Hourston helps UBC make history in cheerleading on the international stage
Standing on the podium in Sweden with a bronze medal around her neck, Mackenzie Hourston couldn't help but think about everything it had taken to get there.
Representing Canada alongside her University of British Columbia teammates at the program's first international competition, Hourston watched months of training, fundraising and perseverance culminate in one unforgettable moment.
"It honestly means so much to me and the whole team," Hourston said.
"Getting the opportunity to wear our country's across our chests and travel internationally was a huge deal for us."
Competing against some of the world's top cheerleading programs, the Thunderbirds delivered three of their strongest routines to earn a place on the podium.
For Hourston, however, the experience carried even greater significance considering how unlikely it once seemed.
Just a few years earlier, she had nearly talked herself out of trying cheerleading altogether.
Arriving at UBC with a gymnastics background, Hourston considered joining the Thunderbirds in her first year but ultimately decided against it.
"I got really nervous because I didn't have any cheer experience," she said.
Instead, she focused on adjusting to university life.
"I actually found it quite hard to make friends," she said.
Coming out of the pandemic, campus life still felt different, and despite considering cheer, she couldn't bring herself to try out.
By the end of the school year, she knew she had one regret.
"I thought, 'I'll try out, and if I don't make it, then at least I won't regret it anymore.'"
That decision would change everything.
Hourston earned a spot on the team as an alternate, giving her the opportunity to learn the sport before eventually becoming a full member of the competition roster.
"It was by far the best decision I've ever made in my entire life."
She quickly discovered that cheerleading offered something she hadn't expected.
"I like to think that cheerleading is the ultimate team sport," she said.
"You have to trust every single person in your group and on your team because you're literally holding people up in the air above your head and throwing them."
That trust creates relationships unlike any other.
"Everyone on the team, they're my best friends that I've ever made in my entire life."
Those friendships became the foundation of her university experience.
Long days on campus often began in the morning with classes before hours spent studying, eating and preparing for late-night practices alongside her teammates.
"They're long days, but it makes it so much better being with the people that are my favourite people in the world."
The sport also appealed to Hourston because there was always another challenge waiting.
Whether mastering a new tumbling pass or learning a more difficult basket toss, she embraced the constant pursuit of improvement.
"The parts that I feel most proud of are the parts that are the scariest."
That same mindset helped carry the Thunderbirds through one of the most memorable seasons in program history.
The opportunity to compete internationally required months of fundraising, something Hourston helped lead as the team's vice-president.
The program is largely self-funded, making fundraising essential to creating opportunities for student-athletes.
"It was really important to me that everyone could join cheer if they wanted to and not have finances be a burden to them."
This season, the team raised more money than it ever had before.
"I was very proud of that."
When the team arrived in Sweden, they found themselves competing alongside athletes Hourston had long admired.
"It was really just surreal," she said.
"Seeing all the different countries and people that I see online videos of... getting to compete against them was so crazy."
Despite the excitement, she wanted the team's focus to remain simple.
"I just wanted us to think, 'I'm going to be the best that I can be.'"
That approach was tested when a music malfunction interrupted one of the team's routines before it had even begun.
Rather than panic, the athletes relied on the countless hours they had spent preparing together.
"The whole rest of the routine we hit even harder."
That preparation extended beyond physical training.
The team regularly practiced visualization, mentally rehearsing every detail of a routine, from grips and timing to the lights, judges and competition environment, long before stepping onto the floor.
"It's really important to prepare yourself mentally because that's kind of what can make or break you."
Walking off the mat after each performance remains Hourston's favourite memory from the trip
"You just see all your teammates running off next to you and everyone smiling. Some of them are crying. It's just a feeling that you really can't recreate."
Winning bronze made the moment even sweeter, but for Hourston, the medal represented much more than a podium finish. It represented the trust, preparation and commitment that had brought the team together throughout a season unlike any before.
As she enters her final year at UBC, Hourston will continue serving as vice-president while preparing to apply to the university's education program with hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher. She also dreams of coaching cheer one day.
Looking back, she hopes other students who are nervous about trying something new will remember the lesson that changed her own university experience.
"Just go and do it," she said.
"I learned from experience that I had so much interest in doing it, and then I got so nervous that I didn't go."
Taking that chance ultimately transformed her university career.
"It brought me some of the people that I think will probably be my bridesmaids at my wedding," she said.
"It's just been the best decision I've ever made."