CHEERDANCE

and
CHEERLEADING

Baillo, Maria Julia Deryl G.



Submitted to:
Mr. Jaynard Villaflor
History of Cheerleading in the Philippines and U.S (United States)

 History of Cheerleading n the Philippines

Cheerleading in the Philippines officially emerged in 1993 when the Cheerleading

Philippines Federation (CPF) was officially founded. The CPF is the “is the national
confederation of Cheerleading organizations. It is the national governing body of
Cheerleading and Cheer Dance in the country. Its primary activities are organized through
standing Commissions that are each responsible for some aspect of the sport's
development in the country. The CPF is mandated to sponsor and sanction cheerleading
& cheer dance competitions and a variety of national and international cheerleading
competitions, including the Cheerleading World Championships, the Asia Cup, the IFC
World Cup.”
However, it may be possible that cheerleading in the Philippines may have started
way before 1993. There may have been minor accounts of cheerleading in the Philippines
although no official accounts have been published regarding the subject matter.
Cheerleading in the Philippines has three major competitions. These three
competitions are the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP)
Cheerdance Competition, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Cheerleading
Competition and the National Cheerleading Championships (NCC).
The UAAP Cheerdance Competition, founded in 1994, is an annual one-day event of
the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerleading, usually held at the
Araneta Coliseum. The participating schools of this competition are Adamson
University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), De La Salle
University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of
the East (UE) and University of the Philippines (UP).
The NCAA Cheerleading Competition, previously known as NCAA Cheerdance
Competition is an annual one-day event of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association for cheerleading, which was recently founded in 2004. The event was
sanctioned by Cheerleading Philippines Federation (CPF) and thus adopted the official
scoring criteria used in international cheerleading. The participating schools of this
competition are Arellano University (AU), Colegio de San Juan de Letran (CSJL), De La
Salle - College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), Emilio Aguinaldo College (EAC), Jose Rizal
University (JRU), Mapua Institute of Technology (MIT), San Beda College (SBC), San
Sebastian College - Recoletos (SSC-R) and University of Perpetual Help System
Dalta (UPHSD).
The National Cheerleading Chamionship (NCC) was recently founded in 2006. The
competition first started small, with 10 teams and divisions: high school and college. By
2008, 29 teams participated in the NCC, which featured squads from around the country;
thus making NCC the first and only true National Cheerleading Organization in the
Philippines. Just like the NCAA, the NCC uses the official scoring criteria used in
international cheerleading.
Where culture and politics enter the picture

Given the history and the background where cheerleading is set in the Philippines,
culture and politics play an important role in analyzing the social meaning produced in
this worldly recognized sport. The main objective of this blog post is to be able to
deconstruct Cheerleading in the Philippines using the discourse analysis. It aims to
explain why females are more vulnerable in the sport and consequently, why they are
also empowered in the sport by using the feminist theory/ post-modern feminist theory.
Moreover, it aims to trace why there is an emergence of gay people in the sport and why
does society view males who join this sport gay, using the queer theory.

