Before the announcement of the winners and after all squads have performed, a recap is shown during the telecast. Only the top three teams are announced at the end of the competition. The tally sheet detailing the total number of points earned by all squads is posted on social media shortly after the announcement of the top three.
The 2015 UAAP Cheerdance Competition holds the record as the most attended collegiate sporting event in both the UAAP and across the Philippines, with a record-breaking audience of 25,388 paying attendees.[1]
The competition rules have been revised over the years since its inception. The following information is based on the most recent rules drafted in 2012.[2]
Basic rules
Main Cheerdance Competition
One official team per UAAP-member university
15–25 UAAP-eligible students
A maximum of 5 spotters and props personnel, all in black attire
Up to 2 substitutes allowed 12 hours before the main competition
Performance duration: minimum of 5 minutes and a maximum of 6 minutes, with an additional 30 seconds for exiting the competition mat
Competing teams must perform within the competition mat for the entire duration of their performance
The timer will start when the last performer steps onto the competition mat (excluding spotters) and will end at the last pose of the cheerleaders/performers
No interaction is allowed between panel judges and participants, coaches, or spectators
No abusive or profane language is permitted
No inappropriate or disrespectful actions are allowed
Group Stunts Competition
One official team per UAAP-member university
A maximum of 5 members (with at least 2 flyers; recommended: 3 men and 2 women) who are UAAP-eligible students
A maximum of 2 spotters, all in black attire
Up to 2 substitutes allowed 12 hours before the main competition
Performance duration: minimum of 45 seconds and a maximum of 60 seconds; 1 minute per routine, excluding entrance and exit from the competition mat
Competing teams must perform within the competition mat for the entire duration of their performance
The timer will start and stop at the first and last second of the music
No interaction is allowed between panel judges and participants, coaches, or spectators
No abusive or profane language is permitted
No inappropriate or disrespectful actions are allowed
Performance
Routines must include the following elements:
School Cheer: The school cheer must be yelled live. Any stunts, pyramids, and tumbling performed during the cheer routine will be judged under the cheer category.
Main Cheer and Dance Routine Consists of the following elements:
Cheer Category (50% of the total composite score)
Stunts (Lifts and Dismounts)
Tosses
Pyramids (minimum of 3 pyramids with a maximum height of 2.5)
Cheerleaders are prohibited from stepping outside the boundary line of the 15x20 meter performance area during the performance.
Performances must last 5–6 minutes, with an additional 30 seconds for exiting the performance area for the Main Cheerdance category, and 45–60 seconds for the Group Stunts Division.
Time will stop once all cheerleaders are in their last pose, with an additional 30 seconds for exiting the performance area for the Main Cheerdance category and at the last second of the music for the Group Stunts Division.
All skills performed must be legal and in accordance with the competition rules and the difficulty guidelines specified in the rulebook.
Judges
Prior to 2008, the panel of judges consisted of representatives from 8 UAAP-member schools and a representative from a credible gymnastics organization. In 2009, the UAAP replaced the panel of judges with specialists from various cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics organizations.
In 2013, a new method for composing the panel of judges was implemented by a Presiding Judge. A single judge was assigned to evaluate each element in the cheerleading criteria. For the dance criteria, either two or five judges were tasked with assessing this particular category.
Criteria
The criteria for judging vary from year to year. In 2008, the criteria were changed to a more cheerleading-focused point system, providing a maximum score for each element of cheerleading and/or dancing. For the 2013 edition, the criteria were divided into two categories: cheerleading and dance. The cheerleading criteria were further subdivided into four elements (tumbling, stunts, tosses, and pyramids), with a maximum of 100 points for each element. The dance criteria, which also had a maximum of 100 points per judge, were subdivided into four sub-criteria: overall effectiveness, choreography, technique, and execution.
^c – De La Salle University was suspended from the league in 2006.
^d – Instead of the average score from the five judges, the ranking frequency system was used in ranking and declaring the winners for 2012 UAAP Cheerdance Competition. In the case of NU and UST, NU was declared as the 2nd runner up as 3 out of 5 judges voted for NU as the 3rd placer while 3 out of 5 judges voted for UST as the 4th placer despite the higher score of UST (85.56) than NU (85.16)
^e – Merit-based scoring was used in the criteria: 400 points for cheerleading elements and 400 points for dance elements; for a total score of 800. Scores displayed here are its percentage equivalent (e.g. Actual Score divided by 800 then multiplied to 100).
