Tag: Singapore

Posted on

Cheerleading In The New Normal

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:05-08-2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many industries and individuals, and cheerleading and cheerleaders are not exception. Although sports in Singapore has already resumed in Phase 2, the sport of cheerleading remains dormant as prolonged contact is still not allowed under the latest advisory by Sport Singapore and Cheerleading Federation (Singapore).

However, we are lucky that segments of cheerleading is allowed to resume in phase 2 such as tumbling, jumps and CheerDance. We can now practice in groups of 5 with a coach which allows us to build back the team spirit little by little. Masks are still recommended to be worn during our workouts and cleaning and sanitization procedures are carried out after each group has left the premises.

Although stunting is still not allowed by Sport Singapore and Cheerleading Federation (Singapore), we have started preparing our bodies and refreshing our stunting skills with conditioning and stunt drills through our online cheerleading fitness program CheerFit SG, in hopes that the restrictions imposed on contact sport by Sport Singapore will eased out in the near future.

SafeEntry check-ins, temperature check and hand sanitizers has become the norm at our cheerleading studio as we strive to resume cheerleading in the safest way possible for all of our athletes as their health is our top most priority. Athletes are also to leave the premises once their training session is over so as to prevent them from hanging around in the facility for a long period of time.

Team bonding has also been a challenge for us. Other than the weekly online workout session and tumblng sessions in our cheerleading studio that allowed us to meet each other, the EXCO initiated a mini bonding session over dinner last weekend for the team to bond over a simple dinner at Poulet Vivocity.

As we enter into the month of August, the first thing that is on every Singaporean’s mind would be National Day. It has been our annual practice to have an outdoor stunt photoshoot in red and white to celebrate the spirit of National Day together as a team. However, due to the no stuntiing restriction, we have decided to do a simple individual photoshoot in red and white to spread the National Day cheers this year.

It has been a really challenging period for Singapore as a nation and for us as a cheerleading community, and it will continue to be as challenging as before moving forward into the new normal. We urge our fellows cheerleaders to follow the regulations imposed by Sport Singapore so that we can all stay safe and do our part as a cheerleading community in Singapore. We believe that we will definitely be able to overcome this pandemic and emerge more united in the new normal future. Together a stronger Singapore!

Posted on

5 Activities Cheerleaders Can Do While Staying In At Home

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:16-04-2020

Having to stay at home for an extended period of time can be rather frustrating for athletes, especially for players in team sports like cheerleading. It is impossible to practise majority of our skills without any human interaction. So we have come up with 5 activities that cheerleaders can do while staying in at home to stay in shape and stay current with their cheerleading know-how.

Workout and Stay Active – There are various cheerleading workout online that helps to keep you in shape. You can choose from a wide variety of workout from cardio and endurance to strength and power workout to excite your body and keep it active. The last thing you would want is to loose all the speed, strength and endurance that you have built up through numerous cheerleading trainings.

If you are looking for a live workout program, do follow us on our Instagram (@cheerforcesg) as we bring you live workout program created by cheerleaders specifically for cheerleaders every Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening.

Stretch Those Muscles – Flexibility is a key component of cheerleading, and it is not just the flexibilty of the flyers but our overall flexibility of our muscles so as to reduce the chance of injury when we return to training in the future. There are various stretching tutorials online that teaches you the proper stretching technique so that your body gets stretched in the right way.

Cook Up A Diet Plan – As the saying goes, six packs are made in the kitchen, and so is a healthy body. It will do your body injustice if you were to workout incredibly hard to only binge on junk food afterwards. While you are coming up with a diet plan, why not try your hands on preparing your own meal? There are simple healthy recipies which you can prepare under 30 minutes.

Drill Your Techniques – We know most of you might be wondering how do you continue working on your cheerleading techniques without the help of your bases or flyers. In our weekly Instagram live workout, we have segments like Stunts & Drills and Handstand 101 that teaches you exercises so that you can continue to work on your techniques for your stunts, tumbling and jumps. With a little creativity, we made it possible!

Netflix n Chill – For those who would just like to have a chill day, why not hope over to Netflix and catch the latest cheerleading series “CHEER” and be inspired by Monica Aldama and the cheerleaders of the the Navarro College Cheer Team as fight their way through various challenges while going for their 14th National Championships. It is a great cheerleading documentary series that everyone should watch and if you have not, you are missing out.

