Nishimura, 22, becomes youngest Japanese NFL cheerleader
Akio Harada, Staff Writer
Asahi.com
April 29, 2011
Twenty-two-year-old Kisato Nishimura will become the youngest Japanese NFL cheerleader after she earned a spot on the Oakland Raiders cheerleading squad for the 2011-12 season.
Nishimura has been cheerleading for 10 years. She served as vice captain and captain of the cheerleading squad at Tokyo’s Tamagawa University, where she graduated last month, and led her team to second-place finishes at the U.S. national collegiate competition two years in a row.
She was the only Japanese woman trying out for the Raiderettes. More than 300 women tried out for the 41-member cheerleading squad. The tryouts included tests in speech, dance and other topics in addition to an interview.
Of the 16 Japanese women who have served as cheerleaders in the NFL, Nishimura is the youngest.
“I had some job offers lined up for me (noncheerleading jobs in Japan), but I wanted to take on this challenge while my body was fit,” Nishimura said upon her return to Japan on April 21. “I would like Japanese people to know more about the NFL through dance.”
Nishimura will return to the Bay Area and the cheerleading squad as soon as her visa is issued.
