Cheer is synonymous with Bring it On, the Dallas Cowboys, wide smiles and prancing pompoms. But what hides behind all that, is the grit, strength, stamina and sacrifice it takes to get to the elite level. Josephine Croft cheered for about 20 years. She loved the feeling of performing in front of crowds. "There's an adrenaline rush and a very addictive [feeling] to competing and having an audience watch you complete these skills that you have to get right one time and one time only," she said. And now, she loves the fact that stereotypes are being quashed. "Cheer had the stigma of being the 'dumb chick' sport," she said. "I think it's really empowering to women. You need to be tough." Along with her career on the mat, Croft has had quite a glittering one off it. She's also the producer and director of documentary Hitting Zero, which follows an Australian team to a 2017 championship competition and aims to buck those stereotypes even more. Australia is headed to the International Cheer Union World Cheerleading Championships again this year, with the competition starting this month. Last year the all-girls team won gold, the first time Australia had ever done so. Caitlin Dagher is part of that team and can't wait to get on the mat. "We're going through this really great moment, in the last 24 months, where a woman-dominated sport has a top team that are all women," she said. Sport of the moment Cheerleading has grown significantly in Australia over the last 20 years. "When I joined, I was something like the 2,500th member, and that was back in 2008," Croft said. There are now over 60,000 competitors registered with the Australian All Star Cheerleading Federation. Nicole de Vries is also on Team Australia, and says cheer is an all-inclusive sport. "Everyone knows someone that does cheerleading," she said. Cheer lacks a governing body in Australia, with Gymnastics Australia stepping down as its overseer in 2018. The sport is currently undergoing a transformation period, seeking accreditation as a national sporting organisation and government recognition. The International Olympic Committee granted full recognition to the world governing body for cheerleading, the International Cheer Union, in 2021, which made cheerleading eligible for potential inclusion in the Olympic Games. However it won't be included in Los Angeles 2028. "Hopefully in the next couple of cycles we'll get [into] the Olympics," Dagher said. "I think that's where we'll really see the legitimising of cheer. It makes me really proud to be in the start of that era." Challenging cheerleading stereotypes De Vries says the reality that athletes experience in cheer is far from the stereotypes. "No one cares how your hair looks or what clothes you've got on, " she said. "It's just a really safe space." For Dagher, what also stands out is the camaraderie of the sport. "I find that doesn't exist in similar acrobatic or dance-like sports where there's a much bigger individualist element," Dagher said. Cheer has categories for both co-ed teams and all-female ones. "Cheerleading started as a female-only sport, and because of that the technique [largely] relies on speed rather than strength, which is why a lot of stunts are really fast," Croft said. "It makes girls feel good for being strong and fit and not [for] the way they look." And no matter what shape or size you are, there's a spot for everyone. "Generally, smaller people are at the top because they're lighter, but no matter what [body type], you can be on the team. I think that's a really positive aspect of cheerleading." Dagher reflects on the joy the sport brings. De Vries agrees. "You can be young, old — we have some athletes who are in their 40s. We have all-ability teams." Croft concludes that whether you're a backspot, flyer, base or tumbler, the team lifts one another up. "The girls on the team build each other up rather than tearing each other down." Shining a light on substance After the success of Netflix docuseries Cheer, Croft embarked on making her documentary Hitting Zero, which follows the Southern Cross Cheer Legacy team as they prepare for the 2017 US All-Star Federation World Championships in Daytona, Florida. The title refers to a perfect routine with no points deducted. They achieved that the year prior when they won silver, and Hitting Zero chronicles their attempt to go for the top spot. It also portrays Croft's final year of competition. At 36 — the oldest member of the team by at least a decade — Croft wanted to retire from cheerleading to try to have a baby. She'd previously returned from an injury in which she'd broken her arm during a stunt. Croft's reflection on adrenaline and timing calls to mind her documentary's title, too. On one hand, the tiniest deduction, which might be imperceptible to the untrained eye or general spectator, can prevent a zero-hit routine. "But in another way, it's the smallest thing, so it doesn't really matter," Croft said. What does matter is that anyone can compete in cheerleading as long as they have the right attitude. Siren Sport