FOR the first time ever, the thousands of spectators at the CHEER Finals weren’t the only ones lucky enough to see the event’s famously spectacular cheerleading action. This year, the world got front row seats too!

R.AGE took its social media game to the next level, as aside from the usual suspects – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram – it also ran a social video broadcast at rage.com.my/cheer!

Videos of all 39 performances were uploaded immediately to the website, where viewers could comment on the heart-stopping performances and share them on social media. There was also a live social media feed showing what everyone else was saying about CHEER 2015.

The videos were viewed over 46,000 times (and counting!).

The video crew worked non-stop, making video after video of each of the 39 team’s three-minute routines. This was then edited and uploaded on the R.AGE website in less than 10 minutes. — Photo: SAM THAM/The Star

Across the hall, cheerleaders could be seen huddled in corners, watching the broadcast and speaking excitedly about the performances.

The entire Mickeymitez team got together after their routine to watch the instant replay on a teammate’s phone. “We had to check it out immediately – it was such a great experience!” said team captain Yong Zhi Yuan, 15.

Of course, it’s nothing compared to watching the real thing live at the arena, but for many of the cheerleaders, it was great just to have the chance to show all their friends and family what the sport is all about.

Starlites captain Amira Deanna, 15, from SMK Seri Bintang Utara, shared her team’s performance video with her entire extended family. “Everyone’s seen it! I shared it on my family’s Whatsapp group. They loved it!” she said.

For Vulcanz cheerleader Ellysyah Elly, 15, it was empowering just to know their performance was being captured and broadcast.

“It felt so good to know someone was recording our performance – it gave us an adrenaline charge. The whole team also had something to focus on; we looked straight into the cameras during our performance,” she said.

Michelle Chiam, 17, a cheerleader with team Cyrens, agreed: “I love it! I love how the quality and editing was done so well. In the past years, there would be people in the audience shooting videos but we never got a chance to see them.”

The video editors at CHEER 2015 worked tirelessly to fine-tune and hone the teams’ performance videos and got each one done in record time! — Photo: SAM THAM/The Star

People who left comments on the Facebook-linked CHEER Chat also seemed to love the videos. One commentor said: “How I wish I can go and support. But I’m rooting for all the teams. Go Fight Win!”

Another aspect of the social video broadcast were the social media interviews – 15-second video interviews with the cheerleaders right before and after they performed. The interviews perfectly captured the emotional intensity of the sport, as well as the unique camaraderie among cheerleading teammates who literally have to trust each other with their lives.

The R.AGE team also used Periscope, the live video streaming app, which allowed viewers from around the world to see what was happening at CHEER 2015 in real time.

The broadcast registered positively with many of those who watched it, but none so obviously as So Jing Xuan, 13, one of the Rayvens’ supporters.

So said the broadcast fueled her dreams of becoming a cheerleader someday: “The videos are so cool! Now I can watch my school teams’ routines over and over, and gain more knowledge about the sport.”

Watch all the videos from R.AGE’s CHEER 2015 social video broadcast at rage.com.my/CHEER, where you can also watch our series on the local cheerleading scene.