THE mighty Cyrens have done it again. The cheerleading team from SM Sri Kuala Lumpur, Selangor have clinched the Cheer championship trophy for the fourth time in a row – just one victory behind SMK Seri Bintang Selatan team Shirtliff’s all-time Cheer record of five wins.

The all-girl team proved they were the ones to beat at Cheer 2013 with a near-perfect execution of their difficult routine on both competition days. However, the victory did not come easy.

“It feels amazing to win, especially since we were under a lot of pressure this time,” said Cyrens’ captain Ong Wei Lee, 16.

One of the team’s flyer injured her left ankle, causing the team to take their routine down a few notches just three days before the finals.

“Our initial routine was more complicated but we had to simplify it because she couldn’t put much weight on the ankle,” Ong said. “The competition this year was really tough. More teams performed harder stunts, and some were more complex than ours.”

Their sister team Rayvens also added to the school’s pride, bagging the All-Girls junior division championship. “I wouldn’t say it was expected but there was a certain level of confidence after what we’ve been through,” captain Quek Ning Zhen, 16, admitted.

“At training, we drill it into them to give it their all. It’s all about having the right attitude, and I think if it weren’t for the teamwork and perseverance we have, Rayvens wouldn’t have been able to achieve this,” Quek added.

According to their coach Tan Yee Ming, Cyrens and Rayvens train throughout the year to maintain their fitness. But ultimately, the secret ingredient of their success is the support from their school:

“They have such a supportive community in school and it helps tremendously.”

Mickeymitez from SMK Damansara Jaya, Selangor have lots of reasons to celebrate their Co-Ed division win at Cheer 2013. One of it was redeeming their pride. Captain Edrie Azriff, 17, said “We really proved it to those who have doubted us!”

The last 10 months had been very intense for the team, as they spent most of their free hours practising their routine.

“We’ve had to recruit many new members this year, we’ve been through lots of injuries and we’ve also had to change our routine several times because some stunts were illegal (in Cheer).

“In the end, it was all worth it.”