A gutted Edinburgh cheerleading squad claim they were thrown out of their training venue by Edinburgh Council in order to make way for a 'priority group'.
Diamond Cheerleaders say they were told they would no longer be able to continue to use Liberton High School gym to practice, despite being picked to represent Scotland at a prestigious competition in America.
Council chiefs have since partially backtracked after a petition garnered more than a 1,000 signatures in weeks. But their offer of four nights a week in the schools's assembly hall, as opposed to the gym has been branded "only a short-term solution and far from ideal" by the squad.
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Natalie Samuel, coach of the Diamonds Cheerleaders, told Edinburgh Live: “The ideal outcome of this would be for us to keep our existing let in the Liberton High School gym hall four days a week and allow our athletes to represent Scotland competing in Florida next year.”
The Diamond Cheerleaders have approximately 150 students, and they have bulky equipment that they require for each practice. The gym hall where they currently practice is big enough to accommodate their needs and store their equipment.
It also has air conditioning which allows them to comply with Sport Scotland guidelines - but the assembly hall is in another school building and would mean lugging loads of kit across a busy road.
“All our equipment is stored in the games hall including 12 flexi roll mats on a trolley, not to mention our crash mats and other equipment. How we are expected to carry these across a road, up the stairs, into the main school building and up another set of stairs is beyond me. Additionally there is no air conditioning for our athletes,” said Natalie.
Council bosses could not give further information about the length or permanence of the assembly hall arrangement.
The Diamonds were also offered alternate long-term practice spaces on the other side of Edinburgh, but Natalie said the additional travel time and complexities would force many athletes to drop out.
“We have been offered an alternative facility at the opposite side of Edinburgh which will require many students to travel on two buses with training often not finishing until 9pm. Many parents simply can’t afford to travel that far. You can imagine the difficulties many students will face and ultimately they will have to leave a sport they love,” Natalie said.
Natalie believes the situation is unfair to the Diamonds because the group that is taking their current space already has a purpose built dance studio within Liberton High School.
“Knowing how much disruption this is causing to our club, I am unsure why Edinburgh Leisure/Edinburgh Council are not looking to place the dance school somewhere else since they already have a purpose built studio and avoiding displacing/disbanding our club,” she said.
However, the Diamonds were told that the issue had nothing to do with the other group which is ranked a Tier 1 priority club by the council. That means they meet specific criteria, including supporting Sport Scotland's Active Schools programmes.
“Tier one clubs who are actively engaged with the school and community sports hub have a two week priority booking window prior to open bookings for all clubs. In this instance, a Tier One club requested times with Diamond Cheerleaders are currently using,” a spokesperson for the council said.
Regardless of the back and forth discussions, the young athletes involved with Diamonds Cheerleading are devastated by the instability of the situation.
“Cheerleading is everything to me. It’s not just a sport,” said Amy O’Donnell, 15.
“It’s my safe space when I’m mad or upset, and I’m devastated that I might have to quit.”
Amy said she would not be able to travel to the new location if the Diamonds relocate to the other side of Edinburgh. Likewise, Evie Dickson, 10, said it would become impossible to get to practice if the Diamonds relocate to the other side of the city.
“I’ve been in cheer for half my life, and if we have to move, it would make me really angry and upset because I would have to quit,” said Evie.
Natalie said it was a devastating moment when she had to tell athletes and parents about the situation. “Potentially losing a sport they love after the tough last two years of covid is heartbreaking for them,” she said.
An Edinburgh City Council spokesperson said: “Following a meeting with Diamond Cheerleaders earlier in the month we agreed to look at the issues they raised and come up with a solution. We have now succeeded in finding them four sessions a week at Liberton High School.”
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