Team THAILAND

Cheerleading is extremely popular here in the United States, but what about in the rest of the world? AC's newest column gives you an inside look at whal it's like to cheer in different countries around the globe. First up, Thailand!
AC: What's the main difference between American cheerleading and that of Thailand?
KEVIN SCHLEBAUM, THAI CHEERLEADER: In Thailand, we're not taught the basics, like cheerleaders are in America. We can't start cheering until high school, so mostly everyone who joins has never cheered before and gets mixed in with people who've been doing it for years. Also, we choose to focus more on dance and pyramids, because gymnastics instruction isn't available everywhere here, and we don't begin tumbling until we're in high school, either. American teams are much better at tumbling, stunting and jumps.
AC: What part of the routine does your squad focus most on perfecting?
KS: The pyramid, cheer and dance. In Thailand we don't have a lot of tumbling, and because of the [average] body size of our athletes we can't do great partner stunts. We like to keep our Thai style in our dances.
AC: Are there more female cheerleaders?
KS: Mostly all Thai cheerleaders are male.
AC: What's a typical practice like for you?
KS: We warm up practice stunts, then run through the whole routine a few times. The end of practice is solely focused on gymnastics.
AC: Have you ever been to the Worlds/ICU competitions?
KS: Yes. We went to both in 2010.
AC: Did you take home any awards?
KS: We took fifth place both at the ICU and at Worlds in our division. We also received a silver medal in the International Worlds division.
AC: How many squads are in your country?
KS: There are 60 teams.
AC: How often do you compete?
KS: Pretty often. We placed first in the Thailand championship Seacon Square and in the Thailand International Championships twice. We also won first in the Thailand Cheer Championships three times.
AC: Tell us about your cheer squads.
KS: We have two levels of school teams. The first is high school competition, which ranges in age from 14 to 18 and competes in Coed Level 5. The second is university competition, which includes 18- to 25-year-olds and competes in Coed Level 6. We also have all-star squads. These athletes are 1 4 years or older and compete in the Coed Level 6 division.
AC: What do people in Thailand think of cheerleaders?
KS: Thai people are interested in cheer, but since it's new to the country they don't consider it a sport. Some people don't even know what cheerleading is and don't understand why we do it.
AC: Where do you see cheerleading going in the next 10 years?
KS: It will be bigger and more focused on gymnastics. Maybe it'll be in the Olympics, too!
AC: What would you like cheerleaders in the U.S. to know about cheer in Thailand?
KS: My team would like everyone to know how much we love cheerleading. We try our hardest every year and have won first place in Thailand many times. We love traveling to America and meeting the cheerleaders who live there. We want to show other teams that we're special, and not just any other squad.