Using the post-modern feminism lens

Cheerleading in the Philippines has a grand narrative in which a common template

exists. This common template consists of men and women, whereby the women are lifted
by the men.
As mentioned earlier, cheerleading started as an-all male activity. Women became
active too but they much more prominent in the early 1940s, during the war when
they revitalized the spirit and renewed the sentiments of the people. Nowadays, in
America and most especially in the Philippines, cheerleading is considered to be a girl
sport. This is because a bigger majority of the team consists of women. But more than
this, biological attributes and qualities of women are reflected in the sport itself. The
biological attribute is that women are proven to be flexible than men. In an article from the
Daily Mail, women are more flexible, particularly in their back. It's an evolutionary trait,
carved out by the need for females to be mobile even when they're extremely
pregnant. According to Dr Katherine Whitcome of Harvard University, "Pregnancy
presents an enormous challenge for the female body. The body must change in dramatic
ways to accommodate the baby and these changes affect a woman's stability and
posture. It turns out that the enhanced curvature and reinforcement of the lower spine are
key to maintaining normal activities during pregnancy." The extra bendiness is possible
because the curvature takes place in the lower spine, or lumbar region, over three
vertebrae in women - compared with only two in men. The female joints are also larger
and flare out further down the spine than those of men - improving their spine's strength.
Moreover, the attitudes of women are reflected with their ability to be graceful and to smile
despite the difficulty of the stunts. The routine should be easy on the eye despite the
difficulty of stunts that is shown. Just like a woman’s meticulous eye, everything should
carried out perfectly, with smiles on their faces. Moreover, it reflects the perkiness of
women is seen as they revel in the pleasure in the limelight, boosting the crowd by
showing their athletic capabilities.
There are two main divisions in cheerleading: the all-girls and the co-ed division. In
the all-girls division, the “girl power” feminism is highlighted in a sense that they perform
both the roles of men and women. They lift and get lifted, they do a basket toss and at
the same time, get thrown in the air. Plus, they have to do tumbling passes, which are
usually done by men. According to a book entitled “Cheerleader!: An American
Icon”, these girls assume some of the characteristics associated with masculinity such
as physical training, power and strength yet they don’t actually want to be a man. They
are “heterosexy athletes”- women having the capability of men but are still feminized.
In the co-ed division, there is sexual division of labor. Most of the time, women get
lifted and get thrown in the air while the men do the lifting and tossing of girls. With this,
women have more risks involved in this sport. They get thrown and hovered 8 feet above
the air, they are lifted about 2 feet above the ground and dance, plus do gymnastics just
like the men do. Since they are launched in the air by men, who are biologically stronger
than girls, the impact is more powerful making their injuries worse. Moreover the women
engaged in this sport can be subordinated in a way that they are taken as “trophies”.
When lifted, they look so poised and dignified but in reality they are just objects by which
the men exercise their power on. For instance, most male cheerleaders brag about how
strong they are and boast on how many cheerleading positions they can make the women
do once they are lifted. In our society, this can be reflected as the “trophy wife” wherein
she is just a status symbol of a pricey object for the purpose of increasing the status of
the man. This is where the women are objectified.
Another perspective of it can depict a scenario in which the women are exalted
and the men are the slaves. The women are on top because they may be venerated while
the men are at the bottom because they are of the lower kind. In this case, the women
are empowered.
Using the queer theory
In the Philippines, nowadays, the emergence of gay people has changed the
course of cheerleading. Now, gay people are slowing dominating the world of
cheerleading. They use this sport to express their womanly attributes such as creativity
in dance and flexibility. In the National Cheerleading Competition, they even get lifted,
tossed up in the air and dance. The gay men get effeminized when they get lifted. Again,
bisexuality is emphasized in such a way that the gay people can do both the roles of men
and women. In a way, it’s entertaining and amazing for most people to see them do the
parts of women in the sport; however they are still looked down upon. Since cheerleading
is considered to be a girly sport, they also identify with women and their experiences,
particularly in the subordination of society. As we live in a very patriarchal society, the gay
people are being judged mostly by men. Moreover, the society immediately associates
gayness with cheerleading rather than being “true” brute men. That is why few men
engage in the sport. Stereotyping males as gay is not true in all cases. There are still
more men in some teams, more often in conservative schools. Moreover, the line “Any
man can hold a cheerleader's hand but only the elite can hold her feet." gives them a
sense of pride and dignity despite the stereotyping them as gay/ sissy.
The over-all deconstruction that can happen in cheerleading is to have an all-male
cheerleading sport. Since cheerleading now is associated with femininity, it can be
interesting to have an all-male team to deconstruct the notion that the sport is effeminized
all throughout. Since cheerleading was founded by men, there can be a possibility of
having it again, but not to lead to the subordination of the all-girls and co-ed teams. This
is where the construction of social meaning takes place. Since there stereotypical notion
of cheerleading exist as effeminized sport, there is a fear of being chastised by society.
There is a threat to masculinity, but one way to deconstruct it is to have an all-male
cheerleading team.
Using the post-colonial lens

