Over the weekend, cheerleading squads of the eight universities within the University Athletic Association of the Philippines performed their best routines of the year for the much-awaited yearly competition.
Fans of the university cheering teams, however, noticed that there was a substantial decrease in the cash prizes for the top three performances that Saturday. Last season’s first prize winners took home P340,000 but this year, they would only take home P50,000.
First runners-up received P200,000 last year, but only won P30,000 this year. Same goes with the second runners-up, who earned P140,000 in cash last year, while this year’s third placer only got P20,000.
Cheerleading fans were abuzz on social media, proposing theories on why there was a huge cut in prizes for the 2018 UAAP Cheerdance Competition.
Rebo Saguisag, executive director of the UAAP, released a statement, explaining the contraction. He defended the final prizes and said that the eight competing squads already received chunk of the funds that in previous years went to the prizes for only the top three.
“On substantive grounds, the Cheerdance Grant is supposedly for the benefit of the cheerdance programs of ALL member-universities,” Saguisag said.
He continued:
“It is likewise a move more consistent with the mission of the UAAP to promote amateur sports among the students of the member universities where primary motivation is the pursuit of school pride instead of monetary gain.”
“It is a reminder that in the UAAP, you do not always have to finish first, in order to win.”
The National University Pep Squad took home the crown again last Saturday, it bested the following teams:
- Far Eastern University Cheering Squad (2nd)
- Adamson Pep Squad (3rd)
- University of Santo Tomas Salinggawi Dance Troupe (4th)
- University of the East Pep Squad (5th)
- University of the Philippine Pep Squad (6th)
- Ateneo de Manila University Blue Babble Battalion (7th)
- De La Salle University Animo Squad (8th)
