Cyrens reign supreme at CHEER 2017
Team tops coveted High School All-Girls category and rules the roost for eighth year
A lot of parents and members of the public came to show their support. Ng Kok Heng
PETALING JAYA: The Cyrens team of Sri Kuala Lumpur reigned supreme for the eighth consecutive year at CHEER 2017, Malaysia’s premier cheerleading competition.
The team topped the coveted High School All-Girls category with a stunning performance.
“Words can’t describe how I’m feeling, but cheerleading isn’t just about winning.
“It’s about friendship and supporting each other, no matter which team we’re from,” said Cyrens captain Cassandra Yang, 17.
The crowd at the day-long event at Tropicana City Mall here yesterday were treated to some jaw-dropping stunts by 30 teams comprising the country’s top cheerleading athletes.
“A lot of parents and members of the public came to show their support which created a sense of camaraderie,” said Ng Kok Heng, CEO of XOX Berhad, the event’s official partner.
The University Co-Ed Elite category, introduced last year, was won by Puzzle from Tunku Abdul Rahman University College, with S.U.C. from Sunway University coming in as runners-up.
“I’ve worked harder in cheerleading than anything else in my life, and it’s paid off,” said Puzzle captain Teoh Yueh Tern, 22.
The other two major categories, High School Co-Ed and Junior All- Girls, were won by Zodiac Co-Ed from SMK Kepong and Rayvens from Sri KL.
The champions for each category received RM1,500 each.
Team Dynamick from SMK Damansara Jaya won XOX Mobile’s Best Showmanship awardwhich allows them to watch an artiste record a song live in the studio, as well as a ONEMUSIC sim card which comes with exclusive music-related benefits.
CHEER 2017 judge Tan Yee Ming said the new rule allowing 20 members per team, instead of 16, made the competition even better.
“It allowed the teams to perform more intricate and technical stunts, which is what we saw this year,” said Tan, who hopes cheerleading can be included in the SEA Games in future.
The competition highlights video will be released by R.AGE, The Star’s award-winning documentary and video production team on fb.com/ thestarRAGE.
CHEER 2017 was organised by R.AGE and supported by the Youth and Sports Ministry, Education Ministry, and Cheerleading Association and Registry of Malaysia.
XOX Mobile is the event’s official partner, with Sunway Education Group as prize sponsor.