BONUS ACTIVITY – During difficult times like this, we started a little campaign of our own titled #SpreadHopeNotCOVID so bring a little ray of hope to everyone we love around us for them to stay strong and together we can defeat this virus. To participate in our cause, simply post a photo or video of something that you enjoy doing but is unable to do it now due to the global pandemic. Tag 3 other friends and add in #SpreadHopeNotCOVID in your caption will do. Tag us too on Instagram so that we can share your hopes with everyone.

Thank you and till our next blog entry, take care and stay safe! Stay home, save lives!

Posted on

Roar In Harmony At Chingay 2020

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:05-02-2020

We had a blast last weekend at the Chingay Singapore 2020, performing 2 days in a row and showcasing the sport of cheerleading at Asia’s biggest street parade. It was really sensational to hear the crowd cheering with every stunt that went up and the energy at the F1 Pit Building was electrifying.

Chingay 2020 brings to you “Colours In Harmony”, a dynamic showcase of Singapore’s multiculturalism and diversity in celebration of People’s Association 60 years of community building with the people. This year CheerForce Singapore is in the Chinese New Year segment dressed in black and gold modern tribal costume, representing the lion tribe.

This year we faced multiple challenges such as shorter preparation time and multiple revamping of our routine, to which we worked together as a team and helped each other out to ensure that we always present the best we can to our audiences. It was a tough ride for us to put up the show at Chingay Singapore this year as more than half of our members have less than 1 year of cheerleading experience but everyone understood what was requireed of us and put our best foot forward with every practice, rehearsal and show.

Through our relentless efforts, we put up what we planned and received great comments from members of the public. Thank you for all your positive feedback and encouragement and we look forward to bringing more amazing cheerleading performance to you in the future.

We would like to thank People’s Association and our production manager, Lily Chen, for their continuous support for us from the preparation stage through the end of parade 2. We would also like to thank Chingay’s Artistic Director, Mr Fan, for this guidance and feedback which pushes us to change our performance routine to put up the best performance we can and differentiate us from the rest of the performances.

Special thanks to the members from King Edward VII Titans Cheerleading Team who decided to join us for this Chingay performance to make our performance even more amazing together. We are also thankful to have our korean friend, Kiu, who flew all the way from Korea to perform with us at the parade. Last but not least, we would like to thank all our supporters, company’s management, alumnis, friends and families for their support for us throughout this journey which made Chingay 2020 possible for us all.

Chingay 2020 not only is a platform for us promote the sport of cheerleading, but it is also a channel for us to come together as a cheerleading community to build friendship and memories that last. If you are interested in being part of our cheerleading community, we look forward to having you with us at Chingay 2021!

Visit our official website to find out more about us and the cheerleading performances that we did. Contact us now and be part of our amazing cheerleading community or have us bring the hype of cheerleading to your event!

Cheers!

Posted on

IFC Class 1 Cheerleading Safety Coaching Qualification Course

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:17-12-2019

Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of having Zhao Ming, from Federation of Cheerleading (Singapore), Yuki Iwai and Brandan Chen to conduct the International Federation of Cheerleading (IFC) Class 1 Cheerleading Safety Coaching Qualification Course at our cheerleading studio for 9 aspiring cheerleading coaches from our team.

Apart from teaching the basic elements of cheerleading, safety of cheerleading activities are heavily emphasized in this course and how cheerleading coaches can minimize the risk of injuries and breach of safety through checks and supervision. It also teaches the proper progression chart for partner stunts, tumbling and jumps and some of the drills that can be taught to build up to the final stunt that we want to achieve.

Other than theory and sharing sessions, the course also includes practical segments where participants will be taught how to properly catch a falling top person. We were surprised to know that even for spotting and catching a falling top person, there is a proper progression to it to ensure safety while learning.

For example, when learning the bear hug catching, we started with learning the proper posture by hugging the top person on the ground level and lifting them up. Once we are cleared of having the correct catching posture, we then moved on to having the top person do a mini hop from the ground level and catching the top person while he or she is in the air. Once deemed proficient, we proceed onto having the top person stand on an elevated platform and stepping off to allow his or her partner to catch him or her using the bear hug catching method. Eventually, participants learnt to catch the top person falling from shoulder stand level using the proper technique to ensure safety.

