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MANILA, Philippines – The Team Pilipinas Cheer and Dance is all geared up to rep hard in the 2017 World Cheerleading Championships arranged by the International Cheerleading Union (ICU), on April 26 to 28 at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
In the competition deemed as the “Olympics of Cheerleading,” Team Pilipinas aims to bag awards in 4 divisions – All Girl Elite, Coed Elite, Cheer POM, and Cheer Hip hop.
The National Cheerleading Championship (NCC) is the self-funded organization that forms and supports Team Pilipinas to represent the country. NCC president Carlos Valdes says that NCC has been the most successful cheer program for International competitions since its inception back in 2009. Valdes says, “Team Pilipinas 2017 is the biggest delegation ever sent to the world championships.”
The coaches training the team are Randell San Gregorio (head coach of FEU, SHS, and Miriam Sayawatha), Ramon Pagaduan (head coach of UST and SPCP), Ivy Tabares (head coach of Poveda Juniors), and Arnold Villanueva (Head coach of CCP). They were selected from the most successful cheer programs in the local High school and College division.
A veteran to the competition, Team Pilipinas has acquired numerous awards. Despite the successful record, the team has yet to gain recognition and financial support from the government. Sponsors have also declined to support them. Money raised to send the athletes abroad came from their parents, friends, and relatives.
According to the team, raising money was a big challenge. Visa delays also created a small problem. “Four members of the coed team and their coach [had] to rebook flights 2 days after [the] original flight because their visas [were] not yet delivered, said Pagaduan.”
“[Another] challenge [was adjusting] with one another because [the athletes] come from different mother teams,” Pagaduan adds. The athletes hail from ADMU, DLSU, UST, FEU, NU, CCP, CSB, University of Perpetual Help, Letran, SHS, SPCP, MC, AC, and CSR.
Team Pilipinas allotted a day for bonding to further familiarize themselves with each other and improve synergy. Despite the diversity of athletes and coaching styles, Valdes discloses that the team was able to develop coordination and camaraderie after various practices.
Team Pilipinas has been training hard since October last year and NCC ensures that with the athletes’ blood, sweat, and hard work, they will represent the country as one team. Pagaduan says, “as a coach, I only one hope for team Pilipinas [to] represent our country well and make our countrymen proud.” – Rappler.com
Patricia Dy is a Rappler intern from the Ateneo de Manila University.
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