Cheerleading in the Philippines is different in other parts of the world even if there
is an increasing effort for interconnectedness for cheerleading in the global level (Worlds).
Although the Philippines tries to copy the American style of cheerleading, we still do it our
own way. We copy the technicalities of the sport of the Americans but we incorporate our
own creativities and approaches to the sport. With this, traditional American style is mixed
with the Philippine style, making it hard to have the traditional dual categories. The
Philippine style of cheerleading is to make it as entertaining as possible. With the use of
props and visual techniques, it sort of mimics the television show, ShowTime wherein
creativity and the creation of new ideas are welcomed. Moreover, the emergence of
cheerleading all over the Philippines paves the way for small movements to emerge which
gives it a sense of locality together with the sport (for instance, University of Cordilleras).
On another note, Newsweek reported that in an international cheerleading
competition last 2007, China's Nanning Middle School No. 26 performed a “bizarre”
routine which, according to the judges, was more of a cultural performance rather than
cheerleading. This can be related to Said’s Orientalism in which the Orient tends to be
inferior than the Occident (West). This occurrence can be analyzed in the post-colonial
sense in the way that the West is trying to impose its own rules in the world of
cheerleading. In cheerleading in the Philippines, we use the international standards of
judging because that is what is imposed on us. These rules of scoring are treated as
“better” than those made locally.

 History of Cheerleading in the U.S (United States)

The history of cheerleading has roots in ancient times, reaching back to the early
Olympic Games and even the Roman Coliseum. However, cheerleading as it is practiced
today is an American tradition begun in the late 1800s.

Cheerleading Origins

If it seems like football and cheerleading are inextricably linked, it's because they
are. As the story goes, the first organized cheer ever recorded took place at an 1880s
Princeton football game. The cheer was rather primitive by today's standards, but it
served the purpose of getting the crowd excited and the team pumped.
That must have been a great experience, because Princeton graduate Thomas
Peebles later brought the game of football with him to the University of Minnesota, and
he didn't forget to include the popular cheering activities with it. Peebles himself led the
crowd in what has become the traditional Minnesota cheer still heard at games today.
Despite these early efforts, it's Johnny (Jack) Campbell who gets credit as the
modern father of cheerleading. On November 2, 1898, Campbell and several other young
men were officially selected to lead the "yelling", as it was then called, at the last
Minnesota home game of the season. For all intents and purposes, this was the first "pep
squad" ever formed, and it set the pattern that would be followed for years to come.

The Advent of Women Cheerleaders

 As you now know, men were the primary cheerleaders in the sport's infancy, even
though women did cheer along from the stands. However, the 1920s brought a flurry of
activity that would widen cheering's reach and appeal. Women were finally admitted to
the University of Minnesota's cheerleading squad, and cheers began to evolve from
simple crowd chants. Various gymnastic moves and acrobatics were added to standard
cheers and were immediate crowd pleasers. Fans in the stands learned to follow along
with hand and arm motions. Some even attempted to form clumsy pyramids of their own
in imitation of what they had seen during the game. It was also around this time that the
first cheerleading book was ever written, entitled Just Yells by Willis Bugbee.

The First Cheerleading Supply Company

It wasn't until the 1930s that the ever popular pom poms made their debut. These
early prototypes were made from paper and didn't hold up well at rainy games. Durable
vinyl pom poms would not be in use until some 30 years later.The first cheerleading
company began operations in the 1940s, courtesy of Lawrence R, Herkimer. If something
about that name sounds familiar it should; Herkimer, a former gymnast himself, created
the famous "Herkie" jump still seen frequently today.

Organization, Training and Growth of the Sport

Cheerleading had also become serious enough to warrant its own organization,
thus the American Cheerleaders Association was founded.
From the 1950s forward, cheerleading would continue to become more organized.
Cheer clinics and camps were designed to train interested young people in the art of
cheering. Originally springing from schools for team support, cheerleading teams began
to branch out to semi-professional organizations competing in national competitions.
Professional sports teams added line ups of gorgeous professional cheerleaders to draw
even more fans to the games. Cheerleading had finally reached the big time with favorites
like the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and the Laker Girls setting new trends in uniforms
and cheer dances. Those trends continue to the present day.
Cheerleading has become a multi-million dollar industry that shows no signs of
slowing down.

A Tradition with a Solid Future

Now you know something of the history of cheerleading, but cheerleading's future remains
to be seen. One thing is certain, as long as people gather at sporting event to support
their favorite teams, cheerleaders will be there to spur on the crowd.
Cheerleading in the Philippines

Cheerleading in the U.S

Who is Lawrence Herkimer?

