2021 Seoul World Cheerleading Open Championships closed

Cheerleading is not simply cheering for a sports team. Cheerleading itself is a sport. The International Olympic Committee currently categorizes cheerleading as a “provisional Olympic sport.” Cheerleading is also drawing attention in South Korea with Korea National Sport University admitting cheerleading students.

The 2021 Seoul World Cheerleading Open Championships closed on Friday. The competition composed of six sections – team cheering, freestyle, pop, jazz, hip-hop, and action – was held for the first time this year and attended by 247 athletes of 63 teams from countries, including South Korea, Japan, and Kazakhstan. The event co-hosted by the Dong-A Ilbo and the Korea Cheerleading Association and sponsored by Korea Racing Authority was held non-face-to-face with teams’ video submissions of their performance and online evaluations due to concerns with COVID-19.

“Although I was unable to feel their energy in person due to the pandemic, watching the submitted videos by teams made me feel their love for cheerleading and passion for their dreams,” said a member of the Korea Cheerleading Association. “The performances of Seoul Allstar team and Vastarz team gave us the confidence that South Korea’s cheerleading can work on the global stage.”


Kyu-In Hwang kini@donga.com