An outpouring of community support is helping the state's defending champion Waiakea girls golf team recover from the theft of thousands of dollars worth of golf clubs and personal items last week on O'ahu.

Donations are being collected through the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association at all First Hawaiian Bank locations in the state. Donations should be made to "HHSAA: Waiakea Golf Fund."

Ten golf bags were stolen from the team's rental van during a team dinner at Chili's Bar & Grill in Waikele last Thursday between 9 and 10:30 p.m.

Eight of the 10 team members lost their belongings, which included golf club sets valued at an estimated $1,500 each. Two other bags belonged to chaperones.

The team was on O'ahu to prepare for the state championships, May 9 and 10 at Turtle Bay Resort.

"The Waiakea girls golf team has already received tremendous community support, such as David and Lorraine Ishii for the girls to receive discounted golf clubs and other equipment, the Pacific Beach Hotel providing complimentary rooms for the team during their stay on O'ahu, and cash donations from concerned citizens across the state," HHSAA Executive Director Keith Amemiya said in a statement.

"Of course, given the high cost to replace their equipment and the travel costs to participate in this May's state tournament on O'ahu, any additional community support would be greatly appreciated."

Waiakea starts its season Saturday at the Hilo Municipal Golf Course. Hilo Municipal golf pro Rodney Acia has been contacting manufacturers to expedite replacement clubs, coach Ken Watanabe said.

Waiakea will be able to field a four-person team in Saturday's tournament, Watanabe said. Waiakea has five players with complete golf club sets, including three who purchased replacement clubs on O'ahu, the coach said.

"The girls' confidence level is what I'm worried about right now," Watanabe said. "One, they're shaken, and two, trying to adjust to a whole new set of clubs in a matter of five days is going to be kind of difficult."

Waiakea may be forced to field a limited team for the state championships if replacement clubs don't arrive soon, Watanabe said.

"My goal was to hopefully bring eight girls to the state tournament," Watanabe said. "Now, it's getting a little trickier because they need to play in at least four rounds on the Big Island to qualify for the state tournament. The longer it takes for their clubs to get in, the longer it takes for them to play a match."

Waiakea practiced yesterday for the first time since the theft. Some players couldn't participate because they didn't have replacement golf clubs, Watanabe said.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call the Honolulu Police Department's District 3 headquarters in Pearl City at 455-9055 (ask for Detective Jimmy Chong), the HHSAA at 587-4495 or the Waiakea athletic department at (808) 974-4830.