A year ago, the Finnish cheerleading teams brought four EC gold medals and a total of eight medals. We also go into the upcoming games with very high goals.
Finland’s cheerleading teams have only one goal in the upcoming weekend’s EC competitions: gold. This is how the Finnish representatives of all three competition formats – women’s cheer, mixed cheer and cheerdance – explained at the press conference of the Cheerleading Association on Monday.
When juniors aged 15–18 are also involved, a total of six series will be competed in Verona, Italy. One country can bring two club teams, and last year the Finns won no fewer than four European championships and a total of eight medals.
The Helsinki-based Funky Team’s women’s team Wild Flyers did not get to enjoy the rain of medals, but they were able to claim a place in this year’s European Championships. The team managed to defeat HAC Elite, the reigning European champion and for years the continent’s number one team, by half a point in the June championships.
– The SM gold gives us a lot of self-confidence that with a program like ours we can have fun on stage and perform well, Wild Flyers coach Sofia Marttila pondered.
HAC representatives said that they are doing tricks that have never been seen at the club team level. Marttila’s group is more focused on implementation.
– Self-confidence must also be visible to the audience during the program. We proceed with the attitude that we train like we race and we race like we train.
Last program
Even though cheerleading is a relatively new and emerging sport, some of their careers have come to an end.
Milla Keränen27, has represented Finland and his club team Funky Team in prestigious competitions since 2012, but the European Championships in Italy will be the last.
– In part, I feel that age weighs on me. I’m pretty old-fashioned in this sport. On the other hand, I feel that I have received and given a lot, which makes me feel ready overall, he analyzed.
In an interview, Keränen spoke about the end of his top sports career. However, in addition to a strict training program, he has managed to study physiotherapy for three years at the University of Applied Sciences.
– Life is centered around cheerleading. I have stayed on schedule with my studies, and maybe sports have taught me to prioritize.
The best cheer teams in Finland come from the capital region and even more specifically from Helsinki. From outside Uusimaa, the adult cheer dance teams Dream Team Dancers from Tampere and Northern Lights Cheerleading Ladies Dance Team from Oulu will join the Finnish European Championships.