Silsden Majorettes group has marched to double glory at a national championship.

The talented youngsters in its Junior and Tiny team swept to two first places in the United Kingdom Championships, organised by the Manchester and North East Cheshire Carnival Organisation.

The 13-strong Junior team and the 11 girls in the Tiny team took the awards during a day of competition in Oldham. To make the feat even more impressive the Tiny troop won their section by a clear nine points - quite an achievement considering the margin of success can be as little as a quarter of a point.

There was also reason for double celebration with Junior leader Natasha Szuszko and Tiny leader Jody Ellis both taking first prize in the Leaders category. The youngsters proudly demonstrated their winning skills by taking part in the Skipton Gala parade.

Barbara Szuszko, who trains the Tiny team, says: "We always do well at the championships and come away with one or two good awards, but to win in two sections is a great achievement and we are really proud of them.

"We work on routines during the winter and the girls add a little extra bit themselves, and maybe it's that individuality that has helped us to stand out from the rest."

The Junior team, coached by Lisa Dimmock, was: Natasha Szuszko, Melissa Szuszko, Jenny Newiss, Carrie-Ann Webb, Michelle Edwards, Samantha Waterhouse, Debbie Fearnley, Pamela Fearnley, Rachel Spencer, Cheryl Szulhan, Joanne Garnett, Melissa Pickard and Jody Ellis.

The Tiny team was: Jody Ellis, Natasha Webb, Lauren Houfe, Sara Houfe, Pamela Fearnley, Rachel Spencer, Amy Lambert, Samantha Water-house, Samantha Dawes, Sarah Newhouse and Carrie-Ann Webb. The group, which has 36 members ranging in age from six to 15, practices twice a week in Silsden Town Hall.

Organisers of the entirely self-funding group are currently looking for sponsors to help cover the annual travelling costs of approximately £3000.

Anyone who would like to help can contact either Barbara Szuszko or Josie Dimmock at Silsden Town Hall on Tuesdays and Fridays, between 6-8pm.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.