FIVE pole dancers who train in WGC will be entering a prestigious national competition to find the UK’s amateur pole queen.

Sherry Holdsworth, 18, Sarah Verrall, 27, Jenny O’Boy, 24, Nicola Marshall, 33, and Jen Cader, 28, will be taking part in the first heat of the UK Amateur Pole Performer (UKAPP) championships in Hertford next month.

The girls have all developed their skills at the Gosling Sports Park in WGC, under the watchful eye of Stacey Snedden.

Stacey, 29, set up her pole dancing school, Stacey Pole, in 2008 after a bout of post-natal depression following the birth of her son Jacob.

Since then, it has gone from strength to strength and currently has 150 members ranging in age from 18 to 56.

Stacey, of Mill Green Road, WGC, said she was very proud to have five of her students involved in the competition.

“It is brilliant,” she said. “It gives them lots of confidence and an opportunity to do something they wouldn’t usually do.”

The UKAPP championships, which are organised by Stacey, are now in their second year and are set to feature some 120 girls from across the UK.

Stacey said: “The reason we started it is because there were only professional competitions around.

“If you have performed for money you are not eligible to take part.”

The first heat is at the Hertford Corn Exchange on July 3, while the final takes place at Batchwood Hall in St Albans on September 25.

For more information about learning to pole dance, see the link, right.