Lawrence R. Herkimer, who elevated

cheerleading into an aspirational goal for generations of
youths and a highly successful business for himself,
organizing camps for would-be cheerleaders and selling
the clothing and gear they would need, died on
Wednesday in Dallas. He was 89.
The cause was heart failure, his grandson
Michael Dewberry said.
Mr. Herkimer was often called the grandfather of
modern cheerleading and Mr. Cheerleader. Not only did
his enterprises achieve sales of $50 million a year, he
also patented the pompoms that have become a staple
of cheerleading and invented a leap known as the
“Herkie jump” that is widely used by squads across the country.
Mr. Herkimer had been a scholarship student and head cheerleader at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas when, after graduating in 1948, he borrowed $600 from a
friend of his father-in-law’s to begin what would amount to an American cheerleading
industry, setting up shop in his garage.
His first cheerleading camp attracted 52 girls and one boy; in his second year,
enrollment climbed to 350.
At first, he continued to teach physical education and statistics at S.M.U. But he
said: “I was making more money in the summertime in camps than I was teaching all
year at S.M.U. So I quit teaching and went full time into cheerleading. It grew by leaps
and bounds.”
Eventually, one of the companies he founded, the National Cheerleaders
Association, was running camps at 430 sites staffed by 1,500 instructors and training
150,000 would-be cheerleaders annually.
He published a magazine for cheerleaders called “Megaphone,” and his
Cheerleader Supply Company put out catalogs offering instruction manuals, sample
cheers, sweaters, skirts, emblems, badges and other items. He also was the co-author,
with Phyllis Hollander, of “The Complete Book of Cheerleading” (1975).
Mr. Herkimer said that anticipating the advent of color television inspired him to create
kaleidoscopic crepe-paper pompoms. (He called them pompons, the French spelling,
because he was told that the other version was slang in the Pacific for prostitute.)

“I figured there had to be something more colorful on the field than a chrome stick that
the cheerleaders twirled,” he said, “so I got the idea to put some colored paper on a
stick.”
While cheerleading at scholastic sports events dates to the 19th century, Mr.
Herkimer boasted that he took it “from the raccoon coat and pennant to greater heights,”
especially after World War II, when more women began enrolling in the nation’s colleges.
By the time he sold his various cheerleading enterprises in 1986 for an estimated
$20 million, he was considered the undisputed pacesetter of the cheerleading business.
 Lawrence Russell Herkimer was born in Muskegon, Mich., on Oct. 14, 1925. His
father, Nilan, was a salesman. His mother was the former Lenola Gilfus. The family moved
to Dallas when he was 4.
He was a cheerleader in high school and served in the Navy during World War II.
As head cheerleader at S.M.U., he was on the sidelines when the star running
back and future Hall of Famer Doak Walker was on his way to winning the Heisman
Trophy in 1948, the year Mr. Herkimer graduated with a bachelor’s of science degree. He
earned a master’s degree from the University of Illinois.
One of his notable contributions to cheerleading was the so-called “Herkie jump.”
To execute it, swing the right arm upward to begin your leap, and as you depart the
ground, your left hand clutches your hip while the left leg is propelled out parallel to the
ground and the right leg is drawn back.
But his wife, the former Dorothy Brown, cautioned early on that he would not be
able to perform the maneuver indefinitely and persuaded him to start making and selling
supplies, among them a 16-pleat twirling cheerleader skirt she designed.

What is the original purpose of Cheerleading in today’s world?

The original purpose of cheerleading is still relevant in today’s world, even

with the increasing popularity of competition.
Cheerleaders are the promoters of their schools and communities. They are a key
marketing tool to the athletics programs that they support, and they create the community
patriotism we call “school spirit.” Most importantly, they are tomorrow’s leaders who
through the development of athletic skills, leadership, and teamwork will be vital members
of the community in the future. Be a cheerleader and become a leader.
 Judging
During a competition routine, a squad performs carefully choreographed
stunting, tumbling, jumping and dancing to their own custom music. Teams create
their routines to an eight-count system and apply that to the music so that the team
members execute the elements with precise timing and synchronization.
Judges at the competition watch closely for illegal moves from the group or
any individual member. Here, an illegal move is something that is not allowed in
that division due to difficulty and/or safety restrictions. They look out for deductions,
or things that go wrong, such as a dropped stunt. They also look for touch downs
in tumbling for deductions. More generally, judges look at the difficulty and
execution of jumps, stunts and tumbling, synchronization, creativity, the sharpness
of the motions, showmanship, and overall routine execution.

