Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Cheerleaders triumph hours after kit stolen
A GROUP of young Dundee cheerleaders have defied the thieves who stole all their equipment by being crowned champions in a festival at the weekend.
Dundee Diamonds were only hours away from competing in a major competition on Sunday when they discovered all their gear had been stolen.
Initially the group of seven to 13-year-olds and their coaches feared that months of hard work would be wasted as a result of the theft.
However, not only did they manage to take part, they went on to be crowned champions.
Kirsty Duncan, head coach of Dundee Diamonds, explained that all the club’s equipment for Sunday’s Cheer Festival event in the Caird Hall had been stolen overnight from a car belonging to one of the coaches.
In total 15 cheerleading suits worth more than £300 each were stolen and still haven’t been found or returned.
Kirsty said: “After attending a fundraising ball for the national cheer team on Saturday night, equipment for the Cheer Festival competition at the Caird Hall was left in the car ready for an early start.
“On Sunday morning two of the coaches discovered as they were getting ready to meet the team that their car had been broken into. Heartbreakingly, the coaches’ ball outfits from the night before, hair straighteners and various personal effects were all missing.
“Worse, though, multiple competition cheer suits, make-up, hair products, bows and entrance wristbands were all stolen.”
Kirsty said the children were devastated and feared they would no longer be able to take part.
She said: “The kids were all incredibly upset, believing they might not be able to compete after months of hard work and practice.
“At that time on Easter Sunday morning all shops in town were closed. However, the team and their families pulled together, with one family managing to find various hair products and make-up in a local supermarket, another searching out spare bows and suits and someone nipping into local shops once open to get them all socks to compete in.”
She said that an opposition team even stepped in to allow the Diamonds to take part.
She said: “A massive thanks also goes to the event organisers who sorted out new athlete wristbands at the last moment to allow them to compete, as well as a fellow Dundee cheer team who helped with lending make-up and hairspray until they could get some.
“Credit must go to all the kids competing who refused to let this
affect them, with many having to wear outfits that didn’t fit properly.
“However, despite all the stress of the morning they hit the mats and pulled off an amazing performance resulting in them
being crowned champions in their category.”
A police spokesperson said: “We received a report of theft from a vehicle on Mains Road, Dundee, around 4.45pm on Sunday March 31. Inquiries are ongoing.”