TUFS Cheerleading Team Qualifies for Japan Cup Finals

September 19, 2018

From Friday the 31st of August to Sunday the 2nd of September, the TUFS cheerleading club, RAMS, competed in division 1 (university division) of the ‘JAPAN CUP 2018 Japan Championship’ at the Takasaki Arena in Gunma, and qualified to compete in the finals – a first among national and public universities in Japan.

While many private universities compete fiercely with teams of experienced athletes that have been cheerleading since elementary and middle school, around 90% of RAMS team members have had no experience with cheerleading prior to university, and so the team made it to the finals solely through their own efforts. This is a first for any national/public university in Japan.

The finals will be broadcast on national television.
Please tune in and support RAMS!
●NHK BS1. Monday 17th of September, 20:00～
●NHK World Premium. Monday 24th of September, 1:20～ (after midnight, Sunday 23rd of September)
●(Related Program) NHK BS1. Sunday 30th of September, 22:00～

Performances from this competition are also available to view on the official RAMS YouTube.
Please take a look.
●Semifinal Qualifier Performance: 202.5/300 points.
https://youtu.be/ponknlT_-oM
●Final Qualifier Performance: 197.0/300 points.
https://youtu.be/JlF25RHIh8M

Thoughts on Winning

Eisuke Sakurai (School of International and Area Studies, Southeast Asian Area Studies, third year)

At the JAPAN CUP 2018 Japan Championship, held from 8/31-9/2, RAMS came in 11th place in the university division, becoming the first national/public university to ever qualify for the finals.

This summer presented us with new challenges every day. To achieve our huge goal of qualifying for the finals at the national championship, we raised the difficulty of our performance to higher than we ever before, and really fussed of perfection during our practices.

This goal of qualifying for the championship finals was not a new goal that we just decided on this year, but rather a goal that has been passed on by upperclassmen since the formation of RAMS 29 years ago. I am so happy to have finally achieved this goal that my upperclassmen could not, and at the same time I feel that this win repays all the guidance and training we have received over the years from our coaches and upperclassmen.

I would like to thank all the people who have led and helped RAMS on our journey to the championship stage. To the coaches, upperclassmen, family members and team members who supported and practiced with me through the summer heat, thank you very much.

From now on, RAMS will practice hard as a team in preparation for the All Japan Student Championships in December. As usual, we are also preparing a performance for the Gaigosai, so I’d be happy if you all came to watch us. Please come and cheer us on.