What does it feel like to be CHEER champions?
I’m so proud of my team! I’m almost speechless, I’m so happy.
Is this a bigger win than other competitions?
Yes, definitely bigger. This is what we’ve been training for all this while! Hopefully our school gives us a holiday! (Update: Yes, it did.)
How long have you been training for this?
For more than a year! Every year it gets more intense because we progressively raise our difficulty level.
What were you feeling or thinking before going on the mat?
I was really calm today because I knew my girls could do it. They truly did their best. I’m so proud of them and grateful for having a chance to do this. But I’m also a bit sad because it’s my last year this year. We’ve won five times in a row now. We have a lot of memories together.
What are the challenges you faced along the way?
Most of our challenges have been injury-related. My team mate, Fiorentina Poh, was kicked in the face during the first day of CHEER and damaged her cornea. If she hadn’t been able to make it on Day 2, we would have had to change our whole routine.
What does it take to be a cheerleader?
You need to be determined, committed, and passionate. You also need to be able to roll with the punches. I sprained my ankle two weeks before competition, so we had to make changes to the routine. I can’t tumble, which is my favourite, but we are used to last minute changes. As a cheerleader, you have to adapt quickly to any changes, no matter what.
Juniors champions
Rayvens, SM Sri Kuala Lumpur
Captain: Grace Tan, 17
How long have you guys been training for CHEER 2014?
We started one week after CHEER 2013 ended. So, we trained all year round. When we first started, we practised three times a week. Then closer to the competition, we increased the sessions.
Rayvens Captain, Grace Tan, 17
What are some of the challenges your team faced?
We had a lot of injuries. And given they were last minute, we had to change our routine so it would be easier to manage. One girl had an inflamed ligament, but she just pushed through the two days. Another girl’s ankle was injured as well. We just wrapped it up and performed like normal. We were lucky there were no major injuries.
What do you think about the support from your school and parents?
I’m really thankful for their support. We have so many supporters who came on the weekend to spur us on. Some of them friends and some not, but they all came to cheer us on … all done voluntarily, of course, which makes it extra special.
So what does it take to be a cheerleader?
Honestly, just pure commitment and hard work. No matter how bad you are, all you have to do is come for training and you’ll eventually get there. Some of us couldn’t even do splits or handstands when we first started, but we can always train to be better. And that’s how we’ve become what we are today.
Who do you think was your closest competitor this year?
I think it was Vibrant. They have really good tumbling and I admire them for it.
What do you look forward to in CHEER 2015?
I would like to see more teams executing even harder stunts. And hopefully there’ll be more co-ed teams next year because there are only a few of them now.
How do you feel performing your routine?
It feels great. The adrenaline is pumping and you won’t feel your injuries anymore.
And the moment we step off the mat, we’re the happiest because we know we’ve done all we can and we’ve executed all our stunts perfectly.
How do you feel before going on the mat?
Very nervous. But we knew we had enough training. So, once we pose on the mat, the nervousness just goes away and we automatically know what to do.
How does it feel to be CHEER champion again?
I’m really happy. It’s definitely harder to defend the title than winning it first time because expectations are high.
And because CHEER is such a huge competition, a lot more teams compete, meaning more people come to watch. It can get scary. But I’m very relieved because all our hard work hasn’t been in vain.
Zodiac captain, Chong Zhen Wei, 15
How long have you been training for CHEER 2014?
We started our focused training in February with three-hour sessions twice a week. This year, we decided to cut down on the difficult stunts. At last year’s CHEER, we aimed for the “cool” stunts but failed to pull a lot of them off during the competition, so we only placed fourth. This time, we aimed for stability over “coolness”.
What were some of the challenges you faced along the way?
Teamwork is something we really struggled with early on. A lot of our members were not completely committed during the initial practice sessions. There were times they didn’t follow instructions very well, too. But earlier this month, we managed to get much more practice in, since the competition was just around the corner.
Do boys get bullied for becoming cheerleaders? Is it tougher for them?
Our school and fellow schoolmates didn’t really make life difficult for us boys on the team. Instead, I felt that they were proud of us. They understand that cheerleading is a difficult and dangerous sport. Of course, there were those who poked fun at us – but we just ignored the jeers and made it a point to prove them wrong. It is harder for boys to be cheerleaders because our stunts are more difficult and require greater physical strength.
Were your school and parents supportive?
Yes, they were very supportive! In fact, our team uniform and supporter flag were handmade by one of our teammate’s parents. Our school, however, was partially supportive. We weren’t exactly one of the priority clubs. So, we had to fund our participation.
How did you feel before going on the mat?
I think I speak for my team when I say we all felt really nervous. We just wanted to execute the perfect routine when we got out there. I think our performance on Sunday was much better than Saturday’s. We fell and failed a portion of our stunts on Saturday, but I felt we managed to nail our routine today.
How does it feel to be CHEER champions?
I was really surprised we won! I honestly didn’t think we could get first place. I thought we could only manage a second or third place finish at best.
At last year’s CHEER, we only placed fourth and our marks were really disappointing, so this win is a pleasant surprise.
I attribute our win to our focus on stable stunts and pulling them off well.
What are you now most looking forward to at CHEER 2015?
Hopefully, with this win, our team can get more financial support from our school next year to help us get additional equipment like extra practice mats.
I’m also looking forward to seeing more guys join the team so we can pull off more physical stunts, too.
This year is the first time we have two teams competing in CHEER and next year, we would like to see three!
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