^f – University of the Philippines skipped UAAP Season 79 Cheerdance Competition
^g – The Far Eastern University and the National University finished the competition tied in the fourth place.
^h – In the 2nd quarter of 2020 the remainder of the UAAP Season 82 was scrapped due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This canceled the 83rd Season as a whole in mid 2020 and the rest of 2021,[27][28]
^i – UAAP Season 84 was scheduled to begin in 2021, but, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UAAP's board of trustees decided to begin the season in March 2022. The UAAP Cheerdance Competition was held on May 22, 2022
^j – A new set of rules were applied to fit the COVID-19 Safety Protocols stated by the IATF[29]
^k – The original rules and regulations were reinstituted. A total of 15–25 performers were allowed to perform and execute a 5- to 6-minute routines.[30]
The cheerdance rivalry between UP and UST is one of the most prominent rivalries in UAAP history, resulting in a total of 15 years of joint podium appearances by both universities. This includes a decade-long streak of joint medal finishes from 1999 to 2008.
The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe won the first three years of the competition, from 1994 to 1996.[3] During those years, UP sent its own dance troupe, the UP Filipiniana Dance Troupe. In the first edition of the contest, UP did not make it to the top three, while the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe reigned supreme. In the 1998 season, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe did not compete and instead participated in the 1st Lipton Cheering Cup Competition. That year, UP established a new pep squad called the UP Varsity Pep Squad as its official delegate to the competition, replacing the UP Filipiniana Dance Troupe.
The rivalry between the two squads began in 1999 when UST returned to reclaim the title after a year of absence. However, they finished second behind the UP Pep Squad. In 2001, the UP Pep Squad matched UST's record of three consecutive wins.
In 2002, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe regained the title, while the UP Pep Squad finished third. For the next three years, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe took first place, with the UP Pep Squad as the runner-up. In 2006, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe achieved their eighth title with five consecutive victories, setting the highest score in the history of the competition, while the UP Pep Squad finished third that year.
The UP Pep Squad regained the title in 2007 and secured their fifth title in 2008, with UST finishing in second place. In 2009, the UP Pep Squad completed a sweep of podium finishes in the 2000s but lost their attempt at a second three-peat, while UST failed to make the top three for the first time. In 2010, UP regained the title, and UST returned to the podium, finishing third. UP achieved another three-peat by winning the 2011 and 2012 editions—years during which UST again failed to make the top three.
Neither UP nor UST won the cheerdance competition from 2013 to 2015. In 2013, UST achieved its lowest ranking, finishing in seventh place. As of 2013, UP had never placed outside the top three, while UST failed to secure a podium ranking four times in five years.
In 2014, UST successfully returned to the podium, finishing in third place, while UP placed second. In 2015, after nine years, UST defeated UP, securing second place, while UP settled for third. As of 2015, both teams had an identical number of championship titles, with eight each. Despite being dethroned, UP remained the most established team, having stayed on the podium for 20 consecutive years.
In the 2017 edition, UP returned from a one-year hiatus but failed to enter the top three, finishing in sixth place. Meanwhile, their perennial rivals, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, placed second. While UST has returned to the podium since 2022, UP has not secured a podium finish since its leave of absence from the competition in 2016.
In 2013, the National U Pep Squad claimed its first-ever championship with an Arabian theme. The UAAP Cheerdance Competition was no longer dominated by the triumvirate of the FEU Cheering Squad, UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, and UP Varsity Pep Squad, which had been champions in previous years. A year later, the National U Pep Squad successfully clinched back-to-back titles and achieved a three-peat in 2015, becoming the third team to accomplish this feat in the CDC amid some controversies. Despite these controversies, the National U Pep Squad secured a four-peat championship in the UAAP CDC in 2016 with a futuristic theme, becoming the second squad to claim a four-peat alongside the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe. Unfortunately, in 2017, they were unable to clinch a five-peat championship or enter the top three due to low dance scores.
In 2017, the Adamson Pep Squad was crowned the champions with the theme "80's for 80." This proved that the underdogs could rise to the challenge of the former champions, with the top three of that year consisting of the UE Pep Squad as bronze medalists and the Adamson Pep Squad as gold medalists. The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe secured the silver medal. Meanwhile, traditional powerhouses National U Pep Squad, UP Varsity Pep Squad, and FEU Cheering Squad were all absent from the top three.