On day 2 of the course, our 9 members were tested on their knowledge from the Class 1 Coaches Handbook as well as on their practical safety skills such as executing bear hug catching and cradle catching. After 2 days on intense effort, we are excited to announce that all 9 members are now qualified IFC Class 1 coaches!

Overall, we felt that this was a very informative and useful coaching course, especially for coaches of teams that just started out or have new members constantly, like NTU and NUS hall team coaches, as it provides the proper progression charts and innovative stunts that we do not see in Singapore but are useful building blocks for member’s skills advancement as well as skills confidence. Safety is the main priority for coaches and members so always start building from ground zero to minimize the risk of injury.

Thank you for reading and stay safe for all cheerleading activities everyone! Cheers!

Posted on

CFXVQ 2018 CF Elite Cheer Exchange Tour

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:17-10-2018

The term CFXVQ might sound foreign to many people but to members of CheerForce SG, it is something we hold close to heart.

It all started back in May 2016 when we decided to reach out into the Thailand cheerleading market for an overseas exchange. Being a young team of only one year old, it was not easy to have teams that wanted to have exchange with us.

After reaching out to 6 teams, we got in contact with P’Tan. We made an overseas call, confirmed the dates of our exchange and our first exchange with Vanquish Cheerleading Team was set.

Throughout the past 2 years, we have made numerous trips to Thailand for exchanges with them. As we try to work past the language barriers, cheerleading has always been the common language that we speak and through cheerleading, we have built stronger and fonder memories together.

Earlier this month, 10 of us made a trip up to Thailand for our CFXVQ 2018 exchange. Despite both teams having new training place and new members in the team, the feeling of family is still always there.

Every exchange feels like a long awaited family reunion of brothers and sisters and it’s always heart warming to see their faces welcoming us every time without fail.

Despite them busy having practices for their upcoming competition, we had a great time bonding with them during their breaks and after training as we exchanged skills, laughters, Facebook and Instagram.

On the day that we are leaving Bangkok, we were touched that the team came to send us off at the airport. As we took our last few photos and hugged them goodbye, we know that we will see each other again soon, in Singapore or in Thailand.

This exchange may be a first for many of the members of both teams and we hope that we will all keep in contact on the team level as well as on the personal level so that when we meet again, we will have more stories to tell, more memories to share.

We are very fortunate to have the support of Vanquish Cheerleading Team for the past two years and we look forward to many more years of friendship to come! Special thanks to P’Tan and P’Ben for their unconditional support and always believing in us!

CheerForce & Vanquish! Two Teams, One Family!

Posted on

Promoting Cheerleading In Singapore

Author : CheerForce Singapore

Date:23-07-2018

On 30th May 2018, CheerForce took a huge step to change its direction and purpose as we saw the problem that was causing the sport of cheerleading to decline in Singapore. We decided to make the change from a competition oriented team to a performance oriented team so as to reach out to more Singaporeans to promote and increase the awareness for the sport we love.

Being a Singapore cheerleading performance team, we are on the constant lookout for talents that has the love for performing as well as the love for cheerleading. However, we also welcome public with no prior cheerleading experience to come and join us to learn about the sport of cheerleading and the safety precautions that coaches and members take to ensure everyone has a fun and safe training.

Together as a team, we aim to increase the public’s awareness and understanding of cheerleading as a unique performance sport in Singapore through our cheerleading performances and workshops. Cheerleading is a unique performance sport that requires the participation and cooperation of all members in the team. It helps individuals to build trust, teamwork, discipline and leadership within the team.

Through our efforts, we aim to have more people exposed to cheerleading in a conducive and fun environment where safety is the top priority. For those who are interested to have a try at cheerleading, our trainings are on every Friday 7:30pm-10:30pm and every Saturday 1pm-4pm. Drop us a message or an email if you would like to join us for our training sessions or just to find out more about cheerleading and about CheerForce.

Visit our official website to find out more about us and the cheerleading performances that we have. Contact us now and let us bring the hype to your event!

Cheers!