Square dancing 'Damas' turn into basketball babes

Some elderly ladies are practicing their cheerleading dance. [Photo/IC]

A group of special "basketball babes", with an average age of above 50, will soon appear on the playing court of the Chinese Basketball Association for the first time in the game's history.

A new cheerleading group for Zhejiang provincial basketball team consisting of middle aged and elderly women was established, creating a hot topic online. The team members, aged from 50 to more than 70, are square dancers in local communities, who are often called "Dama" by Chinese netizens.

"Aged women can dress up and be pretty too, not just young ladies can do that," said the cheerleader Yang Xiao , "they can show up on the stage with charm."

It's reported that nearly 100 "Damas" applied for the audition earlier and only 16 candidates will get to the court and perform next month after several rounds of selections.