UAAP Cheerdance Competition

The UAAP Cheerdance Competition is an annual one-day event organized by the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for cheerdancing. The sequence of performances is determined by a drawing of lots prior to the competition.

UAAP Cheerdance Competition

Sport	Cheerleading & Dance
Founded	1994
No. of teams	8
Country	Philippines
Most recent champion(s)	National University (8th title)

The 2007 UAAP Cheerdance Competition (CDC) held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines

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.

Participants

School	Cheerdance Team
Adamson University (AdU)	Adamson Pep Squad (with AdU Drummers Yellers On-line )
Ateneo de Manila University	Ateneo Blue Eagles (Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion: until 2022)
De La Salle University (DLSU)	DLSU Animo Squad (DLSU Pep Squad: 1986–2007) (DLSU Animo Squad: 2008–present)
Far Eastern University (FEU)	FEU Cheering Squad (with the FEU Boosters and the FEU Drummers)
National University (NU)	National U Pep Squad (with the NU Cheer Squadron and the NU Percussion Department)
University of the East (UE)	UE Pep Squad (with the UE Red Drummers)
University of the Philippines (UP)	UP Pep Squad (UP Filipiniana Dance Troupe: 1994–1996) (with the UP Varsity Pep Drummers: 2024-present)
University of Santo Tomas (UST)	UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe (with the UST Yellow Jackets)

Judging

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.

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.

Sponsors

Major Sponsor/s	Competition Name	Year(s)
Nestlé Ice Cream	Nestlé Crunch Ice Cream Cheering Competition	1998–1999
	Nestlé Non-Stop Cheerdance Competition	2000–2005
Samsung	Samsung UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2007–2013
Purefoods, Oishi, Hana Shampoo, Systema	UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2014
Champion Detergent, Purefoods, Oishi, Jollibee, McDonald's	UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2015
Yamaha	UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2015–2021
Palmolive, PH Care	UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2022
Dunkin'	UAAP Cheerdance Competition	2023
Max	UAAP Cheerdance Competition Presented by Max	2024

Results

Each season, the host school for the UAAP Cheerdance Competition may or may not be the same as the league's season host school.

