Chinese airport uses cheerleaders to soothe stranded passengers
CNNgo.com
4/30/2012

While some Chinese travelers storm the tarmac when flights get delayed, others might wish their flights never take off — assuming they’re flying from the northeast China city of Dalian.

To entertain waiting passengers, Dalian International Airport recently recruited a squad of cheerleaders to perform kicks, jumps and splits in the airport’s main hall.

During massive fog-related delays in Dalian last week, the cheerleaders’ pom-pom routines “soothed emotion and alleviated fatigue” for more than 5,000 stranded flyers, according to the Dalian Evening News.

The cheerleading show is part of the airport’s effort to “bring more convenience to passengers in the summer-autumn air season,” said Zhen Qun (郑群), an airport official.

It’s also a way for the Dalian airport to “demonstrate spirit and shoulder social responsibility,” according to an airport press release.

The airport has launched a series of other innovative services, including free physical checkups and instant weather and flight updates by text message.

Zhen did not discuss the daily schedule of cheerleader shows, but the airport has staged at least one performance every day in the past week, each lasting two to three hours, with breaks.

“The cheerleaders are enrolled in different colleges in Dalian. We hire them on a work-for-study program,” added Zhen. “The performance is free of charge for passengers.”

That’s good, because we’re not sure we’d pay to see them, anyway.

Dalian International Airport (website in simplified Chinese) is the biggest airport in northeastern China and the fourth busiest in China (by international passengers). The hub handled more than 12 million passengers in 2011.

Amid a current boom in aviation in China, flight delays are becoming a major sticking point for travelers in the country.

Poor weather, restricted military airspace and logistical issues regularly play havoc with airline schedules.

Statistics from the Civil Aviation Administration of China had almost one in four flights suffering delays last year. However, that only measures the time a plane’s doors are closed, not when the aircraft actually took off.

Our new best friends Down Under, the Manly Seabirds recently had their bikini photoshoot. The club that they cheer for are the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and their membership campaign this season is Earn Your Wings. The club bought big beautiful wings for the girls to tie in with the campaign for 2012. The squad decided to use these beautiful wings with their spot bikinis in club colors for their annual photo shoot day.

The Manly Seabirds are busy with rehearsals for our upcoming Easter Extravaganza which will include 80 junior seabirds all dressed in fun polka dot costumes.

The Seabirds are currently sharing a photo each day with fans on their Facebook fan page before they get started with the cheerleaders of the week.

[Manly Seabirds on Facebook]

The Glamour Girls of the NRL, named Australia's Best Cheerleaders by Channel 7 Morning Show

Thanks to Director Monique Carroll for sending us the 2012 Team Photo of her squad The Manly Seabirds. The Seabirds are the cheerleaders for the Manly Sea Eagles, a National Rugby League team in Sydney, Australia. Our US readers may recall that Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Angela Rena is a former Seabird.

[Manly Sea Birds on Facebook]

By Gavin Glicksman
The Sun

If you think being a cheerleader simply involves shaking your pompoms, you better think again.

Bronia Gosling, captain of the The Crystals dance group, is keen to set the record straight and prove there’s more to her squad than just good looks.

In fact, Bronia admits that supporting Crystal Palace and winning over the initially sceptical Selhurst Park faithful has required a lot more than just some fancy footwork.

The 27-year-old told SunSport: “People shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, especially because we do work really hard.

“We don’t just dance on the pitch and then that’s it, we put in the effort behind the scenes.

“We’re getting more support now from the fans and have definitely turned the corner in that respect.

“There’s always going to be people that don’t like you, because obviously a lot of fans there go just for the football and that’s all they think they should see.

“But we’re there to enhance the match-day atmosphere and it’s really good for the kids too.

“We want to give them a positive outlook and show it’s not a bad thing to be out on the pitch dancing just because you’ve got a little outfit on!

“I want someone to look at us and say, ‘I want to be like The Crystals because they’re really good dancers’, rather than simply seeing us as pretty girls on the pitch.

“We work really hard and are definitely winning people round.”

While most Eagles fans are happy to see The Crystals supporting their club, some blamed the girls for last season’s slump in form.

But Bronia insists her dance troupe are far from a distraction for Dougie Freedman’s Championship side.

She added: “Everyone’s got their own opinion, but I don’t think we put the players off at all — we don’t go anywhere near them.

“They’re there to their job and we’re there to do ours. They’re professional, we’re professional, and we’re there simply there to entertain the crowd and give the atmosphere at Selhurst a boost.

“They weren’t saying nice stuff about about us last season, but it did boost our profile. No press is bad press and all that!”

