1/2 Jens from Tilburg made it to the World Cup with his cheer team
We mainly know cheerleading from the dancing ladies on the sidelines of (American) sports competitions. But cheerleading is becoming increasingly popular among Dutch students. The team of 29-year-old Jens Kuijpers from Tilburg even made it to the World Cup in America. “The fact that half of our team consists of men often leads to surprised looks.”
Jens was standing at the airport in America with a big grin a week ago. He laughed away the strange looks at the big horn with ‘Team NL’ on his back. He was there for the World Cheerleading Championship. The Dutch team finished in ninth place. “We made history,” says Jens.
“I traded the national judo team for the unknown.”
Before he became acquainted with cheerleading, Jens judod for the Dutch team until 2017. “I trained in Eindhoven, but wanted to centralize the sport. If I continued to practice judo, I would have to travel to Papendal in Arnhem every day. I was graduating at the time, so I couldn’t combine that.”
Jens was often just not good enough for a basic place in the team, he admits. “In that respect, top sport is tough.” And so he chose to study and then traveled the world.
In a park in Japan, he saw people practicing cheerleading. “I was grabbed by it. They performed spine-chilling tricks, high in the air. I remember thinking: they must trust each other! I watched for a long time and finally the trainer asked if I wanted to participate.”
“We sometimes throw the ladies two stories high.”
The Japanese trainer turned out to have a colleague in the Netherlands. “He invited me to participate in the Netherlands as well.” It turned out that top sport was in his blood: Jens made it to the national team.
He notices that the sport is becoming biased here. “People see the dancing women in TV series. So people often chuckle when I say I’m a cheerleader.”
But co-ed cheerleading, as this branch is officially called, is more about stunting than dancing. The men are often the basis for the women who perform tricks high in the air: the ‘flyers’. “We sometimes throw the flyers two floors into the air.”
“I train 12 hours a week.”
The sport is still small in the Netherlands. In four cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Maastricht and Eindhoven) there are now cheer associations where people can become members. This year, according to Jens, history was written. “There is now officially a cheer association in the Netherlands, the CSN, which wants to take steps to make the sport bigger here.”
So cheerleading is also a full-fledged sport in our small country. And with a mix of balance, technique, team spirit and strength, it can also be a top sport. “I train 12 hours a week,” says Jens. “And before the World Cup we had training weekends once a month.”
Jens does not have any personal goals yet. First he enjoys the final place at the World Cup. “Throwing people is a great feeling, especially if you can do that on a world level,” he laughs.
He does have dreams for the sport. “I want to grow the sport, with the new association. And more tournaments are to come. Only then will you get competition experience and less tension on the mat. In this way we can not only reach the final next year, but also be a real threat to other countries.”
Pictures of the World Cup in America: