For the first time, the country’s biggest cheer and dance competition will be telecast live as it happens.
Yes, the National Cheerleading Championship scheduled this February 27 and March 1 to 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena, will be exclusively aired on ESPN5 and streamed on its digital property, ESPN.com.
Unlike the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) which covers only eight schools or the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which has 12 member schools, the NCC covers a much bigger spectrum of participants. The biggest private school-based network in the Philippines, as multiple collegiate and HS organizations (UAAP, NCAA, WNCAA, etc) are all represented in the competition.
This year’s edition of the NCC covers the Cheerleading, Dance and Drumline championships and will be held in three phases namely the Cheer Camps non-competition events, the Regional Qualifiers in Bicol, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region and the Nationals final round.
Last year, 150 schools consisting of over 3,500 athletes competed in the NCC’s Dance, Cheer, and Drumline competitions. With a similar or even bigger number of participants, this year’s competition promises to be even more exciting.
As part of its coverage, ESPN5 will have a live coverage of the National Dance and National Drumline Championships on February 27 as well as the All-Girl Cheerleading Championships scheduled for March 1 and the Co-Ed Cheerleading Championships on March 2.
All three events will be live streamed on ESPN5.com while the March 1 and 2 events will start airing on Aksyon TV while there will also be a two-hour highlights episode on TV5 on March 3 from 2 to 4PM.
Vincent “Chot” Reyes, President and CEO of TV5 noted that the extensive coverage of the National Cheerleading Championship is part of ESPN5’s efforts to give sports fans the broadest array of Philippine sports content.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with the National Cheerleading Championship to bring the sport of cheerleading to larger audience in the Philippines. Aligned with our thrust of super-serving the Filipino sports fan is the goal of providing all sports with a platform to help them reach and grow their audience. What better way to showcase the best our country has to offer than by showing local talent on ESPN5,” Reyes said.
NCC president Carlos Valdes III expresses a similar sentiment and said, “We’re excited about this partnership with ESPN5, particularly now that cheerleading is recognized by the Olympics as a sport. Since we started in 2006, the Philippine cheer community has grown by leaps and bounds and is now considered one of the top teams in the world, and with this partnership, we continue to aim to develop our community and continue to compete with best in the world–and maybe even an eventual Olympic medal.”
“I’d like to thank the ESPN5 management for recognizing and supporting cheerleading. The broad coverage plan and media platforms of the ESPN5 network will provide our growing community with an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy the sport as it was meant to be. We hope to continue this partnership in the coming years,” Valdes enthused.
ESPN5 is the long-term collaboration between TV5 and ESPN, the network dubbed as “the worldwide leader in sports.”