THE University of the Philippines (UP) Pep Squad announced on Wednesday that it is skipping the Season 79 Cheerdance Competition to fulfill its dismay over last year’s result, which the Diliman-based team protested.
The UP Pep Squad, which finished third behind National University and University of Santo Tomas in Season 78, made the announcement on its Facebook account.
The group questioned the credibility of the decision of the judges in last year’s competition and filed a protest. But the protest was turned down by the organizers, prompting the UP Pep Squad not to compete this season.
“We can share the news to those who have been wondering that, regretfully, we will not be part of this season’s UAAP Cheerdance Competition,” the group posted on its Facebook page.
This year’s event is set on November 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The UP Pep Squad has been a perennial contender, winning eight titles, since the cheerdance competition was adopted in 1994. But the NU Pep Squad took over the last three years with the UP Pep Squad finishing second in 2013 and 2014.
The UP cheerdancers last won the crown in 2012.