Japan, USA can’t stop cheering at WUC in Lodz

LODZ – The competition had ended, but teams were still cheering. However, not separated in colours this time. Athletes from the Republic of Korea were lifting athletes from the Russian Federation, cheerleaders from Australia were chanting with cheerleaders from Japan. Once again it became clear that the participants of the FISU World University Cheerleading Championship are a big family, no matter the results of an intense competition. 

Speaking of that, of course there were medals up for grabs on Saturday. After every team had already cheered once on Friday (25% of the final score), on the second day it got real, because the participants were eager to clean up their performances and take home some precious metal.

The second and final day of the WUC took off with Pom and Hip Hop Doubles. And the start of the most important day of the event did not disappoint. In Pom Doubles, the three best teams from day one – USA, Japan and Russian Federation once more proved they have been the best in the competition. They kept their places, and few hours later USA became the first gold medalists of the 1st Cheerleading World University Championship. In Hip Hop, Japan managed to defend their first place with another magnificent performance, despite the really small difference between them and silver medalists Thailand. Third place was secured by Chinese Taipei.

The Team Jazz session was full of strong performances. Despite that, Japan kept their position and won yet another category. Second and third place stayed as it was after day one with Australia and Russian Federation becoming silver and bronze medalists. All teams seemed even more motivated than during the first day, while delivering amazing routines. As during the first part of the day, the performances in Team Hip Hop and Team Pom thrilled the audience and the leading teams after day one showed consistency by holding their positions. Japan dominated both of those divisions with performances that stunned the audience and won gold medals with significant advantage over the 2nd places. In both of those categories, very strong Japanese teams were followed by Australia and Russian Federation.

The spectators during Saturday’s performances had a chance to see the Hungarian team in Elite Small Coed and Russian Federation representatives in Premier Small Coed, even though they were the only teams in their divisions. Even despite a slight delay in a performance of Hungary, both teams showed their best and presented just how motivated they were to showcase their amazing abilities.

The last two divisions – Premier All Female and Premier Large Coed brought the audience to their feet. In the all female division, Japan kept their safe advantage from the first day and won another gold medal for their country, making it a total of five gold medals in the Championship. They were followed by Russian Federation and Canada.

Premier Large Coed started with two great performances from Australia and Russian Federation, but both were not enough to secure a place on the podium. Instead, the third place was taken by Chinese Taipei, who were beaten to the second position by Japan. Another powerful and exciting performance from USA, the home of Cheerleading, finished the night and the competition, as well as provided them a gold medal in Premier Large Coed division.

The event finished with the official Closing Ceremony, during which the representatives of the Organising Committee handed over the FISU flag to the organizers of the next FISU World University Cheerleading Championship in Wonju, Republic of Korea in 2020.

Find the full final results below: