VINEGAR HILL — For cheerleading squad The Diamonds, it’s time to shine bright.
The varsity team at P.S. 307 in Vinegar Hill qualified earlier this month to go to the Universal Cheerleaders Association National Championship for the first time in its 22-year history after winning first place in a regional competition.
The team is now looking to raise $10,000 to help its 17 cheerleaders — who range in age from 8 to 14 — head to Orlando for the national championship on Feb. 11 and 12.
The money would help cover the cost of plane tickets and hotel rooms for each of the girls, many of whom come from low-income or single-parent families and live in the nearby Farragut Houses, Diamonds founder Tracy Wilkins-Dickerson said.
She said the donations will be especially helpful for those families who have more than one daughter on the team. Wilkins-Dickerson currently counts three sets of sisters cheering for The Diamonds.
The regional championship was the result of several years of hard work and practice, the coach said.
“Some of them I’ve coached from the fourth grade and now they’re eighth- and ninth-graders,” Wilkins-Dickerson said. “They were in tears, I was in tears."
For some, the road to nationals has been tougher than most.
Ten-year-old cheerleader Mei Lee is returning to practice in January after she was hit by a car nearly a year ago. Lee, who lives on Staten Island, was on her way to practice with her mother and twin sister when she stepped onto the road and was hit in the knee by an oncoming car.
Her mother, Wendy Small, said the accident impacted her both mentally and physically.
“She loves to dance, and she’s very competitive,” Small said.
But this month, Mei Lee’s physical therapist gave her the go-ahead to compete.
“I feel very proud and excited,” Mei Lee said. “We worked really, really hard.”
The fifth-grader — who has only been on a plane once before, when she immigrated from Jamaica at the age of 2 — said she is looking forward to the opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to experiencing new things and winning of course,” Mei Lee said. “I’m basically looking forward to doing new things I’ve never done.”
And her sister, fellow cheerleader Shui Lee, said she couldn’t be more excited to have her along for the ride.
“I’m just really happy that she can join. She’s been sad recently that she couldn’t join and I’m happy for her,” Shui Lee said.
While the girls are hoping to win big by practicing new moves and advanced stunts, it's enough to be able to make the trip to Orlando together.
“Even if we win or lose," said Antoniyah Graham, 13, who’s on the team with her 9-year-old sister, Estrella Briggman, "we’re going to try to have fun with our girls."
For more information on how to support the team, click here.