In 2018, the National U Pep Squad made a comeback, securing its fifth championship in just six years. The FEU Cheering Squad, with a 70's Funk theme, finished as the first runner-up, while the 2017 gold medalists, the Adamson Pep Squad, performed a Lion King theme, marking their third consecutive year on the podium and landing in second place for 2018. The scores for the third runner-up, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, were close, with only a 0.5 margin separating them from the second runner-up. Additionally, 2018 was the year the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion was ranked seventh among all the teams, marking their first appearance in the top rankings in five years.
In 2019, the National U Pep Squad added another championship to its achievements, securing its sixth gold medal since 2013. The 2019 CDC edition is known as the year when each team stepped out of its comfort zones, executing death-defying stunts, complicated mountings and dismounts in their pyramids, and displaying highly synchronized choreography throughout their performances. Ultimately, the scores of the 2019 UAAP Cheerdance Competition reflected the highest average since 2012, despite the same rankings as the 2018 edition. The first runner-up, the FEU Cheering Squad, came close with a Michael Jackson-inspired theme, reintroducing the Moonwalk stunt previously performed by the Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion in 2009. The second runner-up, the Adamson Pep Squad, wowed the crowd with a Caribbean-Disco-inspired theme. Although the ADU Pep Squad's final pyramid (the Caribbean) was incomplete, they delivered a clean performance, earning a higher score than the cleaner routines of the fourth-place UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe and the fifth-place UE Pep Squad. The scores for the second, third, and fourth runners-up were very close, with margins of 1.06 and 0.62.
Questions were raised about the results of the 2015 Cheerdance Competition after the NU Pep Squad won despite committing multiple errors, including falls during their lifts and pyramids. This was in contrast to the runners-up, UP and UST, who executed clean performances. The UAAP community took to social media in outrage, expressing disbelief at the rankings and alleging biased judging and corruption. NU claimed that their stunts had a higher degree of difficulty compared to other teams. In response, UP filed an official complaint detailing several judging inaccuracies, but the case remained unresolved with UAAP officials. In a statement released on the UP Pep Squad’s official Facebook account, the state university announced that they were withdrawing from that year’s competition.
“Regretfully, we will not be part of this season’s UAAP Cheerdance Competition,” the statement said.
After a third-place finish in last year’s CDC, the UP Pep Squad filed an official protest questioning the contest's results. National University successfully defended its crown, while the University of Santo Tomas secured the second spot.
“From our first request for an informal meeting, to the letter of protest advised by the organizers themselves, we have exhausted all our efforts to reach a resolution. We have repeatedly sought out the delegated individuals to no avail. And after many weeks, months, and now a year of waiting, our issues and questions remain unresolved,” the statement added.
“Reared in the institution we represent, we abide with our principles of honor and integrity, and stay true to our word of foregoing with the competition, should the same organizers be hired to handle the event again.”[40][41] As a response to the unresolved issues and to focus on international competitions, the UP Pep Squad decided to skip the 2016 competition. Since then, the UP Pep Squad has not returned to the UAAP podium as of 2024.[42]
Group Stunts competition
In 2011, the UAAP introduced the "Group Stunts" competition, hosted by Ateneo. Six teams participated in the inaugural group stunts division: UP, Ateneo, FEU, UST, NU, and Adamson.
In 2012, La Salle joined the group stunts competition for the first time, while Ateneo did not participate in the group stunts competition until 2019. UE joined the group stunts competition in 2014.
In 2014, 2017 (when UE performed that year but was not included in the competition), and 2018, only Ateneo did not participate in the competition.
In 2019, Ateneo returned to the competition after last competing in 2011, while La Salle did not participate that year.
No Group Stunts competition was held from 2020 to 2023.
The University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), established in 1938, is an athletic association of eight Metro Manila universities in the Philippines. The eight-member schools are Adamson University (AdU), Ateneo de Manila University, De La Salle University (DLSU), Far Eastern University (FEU), National University (NU), University of the East (UE), University of the Philippines Diliman (UP), and the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
UAAP Season 69 was the 2006–07 season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The University of the East was the season host with the theme “Achieving Excellence in Sports Through Unity, Harmony and Commitment.” The season started with basketball competition on July 8, 2006 at the Araneta Coliseum.
The NU Bulldogs, Lady Bulldogs, Bullpups and Lady Bullpups are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of National University (NU) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
The UST Growling Tigers, Tigresses, Tiger Cubs and Tigress Cubs are the collegiate men's and women's, and high school men's and women's, respectively, varsity teams of University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. They hold the most UAAP Overall Championships with 47 Seniors' Overall Championships and 23 Juniors' Overall Championships.
