POST HO REVIEW

HO opened my eyes literally. Creativity was overflowing, it was nothing short of amazing. I was overwhelmed by what others were capable of. The display of gymnastics, the choreography and difficulty of stunts…even the design of mascots were elaborate down to the last detail. Certainly much effort was put in; So to say they worked hard would be an understatement.

For our part, Vikings met the HO challenge with gusto, enthusiasm and ENERGY. We were able to compress our trainings, our passions down to the 5 minutes that mattered the most. We shared with the audience what cheer meant to us. However Murphy’s Law had to rear its ugly head when we least wanted it to. We were judged based on the single performance we put up along with our mistakes. But maybe just maybe what the audience and judges never saw would place us as their favourite team.

They did not see how we started as individuals with no cheer background, knowing nuts about cheer. They did not see how we struggle to perform the simplest stunts in vain, yet kept trying till we made it. They did not see how the flyers put aside their fear of falling to fly even when, at times, there was lack of spotters. They did not see how people like Tao Guang and Fiona motivate the team with simple words, catch phrases and actions.

Damn, in fact we ourselves may have overlooked/neglected the efforts/sacrifices of those amongst us. Starting with our coaches xin wei and xue wei, choreographing alone is tough, then they have to correct the many mistakes we make. It’s simply frustrating and that’s just one night. Repeat that for a good two whole months.

The seniors, they come back ever so often to guide us, assist us, sometimes even sub those who are absent for routine practice. Most importantly they were there to wake us up whenever we get slack or complacent.

Hidden from the eyes of competition is the will to keep trying even though sometimes effort does not show results. Hidden is the drive to go through the same thing day after day just to perfect that few seconds of the routine. Hidden is how we encourage one another and lift each other up during down moments.

In Vikings, everyone has a role; There is always some one to plan, some one to lead, some one to settle admin, some one to motivate, some one to encourage, some one to fill the bottles, some one to guide, some one to lighten the mood, someone to… and the list just keeps going on.

Its all these big and small pieces of efforts, sacrifices and roles that complete this puzzle called Vikings.

 

 

Perhaps if the audience and judges saw all these, then I guess we can truly tell them: WELCOME TO VIKINGS!