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Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
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HighSchoolFearleader
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
Cheerleading (the kind that includes stunts) needs to be recognized as a sport. Our squad is the only team in the whole school that gets no funding. We have to pay for everything ourselves, even though we work just as hard as some of the other teams, and even harder than a lot of them. We're also the only team that has to hold fundraisers. We train, we compete (and that's in addition to cheering another team on AND doing a ton of crap for the school!). How is that not athleticism?
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Alys Brangwin promoted this comment Edited by HighSchoolFearleader at 09/17/09 8:19 PM

ides
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I was a cheerleader all through high school and we always fought the battle to be recognized as athletes on a sports team too. We also had the highest GPA of any athletic team and won pretty much every competition we were in, but that's beside the point.

We had tiny, one-inch fold-out mats to put on the cement floor of our high school lobby--the only place outside of the gym (which we were not allowed to use) that had a high enough ceiling for us to stunt. The mats didn't do much to protect the girls who flew but at least we had a heavy emphasis on safely catching. Only once or twice during my four years did a girl hit the floor. One resulted in a broken elbow. We were lucky.
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Oceanic
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I think the key focus isn't the injury rate (as compared to soccer ER visits in the post), but the CATASTROPHIC injury rate. We're talking spinal injuries, head injuries, death... things that result in long term consequences and disability. So, sure, people get hurt playing soccer and visit the ER with torn MCLs or whatnot, but the cheerleaders are the ones showing up on backboards and potentially ending up paralyzed, disabled, etc.

65% of this class of injury accounted for by a single pursuit out of the dozens of available HS and college sports is astounding.
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lucyjae
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I have 2 bad knees, a wrist that doesn't always work properly and chronic neck pain thanks to my 10+ years of cheering, but god I loved it. I had to cry for my family doctor clear me to cheer my senior year. And even then, he told me not to stunt. It was a good thing his son went to catholic school, because I was right out there throwing people up in the air.
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@lucyjae: Oh, God, I loved it SO so much, too. I doctor shopped to find someone who'd do my knee surgery in time for me to rehab for football season, and even then I had to wear a ginormous silver fiberglass brace, but dammit, I got to cheer. I just did a boatload of upper body weight training and switched from flying to being a base. If I could be on a team now, I would SO still be doing it.
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Le Kangourou de Kataroo
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I was randomly and briefly a cheerleader in college - a flier with absolutely no gymnastics/cheer experience (just showchoir!). I quit when the coach was like "Just trust us. Keep your body like this and we'll take care of the rest." Um, when I'm 15 feet in the air on top of a girl who's on top of a dude? And you're getting ready to throw me in the waiting arms of another dude?

No thanks, I'll pass.
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YashLagit
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
Cheerleading is not a sport. It's a performance and lots of people get injured in ballet, pole dancing and so forth. But a sport doesn't judge adding new members on appearance, comeliness, and shaking your ass. Making it a sport pretty much ignores that a big part of cheerleading is giving the guys a woody with skin bearing outfits and sexy moves. Beauty contests, pole dancing and other things are competitive too, but that doesn't make them a sport. If they were a sport, they'd wear outfits appropriate for cold weather on the sidelines not for tearing muscles because it's freezing cold, but you don't dare over up skin.
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sportz.star promoted this comment YashLagit was starred YashLagit was unstarred

sportz.star
09/17/09

@YashLagit: I think you missed a key point above -- the point is that cheerleading has become competitive between squads and is often all about competitions and NOT, in fact, about performing at games and as you artfully put it "giving a guys a woody with skin bearing outfits and sexy moves." Fair enough if your opinion is that dancing on the sideline NFL cheerleader style is not a sport -- I don't really disagree as there is no competition, no rules, really nothing that usually defines "sport." But, what is discussed in this post is competitive cheerleading, an activity involving complex gymnastics, jumping and stunts that takes place indoors and is governed by rules and rated by judges and the best score wins. Just like gymnastics, figure skating or any other athletic, competitive sport.