 Professional
Professional cheerleaders and dancers cheer for sports such as football,
basketball, baseball, wrestling, or hockey. There are only a small handful of
professional cheerleading leagues around the world; some professional leagues
include the NBA Cheerleading League, the NFL Cheerleading League, the CFL
Cheerleading League, the MLS Cheerleading League, the MLB Cheerleading
League, and the NHL Ice Dancers. Although professional cheerleading leagues
exist in multiple countries, there are no Olympic Teams.
In addition to cheering at games and competing, professional cheerleaders
also, as teams, can often do a lot of philanthropy and charity work, modeling,
motivational speaking, television performances, and advertising. Cheerleading can
be a dangerous sport. There is much contact in this sport as there is lifting and
tumbling.

 Dangers of Cheerleading
The risks of cheerleading were highlighted when Kristi Yamaoka, a
cheerleader for Southern Illinois University, suffered a fractured vertebra when she
hit her head after falling from a human pyramid.[53] She also suffered from a
concussion, and a bruised lung. The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance
during a basketball game between Southern Illinois University and Bradley
University at the Savvis Center in St. Louis on March 5, 2006. The fall gained
"national attention", because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as
she was moved away from the game. Yamaoka has since made a full recovery.
The accident caused the Missouri Valley Conference to ban its member
schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part
in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball
conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the NCAA that
conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high
or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and
women's basketball season. On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by
the AACCA rules committee:
The committee unanimously voted for sweeping revisions to cheerleading
safety rules, the most major of which restricts specific upper-level skills during
basketball games. Basket tosses, 2 high pyramids, one-arm stunts, stunts that
involve twisting or flipping, and twisting tumbling skills may only be performed
during halftime and post-game on a matted surface and are prohibited during game
play or time-outs.
Of the United States' 2.9 million female high school athletes, only 3% are
cheerleaders, yet cheerleading accounts for nearly 65% of all catastrophic injuries
in girls' high school athletics.[56] The NCAA does not recognize cheerleading as a
collegiate sport; there are no solid numbers on college cheerleading, yet when it
comes to injuries, 67% of female athlete injuries at the college level are due to
cheerleading mishaps. Another study found that between 1982 and 2007, there
were 103 fatal, disabling or serious injuries recorded among female high school
athletes, with the vast majority occurring in cheerleading.
In the early 2000s, cheerleading was considered one of the most dangerous
school activities. The main source of injuries comes from stunting, also known as
pyramids. These stunts are performed at games and pep rallies, as well as
competitions. Sometimes competition routines are focused solely around the use
of difficult and risky stunts. These stunts usually include a flyer (the person on top),
along with one or two bases (the people on the bottom) and, one or two spotters
in the front and back on the bottom. The most common cheerleading related
injuries are: sprained ankles, sprained wrists, back injuries, head injuries
(sometimes concussions), broken arms, elbow injuries, knee injuries, broken
noses, and broken collarbones. Sometimes, however, injuries can be as serious
as whiplash, broken necks, broken vertebrae, and death.
The journal Pediatrics has reportedly said that the number of cheerleaders
suffering from broken bones, concussions, and sprains has increased by over 100
percent between the years of 1990 and 2002, and that in 2001 there were 25,000
hospital visits reported for cheerleading injuries dealing with the shoulder, ankle,
head, and neck. Meanwhile, in the USA, cheerleading accounted for 65.1% of all
major physical injuries to high school females, and to 66.7% of major injuries to
college students due to physical activity from 1982 to 2007, with 22,900 minors
being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002.
In October 2009, the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and
Advisors (AACCA), a subsidiary of Varsity Brands, released a study that analyzed
the data from Emergency Room visits of all high school athletes. The study
asserted that contrary to many perceptions, cheerleading injuries are in line with
female sports.
Cheerleading (for both girls and boys) was one of the sports studied in the
Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program of the Colorado
School of Public Health in 2009/10-2012/13. Data on cheerleading injuries is
included in the report for 2012-13.
Types of Cheerleading and it’s benefit
 All Stars Cheerleaders
All star cheerleaders are normally associated with a gym that teaches tumbling,
gymnastics and cheerleading. Their main objective is to compete and they are
dedicated to practicing and performing. They do not cheer for another sport such as
football or basketball. Thus, their cheers are a bit different, they don't use offense and
defense cheers and use instead what is called competition cheers. Their skill level is
usually very high as they mainly focus on competitions. In an all star gym you can find
many different types of coaches such as a tumbling coach, stunting coach, and a
choreographer. As a whole, all star cheerleaders are skilled in many things, including
but not limited to, tumbling, dance, gymnastics, and stunting. To make it on an all star
squad you will have to go through a rigorous tryout process and they usually pull their
cheerleaders from their group of gym students. It is thought that all star cheerleading
is the fastest growing sector of cheerleading. Most all star cheerleaders are governed
by the United States All Star Federation, USASF, but not all. All star cheerleading can
be a very expensive activity considering parents have to pay for uniforms, travel,
lessons and all other expenses related to competitions.