UAAP Season 70 was the 2007-08 season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, which was hosted by the University of Santo Tomas. The theme of season 70 was "Winners All, Recreating the Value of Honesty through Sports" It opened on July 7, 2007 at the Araneta Coliseum. De La Salle University returned to active participation after being suspended in Season 69.
UAAP Season 71 was the 2008–2009 season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The University of the Philippines (UP) hosted this season, which coincided with the centennial anniversary of the University's establishment. It opened on July 5, 2008 with an elaborate ceremony held at the Araneta Coliseum.
The UST Yellow Jackets is the official pep squad and drumline of the University of Santo Tomas. Together with the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, the UST YJ form the official cheerdance team of the University of Santo Tomas in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition. The UST Yellow Jackets also perform for halftime during the games of the UST Growling Tigers, the Men's Basketball team of the university in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines.
The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe, is the University-wide organization for dance and the official dance troupe of the University of Santo Tomas (UST). The group is known for its versatility covering wide array of genre from performing arts to cheerleading, from contemporary to breakdancing. The Salinggawi Dance Troupe is also the official cheerdance team along with the official pep squad and drumline - the U.S.T. Yellow Jackets of the University of Santo Tomas. The group also performs for the halftime during the games of the UST Growling Tigers, the university's Men's Basketball team in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The group is also the official team of the University to Skecher's Streetdance Competition.
The University of the Philippines Varsity Pep Squad, more popularly known as the UP Pep Squad or simply UP Pep, was formed in 1994. Beginning as a group of 5 UP basketball fans known as the "Hecklers", the squad eventually became the official cheerleading and cheerdance team of the University of the Philippines. The squad performs at the halftime of the basketball games of the UP Fighting Maroons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines and represents the University in the UAAP Cheerdance Competition, where they were the champions for eight non-consecutive years. UP holds the unprecedented most podium finishes at 20 years straight.
UAAP Season 72 was the 2009–2010 season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by Far Eastern University, with opening rites on July 11, 2009 at the Araneta Coliseum. The men's basketball tournament and the women's volleyball tournament were aired by ABS-CBN's UHF Studio 23 for the tenth consecutive year.
UAAP Season 73 is the 2010–2011 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by De La Salle University. The men's basketball and the women's volleyball tournaments were aired by ABS-CBN Channel 2 and Studio 23 for the eleventh consecutive year following the renewal of the contract for the broadcast of the games. The opening ceremonies were held on July 10, 2010 with the opening game pitting the season host and the UP Fighting Maroons.
The UAAP Street Dance Competition is a new annual event of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines during the closing ceremonies. This is to encourage more students to watch since less spectators attend the closing ceremonies, where players are awarded for their performance. Results of the street dance competition, together with the drum line competition, will not be added to the computation of UAAP Overall Championship.
UAAP Season 74 was the 2011–2012 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. It was hosted by Ateneo de Manila University. The men's basketball and the women's volleyball tournaments were aired by ABS-CBN Channel 2 and Studio 23 for the twelfth consecutive year. The opening ceremony was held on July 9, 2011 at the Marikina Sports Center.
UAAP Season 75 was the 2012–2013 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. The season's theme was "Unbreakable at 75" in relation to the league's diamond year. It was hosted by National University.
UAAP Season 78 was the 2015–2016 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). It opened on September 5, 2015, almost two months after the usual July opening of the league during previous seasons, due to the shift in the academic calendars of four member universities, i.e. Ateneo, La Salle, UP and UST. It was hosted by the University of the Philippines.
UAAP Season 79 is the 2016–2017 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). This season, hosted by the University of Santo Tomas officially opened on September 3, 2016. The opening ceremony was held at the UST Plaza Mayor at 3:00 pm with the formal introduction of ballroom dancing as a demonstration sport in this season by the host school University of Santo Tomas (UST) at España, Manila. The official ceremony started at 5:00 pm as there was a concert party themed "Dare to Dream" where the official theme song for the season was revealed. However, unlike in the previous years when the first double-header basketball games were held following the opening ceremonies, this year it was held the following day, September 4 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
UAAP Season 80 is the 2017–18 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). This season was hosted by the Far Eastern University.
UAAP Season 81 is the 2018–19 athletic year of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). This season is hosted by National University.
The UAAP Ballroom Formation Competition is a contest on dance sport among member-schools of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines. Its first edition was held on 3 September 2016 in UST Quadricentennial Pavilion Arena.
The UP–UST rivalry is a team rivalry between the athletic teams of the University of the Philippines (UP) and the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).
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Far Eastern University (4th title)
