JUST DON’T CALL THEM BIMBOS

Dec 13 2006 Paisley Daily Express

They’re famous for cheering on the Scottish Rocks – but there’s more to the Rockettes than meets the eye

SEXY cheerleaders Katrina Foran and Hazel McGarry insist they are no Bimbos – but just don’t ask them anything about basketball.

Katrina, from Paisley, and Lochwinnoch woman Hazel are part of the foxy Rockettes squad which cheers on the Scottish Rocks basketball team during their home games at Braehead Arena in Renfrew.

And they are quick to point out that the Rockettes babes are not a bunch of brainless beauties, with many of the girls boasting a string of qualifications.

They even signed up to appear on the BBC’s Test the Nation quiz show last year.

But 22-year-old Katrina didn’t do herself any favours when the cheerleaders took part in an audition for another show, called Eggheads.

Hazel, 26, recalled: “We were asked to appear on Eggheads but they wanted us to audition and it didn’t go well.

“We didn’t make it onto the show because Katrina let us down. They asked her how many players there are on a basketball team and she didn’t have a clue.”

Brunette Katrina, who has been a regular face on the Scottish Rocks’ sidelines for the past four years, tried to mount a brave defence.

The former St Andrew’s Academy pupil said: “It’s hard to keep a track of the players because there are just so many substitutions. Besides, I’m concentrating on my dancing.”

The energetic Rockettes say their job involves much more that a bright smile and the ability to really shake a pom-pom.

Both Katrina and Hazel are fully trained dancers with years of experience.

The job of providing the pre-match entertainment for the Rocks’ basketball games takes hours of preparation as the girls put themselves through gruelling three-hour workouts, three times a week, to ensure they can whip Braehead fans into a frenzy with their impressive dance routines.

And each member of the 21-girl squad is a top performer in her own right, with the Rockettes’ changing room overflowing with dance coaching certificates.

The Rockettes routines are drafted in from top cheerleading squads in the USA, with manager Carole Anne Deeney jetting across the pond every year on spying trips.

Both Katrina and Hazel admit they thought life as a cheerleader would be a doddle – but boy, were they wrong.

“At first, I thought being a cheerleader would just be all pom-poms and chants but it wasn’t like that at all,” said Katrina. “The squad is all very professional and the standard of the dancing is high.

“Every year, our chief cheerleader Carole Ann heads over to America to scout out some new routines and they are all technically very tough.

“We train three times a week for three hours at a time. It’s hard work and can seem like a full-time job.

“If you didn’t love doing this, you couldn’t go on for long. It takes over your life.”

Hazel, a former pupil at St Cuthbert’s High in Johnstone, agrees.

The blonde bombshell said: “I’ve danced since I was a wee girl but I wasn’t that keen on cheerleading at first when a couple of friends asked me to try out for the Rockettes.

“I must admit, I still thought of cheerleaders as being silly bimbos jumping about and chanting but it’s not like that.

“We’re all professional dancers and we’re fitter than the guys in the Rocks team.”

The Rockettes have attracted an army of fans and that means they get extra attention when they are out and about.

And the number of admirers is sure to grow after the girls launched their own charity calendar yesterday.

Katrina, who is a student beauty therapist, said: “Sometimes when I walk round Paisley, I will hear someone in the distance say ‘There’s that Rockette.’ It’s weird but I enjoy it.”

And Hazel, who is dating a mystery footballer who used to play for Rangers, is in no rush to hang-up her leotard either.

She said: “We’ve got lots of job perks, such as getting to wear funky clothes like hot pants.

“My mum is on a one-woman-mission to sell our charity calendars to everyone in Lochwinnoch. If people didn’t know I was a Rockette before, she’s made sure they do now.”

The Rockettes calendar, priced £5.99, is on sale at Rocks home games and can also be bought online at www.scottishrockettes.com, with all the proceeds going to the CHAS children’s hospice and the Cash For Kids appeal.