With an appearance on Soccer AM already under their belt, it’s fair to say The Crystals’ reputation is growing by the day.

And Bronia is keen to ensure the girls stay in the headlines for all the right reasons — even it means unleashing an Alex Ferguson-style kick up the backside from time to time.

The professional dancer said: “I’m normally doing something for The Crystals every day, whether it be choreographing a new routine, sorting out the girls for events, organising routines or checking up on everyone. I’m a bit like the mother hen really!

“I wouldn’t say I’m the Fergie of The Crystals though — I’m just checking the girls are OK rather than cracking the whip.

“But with that said, I would give them the hairdryer treatment if need be! All of the girls are very professional though and know they’re at the match to work hard and put on a good show.

“A few things have changed since I’ve become captain in respect of the girls know that if they don’t put the effort in, they won’t dance on the pitch.

“It’s boosted everyone and made them work harder because they don’t want to end up not dancing.”

On the pitch, Crystal Palace’s fortunes remain mixed.

But having struggled for so long with financial problems, the Londoners are on a stable footing and came close to booking a place in the Carling Cup final last month.

Penalty shootout heartache saw the Eagles dumped out in the semi-finals by Cardiff — and left Bronia and Co thinking about what could have been.

She added: “We were hoping to dance at Wembley, the wheels were definitely in motion.

“Whether it would have happened or not we’ll never know, but it would have been amazing.”

As for the rest of the season, like most Palace fans, Bronia will be happy to see Freedman’s men consolidate their position as a stable Championship side.

The Crystals skipper said: “We started the season really well and shot out of the starting blocks.

“There’s been a slow period but considering the financial problems the club previously had, we’re doing really well.

“We’ve got a chance of finishing in mid-table, if not a bit higher, and I think we just need a bit of luck to go our way really.

“Dougie’s doing a brilliant job as manager. Everyone was thinking we’d get slaughtered at West Ham the other week but we held them to a goalless draw.

“Considering the Hammers have been doing so well, coming away from there with a point was brilliant.”

When it comes to the supporters she entertains at every home match, Bronia cannot speak highly enough of their dedication.

She added: “We’ve got great fans and we definitely wouldn’t be where we are without them.

“We get slumps where attendances drop off, but we’ve got a pretty big fanbase.

“With the recession, football’s obviously become a luxury for people, but we know how much the fans support the club — win or lose.”

[Palace Crystals]

Cheerleaders ‘Living the Dream’
The Sydney Morning Herald
October 6, 2011

Cheerleading may evoke an image of bimbos and football groupies, but often beneath the cleavages and fake tans are smart, talented girls who just want to have fun.

Kymberley Roebuck

She knows people see her as a busty, blonde beauty, but Roebuck rankles at the stereotype.

“That’s what someone would think if they looked at me,” says Roebuck, 23, who is now coaching the Wests Tigers C91.3 cheerleader squad. “But they don’t know I go to uni, I have a full-time job and I run a business.” (And she donated her $2000 prize money to a terminally-ill six-year-old boy, Lleyton Giles.)

Elizabeth Commons, 27, Australia’s silver medallist at this year’s world cheerleading competition, sympathises.

“People expect a certain type of person, but I’m a chemistry teacher and I’m on a team with doctors, lawyers and bankers – but we’re also cheerleaders,” Commons says.

As Roebuck says: “Basically, at the end of the day, we have a job to do.”

And both girls have worked hard to get there.

Squad members have mostly trained as dancers or have a competitive gymnastics or acrobatics background.

Other than being selected for their appearance and skills, it’s ultimately their personality that helps them stand out from the hundred or so who try out at the exhaustive annual auditions held by each football club.

A squad, usually made up of about 24 girls ranging from 16 to 27 years old, is required to do at least one rehearsal session per week during the football season. There are sponsorship appearances and on match day, cheerleaders arrive three hours before the game to hand out flyers to fans.

Although the clubs are reluctant to divulge what they pay their dancers, it’s understood to be up to about $150 for the day.

“You’re definitely not doing it for the money. You have to have a love for the game,” says Roebuck, who admits she is a huge fan of the Wests Tigers.

Shaking pom-poms and doing dance routines throughout the game, cheerleader squads add an element of excitment to the game, especially when the players first run onto the field.

And it’s a sport that’s growing in Australia.

Under the guidance of Roebuck, the Tigers have introduced two new squads of girls aged between four and 17, the Tiny Tigers Club and Pre-Squad, which performed during games this season.

“I’m trying to come in and change the stereotype by building up from a young age a group of girls that want to do this when they’re older,” she says.

