SHARMILA NAIR
alltherage@thestar.com.my
WHILE it takes a lot of effort to get to the top, it takes even more determination to stay there.
That is the biggest lesson the cheerleaders from Cyrens learned throughout their Cheer 2012 experience.
The students from SM Sri Kuala Lumpur in Subang Jaya, Selangor, were under tremendous pressure to maintain their winning streak at the national inter-school cheerleading competition this year.
They were already Cheer 2010 and Cheer 2011 champions, and had even created history when their sister team the Rayvens won second place last year – making them the first school to have two teams in top two positions.
“We really wanted to win the championship trophy three times in a row. Everybody was motivating us to do better and to keep up our good work. It’s not easy to stay on top,” said Cyrens captain Amanda Lim, 17.
The girls practised for over 10 months, working on their tough routine and polishing their performance along the way.
It was hard work but the girls were determined to come up with a perfect routine that would get them their third consecutive Cheer win.
“We trained over two hours a day, four times a week with our coaches. As the competition got nearer, we trained even harder. It was difficult, but we did our best because we wanted to win so badly,” said Lim.
However, it wasn’t always easy leading a bunch of school girls.
Lim had to keep reining them in when they got too excited during practice sessions.
“Most of the girls were really playful and got extremely ‘hyper’ at times. But the good thing was that they always hit perfect routine when they are like that. I love their fighting spirit and their teamwork,” said Lim.
The Cyrens were super excited to be the winners again!
A week before the Cheer 2012 finals, Lim organised a sleepover at her house where all the cheerleaders got together to relax before the major event.
“It was our bonding session. We just talked and had a good time being around one another. I think that the session brought us closer as a team and that really helped get us ready for Cheer 2012,” said Lim.
Their hard work and determination paid off when the girls put on a stunning performance on the first day of Cheer 2012 and proved that they were definitely one of the teams to beat.
The Cyrens ended the day on a high note with a score of 232, landing them on the top spot among the 34 competing teams.
Right behind them on the score list that day with 231.5 points was Cheer 2007 champion, team Dynamitez from SMK Damansara Jaya, Selangor.
The Dynamitez are one of the strong contenders in Cheer 2012 and are known for their ability to execute difficult stunts and routines.
“We didn’t get to watch the Dynamitez’ performance on the first day of Cheer 2012, but after seeing the scores and finding out that they were only 0.5 points behind us, we were quite scared that they might just win the competition instead,” recounted Lim.
The Cyrens were the last team to perform on the second day of Cheer 2012, and the girls unfortunately made some obvious mistakes which Lim had feared would jeopardise their winning chances.
“One of the cheerleaders slipped up, and we were afraid that it would cause us to lose the competition. We didn’t want to disappoint our supporters who were there on both days of Cheer 2012 and had been motivating us throughout the competition,” said Lim.
They even had the support of former Cyrens’ captain Ong Wei Wen who kept an eye on the them during Cheer 2012.
“She encouraged us to do our best.”
Nevertheless, the girls proved that even with a minor slip up, they were still the best among the rest. T
he Cyrens were crowned the overall winners with 453.5 points and Lim is happy that they managed to achieve what they had set out to do – to win Cheer 2012.
“We are really happy with this win and I think that our hard work paid off.”
The girls and their schoolmates (and their teachers, of course) were awarded for their win with a holiday last Tuesday and Lim was glad that they got to give something back to the people who supported them throughout their Cheer 2012 journey.
“We are really thankful for our supporters for keeping our spirit up the whole time. They really played a big role in our win.”
It was also a bittersweet moment for Lim, as this is her last year with the Cyrens.
“I’ve been with the Cyrens for four years and I’m happy to leave with such legacy. I hope that the future Cyrens captain would push the team to achieve more success and maintain our winning streak.”
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