IT'S been a "dreamlike" few months for the newly formed Luvabulls and their Head Coach, Ciara Patchett.

The latter, 22, set up the 'Cheer & Dance' group in February; this coming after working alongside the Bradford Bulls' Foundation who run recreational cheerleading classes for children from ages 5-18+ to perform at Bradford Bulls' games.

After overseeing the recreational classes as a senior Bullette, Patchett decided she wanted to give the students an opportunity to progress further within the sport.

Discussing her 'Luvabulls' business venture, Patchett said: “I formed the group in February because I decided that the athletes at the recreational classes were continuously improving, so I thought it would be good to give them that opportunity to take their talent to the next stage; that next stage being to compete at all star competitions.

"So, I set up my own business to help push the athletes to that next level, and to make sure they had something to work towards in a competitive sense. I wanted them to see how far they could push their cheerleading journey because I know I've been able to push myself during the sport throughout my life.

"I've been a cheerleader since I was nine-years old and I started with recreational classes like a lot of the kids at the Bulls' Foundation. I then had the opportunity to compete myself, so I wanted these kids who have huge talent to follow in my footsteps and compete in many different competitions. When we put the feelers out, we opened it up to all the recreational students, and some didn't want to do it because they were enjoying themselves already, which was absolutely fine, but quite a few decided to join us in order to push themselves to that next level."

At the start of November the Luvabulls attended their first ever competition, and took 63 athletes to compete at Stoke on Trent.

The day was an overriding success for the Bradford cheerleading group, as they achieved a number of outstanding finishes which included one Grand Champion finish, ten first placed finishes, six second placed finishes, five third placed finishes and three fourth placed finishes to top off a memorable day.

Reflecting on the day itself, Patchett said: "It was massively successful for us and I'm proud of every single one of them who competed. After the competition, loads of the students came up to me and said that I'd made their dreams come true which was beautiful to hear.

"I'm only 22 myself, so to be able to coach a group at such a young age, it's even better because I lived my dream not that long ago in competition.

"It really hit me hard when they read our name out at the competition because it's also been a massive dream of mine to be able to run my own cheerleading group.

"My mum was there to watch too. She's been a massive part of my journey, so it was amazing that she was able to see me achieve and live my dream in the flesh.

"It was a beautiful moment and the results made the occasion even more special and memorable."