Two other Aussie girls who have helped the image of cheerleaders are former Newcastle Knights cheerleader Jennifer Hawkins, who went on to become Miss Universe, and more recently, former Manly cheerleader Angela Nicotera, who was this year picked for the prestigious Dallas Cowboys cheerleading squad.

Inspired by Hawkins’ business success, Roebuck has opened a dance school specialising in cheerleading in Blacktown with two more planned for Campbelltown and Leichhardt.

As Commons explains, competitive cheerleading is different from the NRL club squads. The focus is more on acrobatic tumbling, such as backflips and stunting.

“I don’t really follow football,” says Commons, international competitor and coach of four cheerleading teams.

“It’s just a different take on it … we’re cheering as a sport, rather than for another sporting team.”

After competing at state and national level championships for more than five years, Commons was selected for an all-girl 24-member Australian team to compete at the ICU (International Cheerleading Union) World Championships last April in Orlando, Florida.

Winning Australia’s first-ever medals, Commons’ team won silver and an Australian co-ed team won bronze.

“The crowd was amazing, like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” Commons says.

Whether it’s a sport or a spectacle, cheerleading is athletic and requires training and discipline – but there’s an element of glamour too.

As Roebuck says, when the Wests Tigers cheerleaders perform at the Sydney Football Stadium with flashing lights, flames and fireworks in front of 50,000 screaming fans, pumped to Guns ‘N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle, “you think this is surreal”.

“It’s something I can tell my daughter about when I’m a mum. I’m living the dream.”

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/cheerleaders-living-the-dream-20111006-1lawh.html#ixzz1a0zBYzEV

Shortly after the NBA Championship concluded , Dalals Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki visited his home town Würzburg in Bayern (Germany).

He and the ING Diba bank (German sponsor) introduced a big party in the s.Oliver arena and press conference.

The Galactics were very proud to welcome Dirk and dance for him. Some basketball cheerleaders were partially jealous “Why hasn’t Dirk taken us?” they asked! Others were happy for the Galactics and wrote positive feedback on their
facebook account, congratulations etc.

After that the Galactics and Dirk went on the parade in the city. Finally Dirk wrote in the golden book of the mayor of Würzburg.

The Galactic Dancers dance as background team for Cascada at the music event "TheDome" in Cologne

Peter the bus driver was so loved the girls, that he left his bus in the city alone to make security for the girls. He received for this a ticket from police. Peter made the interior video shots in the s.Oliver arena while I took photos.

[Galactic Dancers Gallery]

Chris de Kretser, Daryl Timms
Herald Sun
August 09, 2011

TRARALGON-born Wendi White has laid claim to being the first Australian to become a cheerleader for the famed Dallas Cowboys.

It was believed that Sydney’s Angela Nicotera, who was a cheerleader for the Manly Sea Eagles, was the first Aussie to gain the honour when she recently made the final squad of 34 after more than 500 girls from around the world auditioned. She was featured in yesterday’s column.

But Wendi (pictured), who now lives in Hawaii, became a cheerleader for the world- renowned NFL team in 1980.

As well as being the first foreigner to make the squad, Wendi is also the only licensed airline pilot to have also become a cheer leader for the Cowboys.

“Not to steal any thunder from the new cheerleader, but it’s an old claim to fame for me that I’m very proud of,” Wendi told us yesterday.

“It’s an exclusive and iconic organisation with a history of excellence, pride and giving.”

Now Wendi White Wasson, she spent much of her younger life growing up in Darwin, where her father was a school teacher. She moved back to Victoria in 1976 and lived at Hurstbridge. She left when she was 18 to attend a small college in Texas. She tried out for the college basketball cheerleader squad before moving to Dallas in January 1980.

After being dared to have a go at making the Cowboys cheerleader squad, Wendi was among 2000 girls who tried out for the 36 places. She was with the Cowboys in 1980-81.

“So began a year of incredible opportunities, a difficult straight-up learning curve of discipline, terror, nerves, very hard work, blood, sweat (lots of it) and tears, excitement and honour,” she said.

“Nothing was guaranteed, you had to live up to your position every week. Athletic and dynamic, I think we worked out more than the Cowboy players did.

“I did just one year, and became an executive flight attendant on private jets, living in New York, Kuwait, Geneva, England and all over the US. I had the honour of being one of three (with my best friend who I cheered with) flight attendants flying Michael Jackson when he was doing The Victory Tour in 1984, amongst many other rich and famous passengers.”

Wendi said while she was with the Cowboys she used the line that “the all-American girl is an Aussie”.

Wendi and her Canadian husband Dave Wasson, who is also a pilot, own and operate Honu Kai Bed and Breakfast in Kailua Kona.