 Scholastic Cheerleaders
These are the cheerleaders that the majority of people are familiar with and what
comes to mind when you hear the word "cheerleader." They are associated with a
school and their main focus is cheering for other sports and raising school spirit. Some
scholastic cheerleaders compete, but not all of them. Their tryouts are normally held
in the spring for the next school year. The tryout process can be held over a number
of days or it can be that everyone that tries out makes it. The decision is left up to the
coach and what she/he is looking for in cheerleaders. The tryout process can be either
judged or voted on by the student body. This is also where there can be varsity and
junior varsity cheerleaders depending on grade and/or skill level. Scholastic
cheerleaders can range from novice to advanced levels of ability and sometimes
popularity can even play a part in the selection process. Because scholastic
cheerleaders represent their school their personality, leadership ability, grades, and
conduct are normally factored in when deciding who makes the squad. Scholastic
cheerleaders normally cheer for football, basketball and sometimes other school
sports. The coaches for a scholastic cheerleading program are pulled from teachers
and they can have an actual coach or an advisor.
 Recreation Cheerleaders
The recreation type of cheerleader is associated with a community's recreation
department, church, or the YWCA, which in turn, can be associated with a national
recreational league such as Pop Warner or the American Youth Football and
Cheerleading League. A lot of areas of the country have state recreational
associations or regional associations too. This type of cheerleader normally makes
the squad if they sign up, so no official tryouts are held. The cost to be a recreational
cheerleader is minimal. Rec cheerleaders usually cheer for the other sports in the
 league and they can compete in cheer competitions if they so choose. Coaches in a
rec program are normally pulled from the parents or recreational program and it's
usually a voluntary position. Because rec cheerleaders are very novice to begin with
and are taught the fundamentals of cheerleading, they make an excellent source or
feeder group for scholastic and all star programs.
 Pro Cheerleaders
In the world of cheerleading, pro cheerleaders are not considered "real"
cheerleaders. They are thought of as entertainers and dancers more than as
cheerleaders. It's a grueling process to make a pro cheerleading squad and the
number of applicants is high compared to the number that makes it on a team. They
are paid very little for their performances but have a number of opportunities to travel
and do things such as appearances and calendars. Most pro cheerleaders have a full-
time job to offset their pro cheerleading careers and a lot of them use their experience
as a pro cheerleader to further a career in the entertainment field. Exceptional looks,
personalities, communication skills, and dance ability all play a part in the selection
process for pro cheerleaders.

Cheerdancing in the Philippines

The UAAP Cheerdance Competition is an annual one-day event of
the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerdancing. The sequence of
the performance are determined by drawing of lots prior the competition.
Before the announcement of winners and after all squads have performed, a
recap is shown during the telecast. Only the Top 3 are announced at the end of the
competition. The tally sheet of the total number of points garnered by all squads will be
posted on social media briefly after the announcement of the top three. The 2015 UAAP
Cheerdance Competition was the most attended UAAP event with a record-breaking
25,388 paying audience.
 Participants
1. Adamson University Adamson Pep Squad
2. Ateneo de Manila University Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion
3. De La Salle University DLSU Animo Squad
4. Far Eastern University FEU Cheering Squad
5. National University National U Pep Squad
6. University of the East UE Pep Squad
7. University of the Philippines UP Pep Squad
8. University of Santo Tomas UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe

 Basic Rules

1. One official team per UAAP-member university.

 2. 15-25 UAAP-eligible students.
3. Max of 5 spotters/propsmen, in all-black garb.
4. Up to 2 substitutes 12 hours before the main competition.
5. No interaction between members of the panel judges and participants, coaches
and spectators.
6. No abusive and profane language.
7. No inappropriate and disrespectful action.

