Not many sports lovers will know that cheerleading has been granted provisional Olympic status by the world's governing body, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) though, in reality, it will not be on the programme before the 2024 edition.
But that is not stopping the University of Pretoria (Tuks) cheerleading squad from earnestly training for an upcoming competition.
Believe it or not, but cheerleading is considered to be a real sport which is why in 2016 it was officially recognised by the IOC.
Last year Kit McConnell (IOC sports director) said that the International Cheer Union is now eligible to apply to become part of the Olympics programme.
That doesn't necessarily mean that cheerleaders will be going to the 2024 Games, but at least they are getting closer to doing so.
Tuks coach Rindie Prinsloo explained that at a typical cheerleading competition, teams perform a two-and-a-half-minute routine with music that includes stunts, pyramids, tosses and tumbling.
Teams are judged by a panel of cheerleading experts on difficulty and execution.
Prinsloo said precision is of the utmost importance. One leg of a flyer not being straight at a crucial moment can mean the difference between winning and losing.
Seeing someone holding a woman up in the air with only one hand seems like a real show of strength. It is easy to conclude it takes spending hours and hours in a gym playing around with heavy weights.
Prinsloo is however quick to point out that physical strength is not a prerogative to be a base in a cheerleading team. Bases are the athletes that hold the flyer or top girl in the air during the stunt.
Flyers are usually, but not always, the smallest people on a cheerleading squad. Msindo weighs only 49kg but laughs when asked if she purposely starves herself before a competition to make it easier for the bases.
- African News Agency (ANA)