Main Cheerdance / Cheerleading Competition

Year	Season host	Venue	Champion	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place	7th place	8th place	Ref.
1994	NU	Araneta Coliseum	UST	La Salle	FEU
1995	Ateneo	Araneta Coliseum	UST	FEU	UP
1996	La Salle	Araneta Coliseum	UST 91.70	UP 88.86	La Salle 86.43	FEU 86.39	Ateneo 83.05	Adamson 81.64	UE 81.19	NU 79.87
1997a	Adamson	The competition was suspended for a year.
1998b	UE	Araneta Coliseum	FEU	La Salle	UP	Ateneo	UE	Adamson	NU
1999	UP	Cuneta Astrodome	UP	UST	FEU	La Salle	Adamson	Ateneo	UE	NU
2000	UST	Araneta Coliseum	UP 92.75	UST 89.12	FEU 88.99	Adamson 84.04	UE 83.88	La Salle 82.25	Ateneo 81.38	NU 80.97
2001	FEU	Araneta Coliseum	UP 81.22	Adamson 77.11	UST 76.32	FEU 76.17	UE 74.96	Ateneo 73.80	La Salle 72.55	NU 70.13
2002	NU	Araneta Coliseum	UST 87.38	UE 84.88	UP 84.00	FEU 80.70	Ateneo 78.60	Adamson 76.80	La Salle 71.50	NU 64.50
2003	Ateneo	Araneta Coliseum	UST 89.50	UP 88.16	FEU 88.00	Ateneo 83.16	UE 78.50	Adamson 72.60	La Salle 69.60	NU 61.80
2004	La Salle	Araneta Coliseum	UST 93.61	UP 90.56	FEU 87.09	Ateneo 85.79	La Salle 84.97	Adamson 84.76	UE 79.52	NU 68.44
2005	Adamson	Araneta Coliseum	UST 90.98	UP 90.76	FEU 88.72	La Salle 76.37	UE 76.15	Adamson 76.09	Ateneo 69.33	NU 64.48
2006c	UE	Araneta Coliseum	UST 94.96	FEU 93.20	UP 91.70	Adamson	Ateneo	UE	NU
2007	UST	Araneta Coliseum	UP 92.66	UST 92.16	FEU 91.66	Ateneo 91.63	Adamson 91.62	UE 91.55	La Salle 89.54	NU 84.23
2008	UP	Araneta Coliseum	UP 93.90	UST 85.03	FEU 83.96	Ateneo 83.81	Adamson 81.04	UE 72.89	La Salle 70.07	NU 68.36
2009	FEU	Araneta Coliseum	FEU 86.10	Ateneo 83.40	UP 83.10	UST 81.00	NU	Adamson	La Salle	UE
2010	La Salle	Araneta Coliseum	UP 88.18	FEU 87.28	UST 81.50	Ateneo 78.64	La Salle 75.06	UE 72.20	NU 71.58	Adamson 70.92
2011	Ateneo	Smart Araneta Coliseum	UP 81.00	La Salle 73.80	FEU 72.60	UST	Adamson	NU	Ateneo	UE
2012	NU	Mall of Asia Arena	UP 92.26	FEU 91.36	NU 85.16	UST 85.56	Ateneo 80.84	UE 79.30	La Salle 81.76	Adamson 77.50
2013	Adamson	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 87.06	UP 77.52	La Salle 74.56	FEU 73.69	Adamson 69.94	UE 69.88	UST 68.25	Ateneo 64.25
2014b	UE	Smart Araneta Coliseum	NU 84.69	UP 82.25	UST 78.13	Adamson 75.00	FEU 74.94	La Salle 70.88	UE 62.88	Ateneo 61.81
2015e	UP	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 83.50	UST 81.44	UP 76.31	FEU 72.94	UE 72.88	La Salle 67.31	Adamson 64.19	Ateneo 51.50
2016ef	UST	Smart Araneta Coliseum	NU 88.88	FEU 82.31	Adamson 81.88	UST 81.25	UE 80.63	La Salle 70.06	Ateneo 64.00
2017eg	FEU	Mall of Asia Arena	Adamson 85.94	UST 79.81	UE 79.31	FEU 76.31	NU 76.31	UP 71.94	La Salle 70.94	Ateneo 69.81
2018e	NU	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 88.88	FEU 81.94	Adamson 79.81	UST 79.75	UE 75.31	UP 71.06	Ateneo 69.75	La Salle 57.44
2019e	Ateneo	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 90.25	FEU 88.25	Adamson 82.31	UST 81.25	UE 80.63	UP 77.83	Ateneo 74.13	La Salle 72.19
2020h	La Salle	The competition was suspended for a year.
2021ij	La Salle	Mall of Asia Arena	FEU 90.93	Adamson 86.06	NU 85.12	UST 77.25	UE 74.06	UP 72.81	La Salle 70.93	Ateneo 61.06
2022k	Adamson	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 90.38	FEU 89.88	UST 80.00	UE 75.81	Adamson 74.38	UP 71.94	La Salle 66.06	Ateneo 62.81
2023	UE	Mall of Asia Arena	FEU 87.81	NU 87.13	UST 85.50	Adamson 83.13	UP 75.25	UE 69.88	La Salle 69.44	Ateneo 66.50
2024	UP	Mall of Asia Arena	NU 89.13	Adamson 84.94	FEU 81.25	UE 80.13	UST 79.31	UP 70.00	La Salle 65.63	Ateneo 61.25

Notes:

• ^a – The UAAP Board suspended the competition when a member from the UP Filipiniana figured in an accident during practice.
• ^b – In 1998, UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe did not join the competition because of injured members.
• ^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,
• ^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
• ^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.

Group Stunts Division

Year	Host school	Champion	2nd place	3rd place	4th place	5th place	6th place	7th place	8th place	Ref.
2011	ATENEO	UP	FEU	NU
2012	NU	UP	FEU	NU
2013	AdU	NU	FEU	UST
2014	UE	FEU 86.17	UST 83.67	NU 79.83	UP 78.33	UE 67.50	AdU 64.17	DLSU 61.33
2015	UP	UST	NU	FEU
2016	UST	NU 83.00	UST 76.33	FEU 68.00	AdU 66.00	UE 64.00
2017	FEU	FEU 76.33	AdU 73.17	UP 72.67	UST 72.17	NU 67.33	DLSU 58.83
2018	NU	NU	FEU	AdU	UE	UST	UP	DLSU
2019	ATENEO	NU 237 pts.	FEU 223 pts.	AdU 206 pts.	UE 184 pts.	UST 180 pts.	UP 168 pts.	ATENEO 156 pts.
2020	DLSU	The competition was suspended due to COVID-19
2021	DLSU
2022	AdU	The competition was suspended indefinitely.
2023	UE
2024		To be determined

