Late change in routine turns out to be the CHARM for cheerleaders

PETALING JAYA: Last-minute routine changes did not stop the National Youth All-girl Cheerleading Team from securing a third place finish at the International Cheer Union (ICU) World Championships.

The all-girls team, composed of 20 athletes aged 12 to 15 years old, took home the bronze medal in the youth all girl median event at the world meet in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.

But the road to the podium finish wasn’t all smooth according to Malaysian Cheerleading Association (CHARM) deputy secretary Becky Gan, who said the team’s routines had to be amended right before the tournament.

“On the first day, we found out that two of our stunt executions may result in an infraction,” she said.

“So the coaches had to make the decision to change the choreography and the team had to adapt to and practise the new changes in a very short amount of time,” she said.

Despite the challenges, the girls finished third behind Canada (first) and Mexico (second).

The result was an improvement from the team’s debut outing at the world meet last year where they finished sixth.

With the girls training almost 10 hours a week at night after school before heading to the United States, the team were also faced with some members being sick before the competition.

“I think the girls have done a great job despite all the challenges that they have been through.

“They still managed to perform and getting top three is really a dream come true for all of us,” said Becky.

The world meet celebrated its 21st year and was the largest global cheerleading event ever conducted, with over 10,000 athletes from more than 80 countries participating.

At the same time, CHARM thanked Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh for the ministry’s RM50,000 support for the team’s journey at the world meet.

“We would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Hannah Yeoh and all the team’s sponsors for their unwavering support throughout the team’s journey.

“This achievement was only possible with the contribution and teamwork of every party involved,” she said.

Becky had previously said that the team was primarily funded by the athletes’ parents, but the ministry’s financial support for the world meet along with RM30,000 for other activities is sure to be a huge help for the association moving forward.

The team will remain in Florida as they now prepare to compete at the International Cheerleading Cup from April 28-29.