National Cheerleading Competition set

EXPECT boisterous chants, graceful dance moves and high level team spirit as collegiate and high school organizations all over the country gear up for this year’s National Cheerleading Competition (NCC), which opens on February 27 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

This 2018 edition of the NCC covers the Cheerleading, Dance and Drumline championships and will be held in three phases namely the Cheer Camps non- competition events, the Regional Qualifiers in Bicol, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region and the Nationals final round.

Unlike the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) that covers only eight schools, or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which has 12 member schools, the NCC gathers a much bigger spectrum of participants. The biggest private school-based network in the Philippines, multiple collegiate and HS organizations (UAAP, NCAA, WNCAA, etc) are all represented in the competition.

In 2017, 150 schools comprised of over 3,500 athletes competed in the NCC’s Dance, Cheer, and Drumline competitions. This year promises to have a similar or even bigger number of participants in what promises to be a more exciting competition up ahead.

ESPN5, the long-term collaboration between local channel TV5 and cable sports network ESPN, will present the exclusive live coverage of the National Cheerleading Competition. This will mark the very first time that the country’s biggest cheer and dance competition will be telecast live as it happens.

Besides opening day, the succeeding events on March 1 and 2 will also be live streamed on ESPN5.com.

Vincent “Chot” Reyes, President and CEO of TV5 noted that the extensive coverage of the National Cheerleading Competition is part of ESPN5’s efforts to give sports fans the broadest array of Philippine sports content.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with the National Cheerleading Championships to bring the sport of cheerleading to larger audience in the Philippines. Aligned with our thrust of super-serving the Filipino sports fan is the goal of providing all sports with a platform to help them reach and grow their audience. What better way to showcase the best our country has to offer than by showing local talent on ESPN5,” Reyes said.

Carlos Valdes 3rd, President of the National Cheerleading Competition expresses a similar sentiment and said, “We’re excited about this partnership with ESPN5, particularly now that cheerleading is recognized by the Olympics as a sport. Since we started in 2006, the Philippine cheer community has grown by leaps and bounds and is now considered one of the top teams in the world, and with this partnership, we continue to aim to develop our community and continue to compete with best in the world—and maybe even an eventual Olympic medal.” This year’s NCC promises to be more exciting via a three- day competition