HPU wins national title in cheerleading

Advertiser Staff

The Hawai'i Pacific University cheerleaders won their first National Cheerleaders Association Chick-fil-A Collegiate Championship yesterday in Daytona Beach, Fla.

The Sea Warriors placed first in the Division II category and finished second to Division I Louisville in the grand champion category that featured the winners of the nine categories.

The Collegiate Championship is the largest event sponsored by the NCA and has teams from the United States, Mexico, Japan and Canada. It is the most widely viewed college cheer event in the history of collegiate spirit competitions.

The judging and scoring for the championship are similar to that of gymnastics, diving and figure skating with scores ranging from 0-10.

For cheer, judges based their scores on tumbling, partner stunts and pyramid, jumps and motions or dance fundamentals. Performances were limited to two minutes and 15 seconds.

The Collegiate Cheer and Dance Championship will be televised on Fox Sports Net on April 30 and May 14.

The HPU team is scheduled to arrive at Honolulu International Airport today on Continental Airlines Flight 15 at 5:30 p.m.