Angelin Yeoh
alltherage@thestar.com.my
ONLY at Cheer 2012 will you find a parade of odd mascots, hosts attempting cheerleading stunts and supporters getting the chance to showcase their own unique “talents” for goodie bags.
With all the fun and games, it is almost easy to forget that Cheer is, in fact, a very competitive and incredibly gruelling sporting event.
Singer Aliff Aziz (centre) entertained the crowd while Red FM deejays (from left) Terry Ong, Azura Zainal and Jeremy Teo hosted the event.
It was more than just a showdown of pompons, splits and skirts at Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam, Selangor, last weekend.
There were jaw-dropping tumbles, tosses and all sorts of adrenaline-pumping stunts which the cheerleaders had to perform while maintaining a smiling, cheerful disposition.
But when the results were announced at the end of the two-day event, the smiles turned into tears for many of the competitors, some of whom had spent the entire year working on their routines, training several times a week and working diligently to make sure they manage their studies well at the same time.
For Cyrens captain, Amanda Lim, 17, all that hard work paid off as the team from SM Sri KL, Subang Jaya, Selangor, were crowned champions after the thrilling finals.
The Cyrens from SM Sri KL put on a fantastic performance.
The defending champions had to produce the routine of their lives as the eventual runners-up, the Dynamitez from SMK Damansara Jaya, Selangor, pushed them all the way with an equally outstanding performance.
“I’m relieved! It’s a great achievement for us and we’re going to celebrate tonight,” said Lim.
Fun finals
Win or lose, the Cheer 2012 finals was a wonderful – and very loud – celebration of Malaysian cheerleading spirit for all the teams and supporters who were there.
A giant banner unfurled by the supporters of former champions Blitzerz said it all: “It’s not about winning. It’s about cheer spirit.”
Supporters of all teams cheered on every performance, even those of their strongest rivals.
They even shouted along with the other teams’ shoutouts!
As usual, the teams and their supporters arrived early in the morning, by the busloads.
While the teams did their warm-ups, sound checks (for their music) and all the safety checks by competition officials, the supporters filled up their designated areas in the stands, filling each section with their team colours.
There were flag-bearers, drum sections, blowhorns, megaphones … the supporters came with the whole works.
Dynamitez supporters cheering their hearts out.
By the time the first team took to the mat on day one, the stadium was already a cauldron of noise.
In fact, the supporters were so loud that the hosts had to ask them to take it down a notch during the routines, as some of the cheerleaders had trouble hearing the cues in their music.
Between performances, the hosts, Red FM DJs Terry Ong, Azura Zainal and Jeremy Teo, who’s part of the Cheer furniture by now, played the most random games with the audience, like “Bring it to me”.
Basically, they had to bring to the hosts whatever random item they asked for.
First to do so got a goodie bag, either from the event co-presenter Silkygirl or the co-sponsor Sugus.
And while the judges were tabulating the final score at the end of day two, the whole stadium was treated with a very special performance indeed – by the cheerleaders from CHARM (Cheerleading Association and Registrar of Malaysia).
As if the 34 Cheer teams hadn’t put on a good enough show, the CHARM cheerleaders went even bigger and better with their incredible stunts, which included some very impressive tumbling.
As is tradition, Cheer also brought in an up-and-coming young performer to entertain the crowd.
This year, it was singer Aliff Aziz, who sang two original songs, Jangan Ganggu Pacarku and Sayang Sayang, as well as Chris Brown’s With You.
While there were plenty of familiar sights at Cheer 2012, there was a refreshing change in the Co-Ed category this year – the first ever boy-girl teams.
The Co-Ed category was introduced last year in place of the All-Boys category, but there still weren’t any mixed teams.
This year, however, saw six mixed teams and two all-boy teams.
Team Zodiac from SMK Kepong went home as the Co-Ed champions, while the Tigers from SMK Dato Lokman, Kuala Lumpur, and Vulcanz Co-Ed from SMK Seafield, Selangor, finished as first and second runners-up respectively.
“This is our second time in Cheer but last year we were an all-girl team. So to have placed in the top three as a newly-formed co-ed team is great,” said Tigers captain, Kathleen Shayne Ong, 17.
Ong also spoke about how it was hard to get guys to join the team.
“We have 13 girls and five boys in our team. The guys were quite shy at first because they have this perception that cheerleading is for girls. I think with this win, we’ll be able to get more guys in the team next year,” she said.
Injury woes
While the cheerleaders might make it look easy, especially when they all seemed to have so much fun throughout the finals, there is always a risk of injury with cheerleading – as there is with any other competitive sport.
Thirty-six teams from 30 schools were originally scheduled to perform, but two teams had no choice but to pull out – including five-time Cheer champions Shirtliff, from SMK Seri Bintang Utara, Kuala Lumpur.
The mood was sombre over at the Shirtliff camp on day one.
The team, and their supporters, had turned up hoping to perform, but were advised by the doctor not to take the risk.
“Two of our flyers sprained their ankles during training, and three of our team members are not feeling well,” revealed Shirtliff co-captain, Natasha Alyana, 16.
It was a tough call for teacher advisor Prema Silvam to make, especially given the injury curse had struck Shirtliff last year as well.
“We’re very sad. The team has been training so hard for the competition,” said Prema.
“But we’ll be back next year, and hopefully stronger.”
Team Velocity, from SMK Bandar Puchong Jaya, Selangor, were also forced to pull out due to an injury to a flyer, which shows just how important the entire team is in cheerleading.
But injuries occur during routines as well, which was what happened to D*Starz from SMK Sri Aman, Selangor.
One of their bases, Ng Lay Mun, 16, suffered a recurrence of an old ankle injury, but pushed through the pain barrier to complete the routine.
D*Starz from SMK (P) Sri Aman, Petaling Jaya, Selangor were third overall.
She fought back tears as she was treated by the medical staff backstage.
Her teammate Jenisha Kong, 16, said: “She continued performing despite her injury and for that, we are very proud of her.”
She would be glad she did as well, as D*Starz finished Cheer 2012 as second runners-up.
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