Cheer Emas 2005 Update

Some of us are in the midst of getting prepared for exams, some of us are in the field getting their stunt up!

The organisers has received in entries for the competition! As far as Thailand, a team from the Northern region, has confirmed their participation. A few local team has confirmed too! We are also waiting for Singapore and Indonesia to send in their entries!

This would be exciting! If your team has not registered, you should do it now by calling South City Plaza (Winiie @ 89422294) or Team All Stars (Jude @ 012 284 4181).

Wishing all Muslim cheerleaders

SELAMAT BERPUASA

Best wishes from SorakMalaysia!

p/s: If you plan for a kenduri berbuka puasa, don't forget to send invitations here!

INTERVIEW - Cheerleader of The Month

Wan Maria Elena bte Wan Zamri
18
HELP Institute student
Xavier captain 2004









QUESTIONS:

1. Please briefly describe how have you participated in cheerleading, and which team did you cheer for?

Hey fellow malaysians!! :) I've been cheering since i was young,back in Sabah in kindergarten. Then i entered SK Convent Bukit Nanas,and i joined the BLUE house cheerleading team. Back then it was just for fun. As i entered SMK Convent Bukit Nanas,i was recruited by my senior members to join the XAVIER team in the year 2001. I was a XAVIER cheerleader till i was in form 5 [yr 2004].I was Co-Captain in 2003,Captain in 2004,and was given the title Best Outstanding Cheerleader in the year 2002 by the British Team :) A few years back,i was also a cheerleader for CHARM All Stars,but i quit from the team for i was suppose to study in America. I came back from the states to study here instead and i joined _Mocha under TEAM ALL STARS! I've been cheering with them since last year.

2. Is the support encouraging enough from school and parents nowadays?

How can this be improved?

I find that,quite a number of the parents in Malaysia don't fancy cheerleading and believe that it is a sport that goes beyond our culture. I have friends from all over,and some of them come back to me with questions on how to persuade their school to establish a cheerleading squad. The support may come easy from schools that encourages different types of sports such as cheerleading. But i do find the overall support from parents and schools are increasing by the year. Some schools have excellent cheerleading squads competing at our annually national championship. I get to see new cheerleading teams arriving every year from different schools. And the number of parents cheering on the stands are increasing. Yes,the sport may still be considered new to some Malaysians even though it has been in Malaysia for 5 years,but i can sense that the sport is getting much publicity as times passes. Malaysia should have more cheerleading squads and competitions to improve the publicity. By winning a competition,a particular school or team gets full coverage and publicity of its fame! And parents having to be proud of their child's success.

3. What have you learn from all the cheerleading sessions?

I've learned alot by becoming a cheerleader. And i've put to use the knowledge in my everyday life.

team work [a must have to achieve a certain goal!]
time management&dicipline [doing things at the last minute doesn't help us but it only brings us failure]
socialising and communciating the funway! [i've met alot of people through the scene of mass communication. i've met people with the same interest as me,CHEERLEADING!]
patriotisme [the love for my country as i was competing in UK recently!]

4. What is your hope and aspiration for the future of cheerleading in Malaysia? I hope to see more cheerleading competitions in Malaysia.I also hope to see this sport rising as any other sport in Malaysia.To see it bringing fame to the country.Cheerleading is a combination of two words. Cheer and lead.I believe that every cheerleader in Malaysia will someday lead the country to success in anyway possible! :)

5. How can we improve the standards locally? To improve our standards locally,we could invite our neighbours that have more experience in cheerleading to help us out.Such as the Thailand National Team,Rangsit from The Rangsit University in Thailand.They came recently to help Team All Stars with our skills before our trip to the UK.And Team All Stars with Rangsit organised a 2 day clinic for all the cheerleaders in Malaysia.It did help alot of teams with their knowledge and skills.Besides that,joining cheerleading camps organised by other neighbours like Singapore.It could help us differenciate the different techniques and skills.I'm sure that Malaysia could improvve trumendously because of their spirit that i've seen every year when the National Cheerleading Competition in Malaysia arrives!

6. Do you think a career in cheerleading is possible in Malaysia? If yes, why? If no, why not?Yes,of course a career in cheerleading is possible in Malaysia. Maybe it will take time since there isn't any official cheerleading association in Malaysia.I hope that there could be a career and that it could help to bring new cheerleaders into the scene. Also publicsing cheerleading as a healthy sport.

Maria can be contacted at: xavierbabe_maria@hotmail.com

To my fellow cheerleaders who will be sitting for the Penilaian Menengah Rendah aka PMR examination, I would like to wish you girls/guys a cheerful luck. Do your best, like how you excel on the blue mat!