They're geared up and ready to cheer, in what's pegged as one of the Bay of Plenty's biggest cheerleading competitions yet.

More than 1000 competitors are expected to be perform over the course of the day at Battle in the Bay, the Bay of Plenty's growing cheer and dance competition.

The event is running until 7.45pm at BayPark arena.

Representing the Bay of Plenty loud and proud and hosting it, is the Bay Twisters.

Chairperson Rebecca Grigson says this years Battle In The Bay is the biggest it's been since she started running it in 2016.

'This year Aziz from the AM Show is MC for the day and a massive performance is expected from the Manurewa High School with their Fresh Prince Bel Air Performance that went viral after Will Smith shared their video performance.

'The doors opened at 7.45am and will close at 7.45pm. It's going to be a massive day with more than 161 performances expected, ranging from solo and duos (both cheer and dance), stunt groups, and dance and cheer teams.”

The Bay Twisters hosted the competition for the first time in 2016. In 2017, they added dance and the event almost doubled in size, says Rebecca.

She says next year, they're expecting it to be even better.

'We can see this competition being run over two days, with dance competitions held one of the days, and cheer on the other.”

She says the event is run professionally by six judges, with many volunteers working behind the scenes.

SunLive photographer Nikki South went along to catch a glimpse of the action.