'Gimme an A!' Athlone cheerleaders make spectacular debut

Athlone"s first ever cheerleading team made their first official appearance as they entertained the soccer fans at last week"s Athlone Town v Sunderland game in Lissywoollen. Attitude Dance"s ambition to provide some noisy and enthusiastic support to local teams got off to a energy-packed start last Thursday evening, despite the cold weather. From their professional costumes to their impressive dance moves, the girls showed off the best in Athlone talent. The cheerleaders are aged from 12 up to 18. Dance teacher Aisling Whithers was delighted with their performance. After months of training and practise, she hopes that the cheerleaders will be used regularly by Buccaneers, football or GAA clubs to perform at matches, or even at corporate events. While living in New Zealand for eight years, Aisling ran two dance schools, and her cheerleading team was a successful addition to the local rugby club. 'The team hadn"t won a game in 20 years. Attendance was way down and the club had no money. Our cheerleaders came along, their friends started to come to watch them, their boyfriends came along, and suddenly attendance was up, morale increased, the club had more money and could then afford to buy better players.' But the Attitude cheerleaders are not the only cheerleading team in Ireland. Currently, a group of 18 Irish women make up the 'Score Angels' a cheerleading team that perform at Eircom League of Ireland matches for Sligo Rovers, Bohemians and Cork City. They also cheer at Dublin GAA matches. So there"s plenty of opportunity out there for Attitude.