 Performance

1. Routines must have

a. School cheer yelled live. Any stunt, pyramid, and tumbling done during the cheer
routine will be judged under the cheer category of each element.
b. Dance Routine (50% of total score)
i. Stunts (Lifts and Dismounts)
ii. Tosses
iii. Pyramids (minimum of 3 pyramids with a maximum of 2.5 high)
iv. Tumblings (standing and running)
2. Maximum of 7 snares and 12 bass drums if the venue is Araneta Coliseum; 5 snares and
6 bass drums if the venue is SM Arena.
3. Cheerleaders prohibited to be outside the boundary line of 15x20 meters performance
area during the performance period.
4. Performance must be 4-5 minutes long.
5. Time will be stopped once all cheer dancers are no longer in the 15x20 meter performance
area.

 Judges
Prior 2009, the panel of judges compose of representative from 8 UAAP-
member schools and a representative from a credible gymnastics organizations.
In 2009, UAAP replaced the panel of judges with representatives from various
cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics organizations.
In 2013, a different way of composing the panel of judges was made. A
single judge was assigned in every element in the cheerleading criteria. For the
dance criteria, four judges were tasked to judge this particular criteria.

 Criteria
The criteria for judging varies year-on-year. In 2008, the criteria were
changed to a more cheerleading-focused point-system, giving a maximum score
for each element of cheerleading and/or dancing. For 2013 edition, the criteria
were divided into two: cheerleading and dance criteria. Cheerleading criteria were
sub-divided into four elements (tumbling, stunt, tosses, and pyramid) with a
maximum of 100 points for each element, while the dance criteria, which had a
maximum of 100 points per number of judges for dance, were subdivided into four
sub-criteria (over-all effectiveness, choreography, technique and execution).
 The NCAA Cheerleading Competition previously known as NCAA Cheerdance
Competition is an annual one-day event of the National Collegiate Athletic
Association for cheerleading.
It was sponsored by Nestlé in 2004 and 2005 and was known as the NCAA Nestlé
Non-Stop Cheerdance Competition. In 2007, the competition was sponsored
by Samsung and was called as Samsung NCAA Cheerdance Competition. The event
was also sanctioned by Cheerleading Philippines Federation (CP) and thus adopted the
official scoring criteria used in international cheerleading. The name of the competition
was changed in 2008. The criteria for the 2009 Samsung NCAA Cheerleading
Competition was patterned with the National Cheerleading Championship or NCC. The
judges also came from the said competition. This gives NCAA a special privilege where
NCC granted slots for the 2010 NCC Finals for the top three winners.
In the 87th season of the NCAA, cheerleading has been upgraded to a regular
sport which means it will contribute points in the overall championship race.[1]
Currently in Season 93 NCAA Cheerleading competition is now organized and
sanctioned by Philippine Cheer Union (PCU), a new cheerleading organization formed
from former coach members of Philippine Cheerleading Alliance (PCA) who holds
competitions of NCC.
 Participants
1. Arellano University AU Chiefsquad
2. Colegio de San Juan de Letran Lakkas Arriba Cheerleading Team
3. De La Salle-College of St. Benilde CSB Pep Squad
4. Emilio Aguinaldo Colleege EAC Generals Pep Squad
5. Jose Rizal University JRU Pep Squad
6. Lyceum of the Philippines University LPU Pep Squad
7. Mapua Institute of Technology Mapua Cheerping Cardinals
8. San Beda University San Beda Red Corps
9. San Sebastian College-Recoletes Golden Stags Cheerleading
de Manila Squad
10. University of Perpetual Help Altas Perpsquad
System Dalta