A group of Kent cheerleaders who have qualified for the "Olympics of cheerleading" in the United States need help raising the funds to get there.

The 24 ladies from SubZero team, who are part of ICE Athletics Cheer, in Gravesend, have won a UK bid to represent their country at The Cheerleading World Championship in Orlando, Florida.

The team performing at a competition last year

The tournament takes place next month and the athletes, aged between 17 and 35, need to raise £4000 to pay for their expenses.

These include plane tickets, accommodation, gym rental for practice, training kits, uniforms, and food.

Nurse Charissa Castillo is one of the members looking forward to competing in Orlando for the first time.

The 32-year-old has been cheerleading since her mother enrolled her in a taster class when she was only 15 and is counting the days to get to Florida.

She said: "The World Championship is like the Olympics of cheerleading. That's how I usually explain to people how big of a deal this is to us.

"Many sports people's ultimate dream is to represent their country at the Olympic Games, and that is essentially what we are going to do.

"To get to Orlando, you have to have won a bid from a UK competition, which is quite challenging to get, so this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to us and getting the money for it is crucial.

"Obviously winning trophies on regional and national levels is amazing, but we cannot wait to give our all in America."

Charissa works part-time as a paediatric nurse, but still manages to practice cheerleading six and a half hours a week, broken into two and a half hour sessions on Thursdays and the remaining four every other Sunday.

Despite having two very different jobs, she explained how one complements the other.

"Cheerleading has really helped me with starting a new job and not knowing anybody," she said.

"I think the skills that I've learned from speaking to the team helped me go into a place that was completely unfamiliar and just put myself out there. My communication skills have improved a lot.

"Also, telling my colleagues and my patients what I do on the side is always a great talking point - especially when children are a bit scared.

"Most kids have hobbies so they can kind of relate to that and feel more at ease and relaxed."

The athlete is hopeful her team will raise enough money to fulfil their dream.

She said: "I am personally very excited. I don't think the nerves have kicked in just yet.

"Hopefully training will keep on going well, so we're very much looking forward to it."

To donate, you can email Charissa at charrissa.subzero@gmail.com or message the team's Instagram account on @iceathletics_subzero.

She added: "We have already raised half of our goal through raffle prizes and getting family and friends to donate by spreading the word, but getting the remaining £2,000 would get us even closer to our dream competition."