Warman cheerleaders pay tribute to teammate Rachel Deugau

Cheerleaders in Warmanplan to paytribute to ateammate who recently died in a skiing accident.

On February 20,Rachel Deugau, 12, died after she hit a tree while skiing at thePanorama ski resort in British Columbia.

She would have joined her teammates on the WarmanUltimate Amethyst cheer team in the annual Warman Cheer Classic this weekend.

"Oh, she was amazing tumbler, an amazing tumbler," said Leslie Stevenson, coach of the team. "She tumbled many years at Can-Am Gymnastics,so for her talent to come to us was amazing."

Stevenson said the girls are doing their best to cope with Rachel's death.

"They're just doing the best that they can for Rachel, to compete with her," Stevenson said.

In tribute to a teammate

Stevenson saidDeugau's teammates wanted to remember her in competition.

"So, we have left her spots open and [have] not changed any of our formations or anything like that," she said.

The cheerleading team plans towear purple ribbons on their sneakers for Rachel when they compete.Deugauis remembered for herlove for animals so they plan to sell the ribbons at the tournament and donate all the money to the SPCA.

The cheerleading competition runs Friday and Saturday. During the awardsceremony tomorrow, a moment of silence will be observed for her.