Other Awards

Stunner Awardees

Season	Year	Season host	Person	School of origin
71	2008	UP	Frances Fleta	UP
72	2009	FEU	Sari Campos	ATENEO
73	2010	DLSU	Nikka de Dios	DLSU
74	2011	ATENEO	Nesza Isabel Salvador	UP
75	2012	NU	Nicolette Erica Ambulo	UP
76	2013	AdU	Ana de Leon	DLSU
77	2014	UE	Camille Isabel Lagmay	UP
The award was discontinued.

Corporate Awards

Season	Year	Host	Award Name	Awardee	Ref.
78	2015	UP	Eats so Easy move	Adamson University (AdU)
			Oishi Oh Wow Surprising move	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			Smart Prepaid Fearless Jump	University of Santo Tomas (UST)
			Yamaha Best Toss	University of the Philippines (UP)
			PLDT Fantastic move	University of the Philippines (UP)
79	2016	UST	Best Toss	National University (NU)
			Best Pyramid	National University (NU)
80	2017	FEU	Yamaha Toss	National University (NU)
			Jollibee Inextrahan! Pyramid	Adamson University (AdU)
81	2018	NU	Yamaha Toss	University of Santo Tomas (UST)
82	2019	ATENEO	Juicy Cologne's Juicy-fied Pyramid	Grand winner: National University (NU) 1st runner-up: Adamson University (AdU) 2nd runner-up: University of the Philippines (UP)
			AXA's Know You Can Stunt (Best in Pyramid)	National University (NU)
			Yamaha's Best Toss	National University (NU)
			Pure Gold's Always Panalo Move	Far Eastern University (FEU)
83	2020	DLSU	No competition was held due to COVID-19
84	2021	DLSU	Silka Best Awra Dance Move	National University (NU)
			Skechers Best Performance	Far Eastern University (FEU)
85	2022	AdU	Palmolive Handa Ang Ganda Hair Moment	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			Skechers Most Stylish Team	National University (NU)
			Biogenic Best Pyramid	National University (NU)
			Silka Best Awra Dance Move	National University (NU)
86	2023	UE	Skechers Most Stylish Performance	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			Yamaha Most Unique Dance Move	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			BYS Best Toss	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			Juicy-fied Pyramid	Far Eastern University (FEU)
			Silka Best Awra Dance Move	Far Eastern University (FEU)

Championship Table

Main Cheerdance Competition

School	Last Championship	Last Top 3 Appearance	Rank			Total	Championship Rank
National University	2024	2024	8	1	2	11	1
University of Santo Tomas	2006	2023	8	6	5	19	1
University of the Philippines	2012	2015	8	6	6	20	1
Far Eastern University	2023	2024	4	8	10	22	4
Adamson University	2017	2024	1	3	3	7	5
De La Salle University	—	2013	—	3	2	5	6
University of the East	—	2017	—	1	1	2	7
Ateneo de Manila University	—	2009	—	1	—	1	8

Note: Season 84 (2021–2022) was held in March 2022.

Group Stunts Division

School	Last Championship	Last Top 3 Appearance	Rank			Total	Championship Rank
National University	2019	2019	4	1	3	8	1
Far Eastern University	2017	2019	2	5	2	9	2
University of the Philippines	2012	2017	2	—	1	3	3
University of Santo Tomas	2015	2016	1	2	1	4	4
Adamson University	—	2019	—	1	2	3	5
Ateneo De Manila University	—	—	—	—	—	0	6
De La Salle University	—	—	—	—	—	0	7
University of the East	—	—	—	—	—	0	8

Note: Season 84 (2021–2022) was held in March 2022. No Group Stunts competition held in 2020-2023.

History, Trivias and Fun Facts

Main Cheerdance Competition

UP–UST rivalry

Main article: UP–UST rivalry

School colors of
UP and UST

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. 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.

Rise of the underdogs

School colors of
NU, AdU, UE, and ATENEO

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.

UP vs NU

School colors of
UP and NU

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.” 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.

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.

See also

• UAAP Street Dance Competition
• NCAA Cheerleading Competition
• List of domestic club championship attendance: UAAP Cheerdance Competition in a global context.
• UP–UST rivalry

External links

• UAAP Official site cheerdancing coverage