TUFS Cheerleading Team Advances to Japan Student Cheerleading Championship Finals

January 23, 2019

On Saturday the 15th and Sunday the 16th of December, the TUFS cheerleading team, RAMS, competed in Division 1 of the “Japan Student Cheerleading Championship” held in Takasaki City, Gunma, and qualified to compete in the finals – a first among national and public universities in Japan.
RAMS is a mixed-gender cheerleading team, which is rare in Japan, and is made up of 50 members who train hard every day. In this competition, RAMS entered its A team into Division 1 of the free-form category (16 people per team), its B and C teams into Division 2 of the same category, one team into the doubles category (two people per team) and two teams into the mixed gender division of the small groups category (five people per team).

Results

【Division 1】
All Stars (A Team)
Preliminaries: Seed
Semi-Finals: 208.0 points (10th/36 teams)
Finals: 205.5 points → Combined score: 309.5 points (11th/12 teams)

【Division 2】
RED (B Team): 156.0 points (16th/25 teams)
WHITE (C Team): 138.5 points (19th/25 teams)

【Doubles】
RAMS: 101.5 points (4th place)

【Small Groups – Mixed Gender Division】
RAMS?A: 75.5 points (1st place)
RAMS?B：69.5 points (2nd place)

A Comment from RAMS

Following our win at the JAPAN CUP, which was the culmination of our efforts in 2018, we are on a roll. Our club is at a 30-year turning point of sorts, but we took that and managed to have a good year. Thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way.
The competition will be broadcast on Sky A Television, and we would be delighted if you‘d watch.

● Saturday 19th January, 12.30～15:00, Division 2
● Friday 25th January, 21:00～23:30, Division 1 Semifinals
● Saturday 26th January, 21:00～22:30, Division 1 Finals

Below are links to videos of the competition.

Interview: Yuta Imaki (School of International and Area Studies, Oceanian Area Studies, third year)

At this competition, as well as competing with 16 people in the free-form category, we, RAMS, competed in the small groups category in groups of five. In the small groups category, we managed to win the national title two years in a row.
This year’s team was made up of students from first to fourth year. We practiced hard, and took into consideration the different experiences and levels of each of the members who make up our team. I think this time’s win is due to how we unified during practice by getting over the initial year-level hierarchy, and because everyone was able to fulfill their role as part of the team.
I am really thankful for my fellow team members (including those in the small groups); my upperclassmen who always support me both technically and mentally, my fellow third years who are always beside me encouraging me, and my lowerclassmen who put their all into cheerleading. I am really grateful for all my teammates.
By participating in this competition, we all learnt many new things not necessarily related to our cheer techniques, and also grew emotionally. Using this experience as motivation, I want to give my all to help RAMS become an even bigger team. I also hope that the staff and faculty of TUFS who are always there supporting us will let us repay their kindness through performing at events such as Open Campus and Gaigosai. Please keep cheering us on!

Interview: Shumpei Katashiba (School of Language and Culture Studies, Chinese Language Studies, 2nd year)

This time, RAMS was able to qualify for the finals and come in 11th place in Division 1 of the “2018 Japan Student Cheerleading Championship”.
At the JAPAN CUP held in summer, we, for the first time in both RAMS and National/Public University history, were able to come in first place. This time’s competition (an intercollegiate) was held in winter, which means that every team represents the result of a year’s hard work, with each team even more refined than in summer. It made me worry about how RAMS could match up to the champion teams from private universities. This winter, we all thought about this and dealt with it as a team. From this, we discovered our strength is our organizational capability. We don’t rely on one person’s skills, but instead contribute as individuals to create high level routines together. For this competition, each team has to reorganize their 50 members into a team of 16, so RAMS entered three teams. These three teams inspired and raised each other up, and as a result we were able to achieve a win together.
I hope to work as a team to use our newly discovered “organizational capability” to help RAMS grow into an even bigger team next year.
Lastly, I’d like to say thank you to all of the RAMS OBOG, our coaches, my family, all our supporters at TUFS, and of course to my teammates with whom I have spent many good times and tough times. Thank you very much.
Our journey has only just begun, so please keep cheering us on.

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