judges their routine and will be competing with teams in their heat to hopefully win a place in the final.

“It’s more dance-based but we do have to throw people in the air. It’s a very fast two and half minutes,” said Becca.

“There’s no stopping to catch your breath, you’re constantly moving. It’s like sprinting for two and half minutes, and then you can recover at the end. But it is super fun.”

Becca’s dancing career wass dealt a blow when she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue aged 15.

“At the time I missed nearly a month of school and I was dreading doing my GCSEs – it had a major impact.

“I had to stop dancing and re-train myself how to live as a teenager because I couldn’t do the normal things that people do. It was quite hard.”

With determination Becca went on to pass her GCSEs and A-levels and refused to be held back by her diagnosis. “As I learned to cope with it I was able to slowly introduce dance back into my life. I have to pace myself and take days off to recover before I can do anything else. But it gets easier to cope with and I can read the warning signs now.”

She went to on to do dance at Buckinghamshire New University where she joined the university cheerleading team. They become university champions twice and Becca was encouraged to join a national team by her coach. She successfully auditioned for the England Paracheer team and joined in the summer.

Becca thanked the people who have supported her over the years, saying: “The fortnightly trips to Coventry to train have been well worth it. I’ve made great friends and am looking forward to competing with them and representing my country.

“Anyone with a disability shouldn’t give up their dream as there are always organisations that can help.”

Cheerleading in the UK was given a boost after Team England cheerleading team won the gold medal at the World Championships at Orlando, Florida in April 2017. The all-female beat 13 other counties while the mixed England team bagged the silver medal.