Queen's Cheerleading was named the Award of Merit recipient for the 2025-26 season at Queen's Athletics & Recreation's Colour Awards banquet Tuesday night.

The Award of Merit, presented annually to the top performing Varsity Club. This award recognizes the team's competitive success, community involvement and other attributes which have brought the most honour and recognition to Queen's.

Queen's Cheerleading were named Cheer Canada's Collegiate National Champions for the 2025-26 season. The Gaels had three current student-athletes named to the National Team and were also awarded the National Judge's Choice Award for Judges' favourite team across all teams from all divisions.

This season marked a historic milestone for the Varsity Cheer program," said Queen's Cheerleading Head Coach David Wesley-James. "After opening the year with a second-place finish at the provincial championship, the team refocused with a clear goal of peaking at the national level. Their preparation included a week-long training camp over Reading Week, the first time the program has chosen to remain on campus rather than return home, setting the tone for the commitment required to achieve excellence.

"Athletes took ownership of the program's standards, embracing an athlete-led culture that translated directly into performance. The result was a national championship victory, the program's first in 18 years and only the second in its history."