Decked in banderitas and armed with sunflower pompoms, the UP Pep Squad emerged victorious in this year’s UAAP Cheerdance Competition, bagging their sixth UAAP title since the competition started in 1994.
With their non-stop energetic stunts and fiesta-themed routine, the Pep Squad impressed the five judges and garnered a cumulative score of 440.9 points, beating the reigning champion Far Eastern University (FEU) Cheering Squad’s Japanese Samurai-themed routine which earned a score of 421.4 points. The University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Salinggawi Dance Troupe’s tiger-inspired routine earned 407.5 points and ended up in third place, completing the competition’s top three winners.
As champions, the UP Pep Squad received a P 340,000 cash prize plus electronic gadgets for each of the team’s members while FEU and UST got P 200,000 and P140,000, respectively.
Last year’s 1st runner up the Ateneo De Manila University’s Blue Babble Battalion dropped to fourth place this season, while the De La Salle Animo Squad ended up in fifth. Meanwhile, teams from the University of the East, the National University and Adamson University finished sixth, seventh and eight, respectively.
The competition had five judges, namely Anatoly Panasyukov, Moscow Ballet’s principal dancer and Philippine Ballet Theater’s ballet master; Jamsin Amanda Valenton-Ortega, Women’s Artistic Gymnastics gold medalist; Evangeline Navarro, Cheerleading Association of the Philippines vice president; Asian Federation Cheerleading Technical Committee member and the head judge; Robbie Hayden, technical director of the Philippine Cheerleading Federation; and Javier Beren, coach and judge of the International Federation of Cheerleading.
All eight cheering squads were judged according to the following criteria: Dance Technique (10), Jumps (5), Tumbling skills (5), Tosses (5), Lifts and Stunts (10), Pyramids (10), Choreography (10), Degree of Difficulty (10), Synchronization (10), Audibility/Clarity of cheers (5), Uniforms and Props (5) and Overall Effectiveness (10).
—Haidee C. Pineda