Entertainment

UP Pep Squad Pulls Out Of UAAP Cheerdance Competition

It's a protest move.
by F. Valencia | Oct 27, 2016

On Wednesday afternoon, October 26, the University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad announced that they won't join the 2016 University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Cheerdance Competition (CDC).

The UP Pep Squad posted their statement on their official Facebook page. Part of the statement reads, "From our first request for an informal meeting, to the letter of protest advised by the organizers themselves, we have exhausted all our efforts to reach a resolution. We have repeatedly sought out the delegated individuals to no avail. And after many weeks, months, and now a year of waiting, our issues and questions remain unresolved."



"After a third place finish in last year’s CDC, the UP Pep Squad filed an official protest questioning the result of the contest. The National University Pep Squad successfully defended their crown a year ago while the University of Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe took second place," recalls CNN Philippines.



It was NU’s third straight CDC championship title, tying with UP for the second-longest streak since the CDC started in 1994. UP's most recent winning streak was for 2010, 2011, and 2012. The record for the longest winning streak (so far) belongs to UST, which took first place from 2002 to 2006.

Last year, UP filed an official protest claiming that the "overall results did not genuinely reflect adherence to the competition guidelines and criteria," explains ABS-CBN Sports.

The protest filed by UP Pep Squad head coach Lalaine Juarez-Pereña was endorsed by UP Diliman Chancellor Michael L. Tan.

In any case, the UP Pep Squad will now be busy preparing for the Asian Cheerleading and Dancesport Competition. "The national governing body of cheerleading in the Philippines has granted us the honor of representing the country and we are thrilled to carry our flag alongside Asia’s best," the group said in their statement.

The UP Pep Squad's absence in this year's CDC is official, as the order of performances for this year’s competition was also released on Wednesday. Only seven of eight of the league’s member-schools were present. UP was not included in the line-up for the event set on November 19.

Continue reading below ↓

As expected, netizens weighed in on the issue.


Read more stories about
Sorry, no results were found for