ReD Foxes: 10 years and 10 unknown facts

Dear fans, Internet users of basketball family!
ReD Foxes and I are pleased to welcome you to the official VTB United League web-site. My first blog -message is dedicated to the 10-anniversary of our team, which we have celebrated at the end of the last year. 10 years! It’s getting scary how much we still have not done and how many secret ideas have not implemented yet. And I want to thank my mentors and, of course, my family for the support in those successes that we have achieved.

So, I invite you to go through the photo album of the brightest events and achievements over the last 10 years of the ReD Foxes. The team, which dance the basketball!

2001. The debut with valerian drops

               

This is the photo of our first dance. On October 3, 2001. I can remember this date now. It’s marvelous to have this photo done before Marisha and Katya ran the other direction ... In general, the debut was full of adventures and valerian drops.

2002. Gopak, stolen costumes and flowers in the hotel

In spring 2002 we went abroad for the first time - to Lithuania to the NEBL Final four. The hit became the Vilnius Palace of sports, acclaiming the Ukrainian gopak. I was so happy!
Our performance was highly appreciated and in summer we already dancing at the tournament of national teams in Istanbul, and in autumn - at home games of CSKA. In Turkey fans stole Ksenia”s costumes through the window and Marina in Moscow always got a beautiful bunch of flowers in the hotel room from a secret admirer.

2003. The first in Euroleague and the best - in Eurobasket!

There were two turning points in 2003. On April, ReD Foxes for the first time in the history of the Euroleague won the cheerleading competition. And in September for the first time in the history of FIBA we performed at the Eurobasket in Sweden.
The Scandinavian temperament was melt by our speaking dances! The fans at Globen Arena demanded time-out during the match Israel-Greece and this event is remembered up till now in the world of basketball but the reason for such a reaction is still unknown. And it was this way: the Guys finished playing the match and 4 minutes before the end the coach took a time-out. We danced to In-Grid hit and ran away to dress. We could finish our performance but instead returned to the arena in our new costumes -1:40 before the final siren. And then it started. The fans on the left and right screamed out to coaches «time-out»! 30 seconds before the end of the game one of the coaches gave us a time-out! Fans on the tribunes danced together with us. And particularly active shouted in broken Russian «Sta-ni-sla-va»!. Moreover, they shouted to Ksyusha, who was wearing Sranislava’s t-shirt.

2004. The Olympic «diet»

2004 became for ReD Foxes the year of Olympic recognition and the team practices for Games in Athens - a grand international project. That year was for three. It’s enough to say that our captain Lyubasha and me (at our weight) lost 10 kilograms!

2005. A placard for Julia

At Eurobasket 2005 in Serbia, some stray local guy who was sitting at the main referees' table, became an ardent admirer of Julia. When he found out her name, he made a placard where he wrote JULIA and always waved it during time-out. I don't know what the organizing committee of the championship was doing, but was really funny for Foxes.

2006. «Happy Birthday, Elena!»

In 2006 at the World Cup in Japan distinguished one French fan (including –one fan of ReD Foxes), who found out about my birthday, and was shouting on the arena: «Happy Birthday, Elena!». He was so zealous that a lot of people congratulated me with my holiday the next day.

2007. How the Portuguese learned the Ukrainian language

Eurobasket in Spain was probably the most enjoyable tournament for our girls. The preliminary round was held in Seville, and our girls went there without their coach and lived in the same hotel with the national teams of Spain, Croatia, Latvia and Portugal. The head coach of Portugal team, our countryman Valentin Melnychuk, managed to teach his players Ukrainian words. It helped to bring some humor and romantic to the Eurobasket.

2008. In Beijing

The Olympic Games in Beijing ... The Olympic Games in Beijing was not for three years as the previous one, but for to two lives! I will tell more about it in one of my next  blogs.

2009. Getting familiar with football

2009 – the year of EuroBasket in Poland, which was held under the Spanish flags and  close attention of the Polish cheerleaders. And it was also the year of our debut in football. The project « Fan Ballet 2012» (its fragments you can see on the photo) was started long before the football European Championship. The results of this work we will see this summer - on the Euro in Poland and Ukraine!

2010. The world championship in Turkey: politics vs beauty

This year became memorable for scandal during the world championship in Turkey - with our direct participation. ReD Foxes became the hostages of the political situation: we learned from the press about the fact that we were foreclosed to dance at the matches in our skimpy costumes. Thanks to everyone who supported us in that difficult situation. Letters to the support the ReD Foxes came from different countries, even from the Brazil. Different people asked one question: who will win - the political intrigue or the sport beauty? Its good that won the beauty.

2011. «Ukrainos shokeos Budivelnikas»

In 2011, the ReD Foxes made their debut at beach volleyball. Volleyball coach of Ukraine even invited Dasha Bomok and Anna Pugacheva to become volleyball players. But Foxes did not betray their favorite game - basketball. Especially as we have waited for EuroBasket in Lithuania ...
it is so great when the championship takes place at home (for me Lithuania -is a second home). Babies are with me, we train on open-air, the girls are eating grandmother’s meatballs, costumes are cleaned properly ... And, of course, the Lithuanian fans – are the best basketball fans! Now we are waiting for EuroBasket in Ukraine! By the way, in Lithuania, we have been distinguished as «Ukrainos shokeos Budivelnikas». And the question about our return home, to our native Ukrainian basketball - as cheerleaders of Kiev Budivelnik – was decided at the final of Eurobasket 2011 in Kaunas.

               
 
And in the past anniversary year we had our long-awaited debut in VTB United League. We all are very glad. ReD Foxes («Ukrainos shokeos Budivelnikas») - again in a big game!

P.S. To finish the first note was not an easy task. Vanity, current affairs, and daily problems prevented me from concentration. Thanks to Neyole Pavilonine. When I was preparing for the workshop for trainers of the Ukrainian Superleague, I promised her to find a video of her Carmen performance. As a result, I again reviewed our 10 years - eight VHS cassettes with our documentary video with the moments of formation of ReD Foxes. On these old tapes – there is a desire to find something new, to prove everyone who is doubtful the force of the Dream, unwavering faith of every fox girl in our future Success...
Today everything is different, but the power of the Dreams that came true gives rise to another one. So look forward to new achievements - the main surprises are still to come!

Rozhkova Elena,
The boss of ReD Foxes