In late November, 136 Monash University Cheer and Dance athletes arrived on the Gold Coast to compete in the Australian All Stars Cheerleading Federation National Championships.

Coming home with 11 first places including the illustrious University Dance Royalty award, University Grand Champions and FISU Grand Champions - the competition was a great success, making Monash University one of the best University Dance and Cheer teams in Australia.

Gabby Good, Monash University Cheer and Dance Club's (MONCAD) secretary and team organiser who also competed in the co-ed cheer Apollo team, says the atmosphere was like no other.

“People kept coming up to us asking about Monash. We have a pretty good reputation. It felt like we were rock stars.”

In order to receive such high results, MONCAD put hours of training and hard work into preparing for a successful weekend.

Gabby says, without their knowledgeable coaches and fantastic support staff, they would not have achieved what they did on the Gold Coast.

“We were really pleased with how everyone went and grateful to our fantastic coaching team. A lot of our coaches are alumni so it’s really cool to utilise their knowledge and experience in Uni cheer and dance.”

Incoming vice president and dancer Bridy Lee says MONCAD is a really special club and caters well for varying levels of athlete. 

“All of us are quite experienced dancers and have been dancing at a high level so coming to Monash and finding a club that enables us to keep dancing at a high level has been so good for us,” Bridy says.

“We have a different level of commitment. We are a tight-knit team where everyone works really well together. We are always trying to do better and give others advice, and we’re also really close friends. Which helps because we are always on the same wavelength.”

While most of MONCAD will be getting a much deserved break over the holidays, three of their top teams will be heading to the US to compete in the University World Cup Championships in January.

“We wanted that ‘Worlds’ experience because the 2022 event in Greece was cancelled, so we will be heading back to training next week to prepare,” Bridy says.

MONCAD is clearly a University club with a difference. It’s where dancers and cheerleaders from different levels can come together and represent Monash in a wide range of competitions.

“I can’t imagine my Uni experience without dancing for MONCAD, it would be so boring without it.”

If you would like to get involved in Monash University's Cheerleading and Dance club, you can contact them via their website or Instagram.

TEAM RESULTS

^{**Highest scoring routine across all university dance divisions}

^{***Highest scoring routine across all university cheer divisions}

^{****Highest scoring FISU routine}