Cheer All Out

Dear Blog,

today i went alllllllllllllll the way to South City Plaza to watch Wai Min’s cheerleading squad compete in the SCP Cheerleading Competition. it was a cloudy sunday afternoon, the pigs of the house (brothers) were very quiet, and the air conditioner had coincidentally decided to stop that irritating whirring sound … so it was the perfect time for sleeping in until 4pm. but no, slumber i cannot, for on this sleep-inducing Sunday Afternoon, i MUST sacrifice my slothy desires for my best friend!!!

and so after three rounds of wrestling with the snooze button, i reluctantly CHEERFULLY made my way over to the infamous black area, Serdang.

(hahahaha dont misunderstand, all Serdang folks who sputtered indignantly upon reading that. INSIDE JOKE, i swear. no one mugged me when i was there, alright?)

i arrived late, as usual, but only 30 minutes lah okay! get off my case! i was so worried that i may spend another 30mins looking for the venue of the competition, but all i had to do was follow the catchy beat of Bombs Over Baghdad (most overplayed cheer song EVER), and in only 10 seconds i was pushing my way to the front of the crowd gathered at the centre court.

the first team, Charms was finishing up their routine as i stepped on the last of Granny Feet and just nicely exhausted my ‘ExcuseMe!’ quota. dammit, i thought. they are the Allstars’ main competitor since both teams have some cheer-political history going on, so i was quite annoyed that i missed almost their whole routine. but whatever. i managed to catch 5 seconds, and shit their male cheerleaders are something else! really good!

the 2nd team, sorry no comment. i dont even have good pics of them.

the 3rd team, was quite a shock! Crusaders from Sekolah Sri Garden. hahaha holy shit?! our school has two cheer squads now? well cool then, the more the merrier..! or well, just as long as quality is kept up. so okay, the Crusaders came out all donned in very cute black uniforms — not your conventional cheer outfit, though. they were wearing TURTLENECKS! like, whoa. hot hot hot. and i meant that literally, perspiringly so.

okay, i will be very honest, but i was not expecting much from this squad. i’ve seen Shewanaz perform countless times, yet with so many years of experience behind them, they never seem to improve one iota. so, what’s one to think of a BRAND NEW baby squad who from what i hear has no proper coach, and has only two semi-experienced cheerleaders among a group of cheer-newbies?

yep, you think they’re gonna suck.

BUT surprisingly, they do not.

in fact, they were actually pretty damn good!!!

i was like. so shocked. it was such a pleasant surprise to see great coordination, teamwork, sharp movements and an overall good performance coming from a baby squad. the stunts were not particularly eyepopping, but it was a neat and clean routine which i very much appreciated. better something simple, than something too elaborate and having all your flyers falling face down on the mat.

good job, Crusaders!!! so proud of you all.

4th team up was Shewanaz, Sri Garden’s first (and until recently, only) cheerleading squad. i was surprised to see all of the seniors gone from the squad? seriously man, almost all the members in there were 15 and below. they all looked so tiny!!! and if my eyes decieved me not, only ONE of the seniors remained. huh. does that not say a lot about the team’s progress as a concrete squad?

their routine was so-so. one particular flyer kept falling. pardon my frankness, but that girl has been falling since the beginning of time, and she does not look too keen on improving her balance and stunting. *rolls eyes* also, half of the squad looked like they were dead. hello, what happened to the equation of CHEERLEADER = PERKY that all cheerleaders are supposed to hang over their beds and repeat to themselves each morning while brushing their teeth perkily? Shewanaz’s flaccid movements just made me want to look away from the routine and go buy a croissant.

also expected more stunts from an apparently experienced squad. bring back the Arabesque and the Scorpion of 2005!!!

that said, i liked the Lotus in the dance routine. FUNKY!

5th and final team, ALL STARS! waimin’s team! w00t!!!

i absolutely loved their routine. energy PUMPING, and the crowd loved them. fucking fantastic stunts, immaculate choreography, great footwork, dazzling smiles and infectious energy. showmanship was a 10/10. me likeeeeey.

and can i scream this out to the whole world ..

WAI MIN CAN DO A BASKET TOSS. HOLY FUCKGKFJDGJFDKJGF

THAT’S MY BEST FRIEND, PEOPLE!!!!

to those who dont know what a basket toss is, it’s like this :

aka, very hard to do, very dangerous, illegal in some competitions.

yeah. and wai min can do it.

*PROUD!!!*

so besides a couple of times where their flyer (not waimin) took some falls from the extensions, their routine was superb. simply fantastic.

but they didnt win :(

when they announced All Stars as 1st Runner Up, i yelled “ROBBED!!!!!” (cue all aunty-uncle-smallkids staring at Su Ann) cos i knew Charms must have secured champion if All Stars got 2nd place. however, my indignant response wasnt justified at all. Charms performed their routine once again for the crowd, and after seeing more than just 5 seconds, i must admit that they were a lot better than Allstars. they were very professional, winning energy, seamless teamwork and it pains me to say this, but better choreography than Allstars’. plus their flyers took no falls, which would explain the 100-point lead they had.

ahhh!!!

countdown to Cheer 2006, where over 30 teams from Malaysian schools nationwide will be taking part. cannot wait!!!

hey, if you were manager of a cheerleading squad, what would you name it? haha i think i’d call mine Starburst! i honestly think it’s the perfect embodiment of what Cheer is all about. well either that, or i’ll take a leaf out of Dawn Yang’s book and call it Clapbangkiss. haha how’s that for a cool cheer name?!

16 comments April 3rd, 2006