Ballet, I would argue, is also not a "sport" - no competition, no one wins. That doesn't make it any less athletic or entertaining, or likely to cause injury. Same with pole dancing, athletic, but not a sport. Causing injury is not what makes something a sport, which is why driving a car to work is also not a sport, despite the dangerous nature of that activity.
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velma
09/17/09

@YashLagit: I can't say I see much of a difference between the outfits that competitive (not NFL or NBA) cheerleaders wear and those of competitive women in track, tennis and gymnastics.
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maggiethecat
09/17/09

@YashLagit: While you may not consider it to be a sport, it requires the conditioning of a sport. I lettered four years in volleyball and was a cheerleader. My workouts for v-ball were less intensive and my training was year round. The idea that you rope in cheerleading with showgirls you see in the NFL, NBA, etc. is insulting. Have you been to a college or high school game lately? This shit is serious. I was a flyer and getting basket tossed up into the wild blue yonder takes serious skill and concentration. There is no ass shaking when your neck is on the line. We had to maintain a 3.0 gpa, never smoke, or drink, or be seen doing anything untoward else we would have been kicked off the squad. I think most schools, both h.s. and college have those rules. You are talking out of your ass with the comparison to pole dancing. The pole never gave anyone a "leg up" (teehee) with a scholarship. BTW there were some soccer players on the football cheer squad- hardly sexy skinny "comely" pole dancers.
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LookyLoo
09/17/09

@YashLagit: I think you are missing the point that many of us are making, which is the important and often-ignored difference between NFL-style sideline booty shaking and organized, competitive cheerleading teams. I was a competitive cheerleader in high school and college and at no time did our moves resemble pole-dancing, thankyouverymuch. And when it was cold, we wore long sleeves and sweatpants.
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@LookyLoo: I've never known a serious squad not to put on warm-ups if necessary. See, e.g., Michigan/Ohio State, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when it is usually fucking cold in both those locales. (You can't see the whole picture, but her base is in warm-ups too.)
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Edited by Penny_Esq at 09/17/09 6:29 PM Penny_Esq was starred Penny_Esq was unstarred

Dancingfrog
09/17/09

@sportz.star: Yes, so true! But there is some competition in dance - I don't think that something be a competition or not is what makes it a sport. Especially with ballet and other forms of dance, it's very athletic, and every bit as hard as many Olympic sports like gymnastics and figure skating.

But here's the thing: various forms of dance have regulating bodies that have training standards for teachers, standards for each student level, exams, and so on. There are checks and balances to make sure kids that are too young to perform certain things are not performing those things. Cheerleading needs those same checks and balances and standards - at least in terms of safety training. It doesn't matter if it's a sport or an athletic art, when it comes to those who train, there has to be some standards to ensure safety.
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@Dancingfrog: The thing is, cheerleading DOES have those rules. I don't think the statement that cheerleading has no safety guidelines because it's not classified as a sport on most campuses is true. Any competitive college squad that cheers for a school has to abide by the rules set by the competition organizers (the most respected/elite of which is UCA). There have to be a certain number of bases and spotters per stunt, you can only build to 2 1/2 high (e.g., your top flyer can only be at the waist level of your middle flyers - 2 1/2 body lengths total height), I think you can only do ONE back tuck (rather than a double back tuck) in a basket toss, etc.

In high school, at least in my hometown in southwest Washington, even though cheerleading isn't a "sport" insofar as you can't go to state, the WA Interscholastic Activities Association, which governs sports, also dictates what stunts you can and can't do. I think that's true of most states, and as I said down thread, some states have totally grounded HS cheerleading squads (no stunting at all). If you compete in at the high school level at UCA, again, there are rules - any inverted flyer has to be in contact with a base at all times (no back tuck basket tosses), spotters, no 2 1/2 level stunts, etc.

I don't know enough about "club" cheerleading, but I do know the rules are substantially relaxed for younger age groups who compete as all stars. But if you're representing your high school and you're doing dangerous and illegal stunts, it's not because there aren't rules, it's because your coach/team/school isn't following them.
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Dancingfrog
09/17/09

@Penny_Esq: But that's just the thing: many dance forms have national, even international standards. Cheerleading regulations seem to lack that sort of consistency, which might be useful in making sure that the girls in it are respected as being athletic, and in ensuring that the coaches do follow the rules and more than that, know the rules and the standards and regulations, even in "club" cheerleading and non-competitive cheerleading
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If_I_Had_a_Poodle
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
helmets at a minimum
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@if_i_only_had_a_heart: Helmets would cause more injuries than they'd prevent. You get battered enough tossing and catching (or flying and being tossed). Plus they'd limit your vision, not so good if you're trying to spot your bases in a twist or a tuck.
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sportz.star
09/17/09

@Penny_Esq: I don't disagree that helmets would be problematic in cheerleading because of the catching of people and the human-to-human contact. But, I do disagree that it inhibits vision or ability to spot. These folks are wearing helmets and see the ground just fine: [www.youtube.com]
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Edited by sportz.star at 09/17/09 6:29 PM sportz.star was starred sportz.star was unstarred

Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@sportz.star: I see your point, but those folks are are landing on their feet - they spot the ground, not the crowd. I was never a basket toss flyer, though, so I can't speak with authority.
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stacyinbean
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I can not count the times I had my wrists taped into stunting positions because they were injured. It would look so ridiculous during the cheers but it was the only way I could hold someone over my head without hurting my wrist MORE. Half the squad would be wearing one brace or another to counteract a sprained ankle/knee/wrist, etc. and you were always encouraged to work through it.
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RubyPenelope
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
This really annoys me since I love watching cheer competitions on TV and I love it as someone who appreciates dance and the tough moves it takes. It sucks that cheer isn't a sport when it should be, its own sport which isn't just about cheering on another team no matter what it used to be. It's just an example of a sport that interests women more (on average) being treated as something like a hobby instead of a physically demanding activity that people want to see. I feel like dance teams and dance in general gets treated the same way ( or as just some excuse for sexy outfits) when they take hours of hard work and dedication.
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sportz.star
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
My squad finished top ten nationally in large squad all female when I was in high school. We did basket tosses with double back flips and caught a girl out of a back layout and bounced her up so she was standing on top of the outstretched, above our heads, arms of two girls who were 5'8''. It's no joke.

We also had no strength training, no other athletic workouts other than practice and gymnastics class once a week - which included only tumbling and no conditioning. There needed to be a recognition that we needed conditioning and strength to do what we did.
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@sportz.star: Wow, were you an all star? When I was in high school, at least at UCA competitions, inverted baskets were illegal. We had no all star teams in my area when I was in high school but the number of cheer gyms around here (Pacific Northwest) has really grown in the ten years since I graduated.
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sportz.star
09/17/09

@Penny_Esq: This was (ahem) 15 years ago. We couldn't do inverted baskets in competition - I'm hoping those rules haven't changed. We did them on football fields. We had to explain to our coach why we thought it a bad idea on a parade route (asphalt).
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Penny_Esq
09/17/09

@sportz.star: Ah, yes, the advisor as "coach." I think it's still illegal, and I know a lot of states have rules about what high school cheerleaders can do as well (some states are totally grounded - the HORROR!) Pretty cool that you all could throw a high enough basket as high schoolers to get a tuck in. My high school team wasn't strong enough for anything but toe-touches. College, though... my salad days.
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Lizard in the Wires now with even MORE metal in the face!
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I've always kind of wondered why aspects of cheerleading hasn't been incorporated into gymnastics. I mean what they're doing is pretty much gymnastics, and they seem to have a much better grasp on safety.

If my viewing of 'Stick-It' on USA the other day has taught me anything it's because the judges are old foogies and The Dude and a Hillary Swank lookalike need to show them the light.
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stacyinbean
09/17/09

@Lizard in the Wires is on Rails: I think the major problem is that gymnastics is an individual sport, and most stunting requires full on teams.
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Lizard in the Wires now with even MORE metal in the face!
09/17/09

@stacyinbean: I know. But it doesn't seem like it would be hard to add. Like in tennis people can play both doubles and singles.
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applebrown-betty
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
"I transferred from Los Angeles, your school has no gymnastics team, this is a last resort."
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sportz.star
09/17/09

@applebrown-betty: Courtney: Why does everyone have to go on a diet?
Sparky: Because! In cheerleading we throw people into the air. And fat people don't go as high.
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Le Kangourou de Kataroo
09/17/09

@sportz.star: You are being a CHEERTATOR.
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HappyHydrozoan is learning to deal
09/17/09

@Le Kangourou de Kataroo: This isn't a democracy, it's a cheerocracy.
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sekushinonyanko
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I think that the sort of cheerleading that involves complex gymnastic work and stunt work is definitely a sport, but the booty-shaking stripper-lite variety is not. It would be much easier to have respect for cheerleaders if not for the image, like that of NFL cheerleaders, of bouncy playmates in skimpy outfits shaking their butts around.
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Penny
09/17/09

@sekushinonyanko: I have respect for major league sports cheerleaders too, because they don't make any money and have to have a pretty large commitment, keeping other jobs, etc.
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sportz.star
09/17/09

@Penny: It's true. I wish their on-field persona was a little less exotic dancer, but they do get paid nothing by the league and have to leverage their role as cheerleader into other areas to make money. Not an easy game.
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ImDatNinja (loves her Red Sox)
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
Speaking as someone who broke her ankle 3 times in a cheerleading career lasting 6 years, wtf. I challenge a skeptic to go to cheer camp and see what these girls and boys go through, then, and only then will they see past the "Bring it On" cuteness and realize how serious people take this sport.
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Penny
09/17/09

In reply to Is Not Calling Cheerleading A Sport Making It More Dangerous?
I say split the two between school-based spirit squads and competitive cheerleading. The latter is no joke. Anyone who has taken a gymnastics or dance class could tell you that.
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