San Bruno Woman Joins Raiderettes

By Martin Ricard
San Bruno Patch
5/1/2012

Courtney Chin has always wanted to be a professional cheerleader since she was a young girl.

Now, the San Bruno native has finally reached that goal, being selected as a Raiderette in April for the 2012 NFL season.

Chin competed in a weeklong audition and interviews in a pool of 300 women. The finalists were narrowed down to 125 people. From those finalists, only 40 were chosen to be a part of the elite cheerleading squad for the Oakland Raiders.

“It was a really big deal for me because the audition was a weeklong…and you’re all doing the dance routines. Then the judges deliberate for an hour or two, and all 125 girls are sitting in one room. Then they start reading off the names,” said Chin, 22.

“The feeling you get when your name is called is unexplainable,” she added. “I was so happy, I was crying.”

Chin said her journey has been a long one.

She has had a dream of being a National Football League cheerleader since she was in middle school, and she stuck with it throughout the years.

She was a cheerleader when she was a student at Capuchino High. The team’s coach, Asha Elmore, has been a Raiderette and a cheerleader for the San Francisco 49ers, and she was Chin’s big inspiration.

At Skyline College, she founded the school’s dance squad.

Then she went on to become a cheerleader for the semi-pro Pacifica Islanders football team.

The fact that she now is living her dream is still sinking in.

She said there is a lot of pressure because she will be performing on a much bigger stage now.

“Every time you’re at practice, you have to give it 110 percent,” Chin said. “You’re either always on point or you’re not.”

But she’s always been ready for the challenge.

What’s more, she has the support of her family members, who have always been her No. 1 fans. Her dad is really proud of her, she said, because he grew up in Oakland and has been a lifelong Raiders fan.