Bring it on

Rep. Tom Brower sponsored a floor presentation to honor the UH cheer squad for their win at Rah! Paula Abdul's Cheerleading Bowl.

Here's what he had to say:

Like nearly all Members of the Legislature, I too am a proud graduate of the University of Hawaii-Manoa.

For an alumnus, and it seems like for decades, I have watched cheerleaders supporting UH teams. To me, they were "Unsung Heroes," entertaining and motivating spectators.

But today, Mr. Speaker, it's time to "Bring It On."

Recently, I was channel surfing and saw our UH Cheerleaders on MTV, Oceanic Cable channel 17. As I watched this on national TV, I paid extra attention to each cheerleader's moves, both men and women.

I came to realize that cheerleading is a strenuous sport involving professional choreography of dance, jumps and flips. It has become a sport unto itself and participants must be as strong as any football player, as poised as any dancer and as flexible as the best gymnasts.

The RIGOROUS MOVES THEY PERFORM include the

Basket Toss, Bow & Arrow, Blades, Buckets, Candlestick, Clasps, Daggers, The Shout Out, Hitch Wall, Laying Hitch, Legs, Pyramid, Spider, Touchdown, and the X Mount… just to name a few.
The UH Cheer Squad is composed of athletes from all over Hawaii, the continental United States, and Canada.

These outstanding young men and women have won several national championships and, most recently, Mr. Speaker…

The UH Cheer Squad was handpicked to participate in the 1st ever "RAH! Paula Abdul’s Cheerleading Bowl"— which was aired across the country on MTV— they won 1st place, beating the country's best teams: Arizona, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Montana and Miami of Ohio.

The cheerleaders were judged on creativity, teamwork, degree of difficulty and overall performance, by a panel of professional judges.

Unfortunately not all of the cheerleaders could be here today because of their class schedules, but please allow me to introduce you to the 2008-2009 University of Hawaii Cheer Squad:

Honorees: Would you please stand as I call your name?

Members and those seated in the gallery: please hold your applause until the last person's name is called.

Mr. Michael Barker,
Ms. Pualani Castagnetti,
Mr. Christoff Elster,
Ms. Liz Hamann,
Mr. John Hengesteg,
Mr. Kevin Lam,
Mr. George McGuire,
Mr. David Morgan,
And Assistant Coach Ms. Mateo Salado

Also in the gallery are guests Haley Collins and Vanessa Bader.
Would you please wave?
Members, would you please welcome our University of Hawaii Cheer Squad.