Cheerleaders can’t fly!

Cheerleading used to be all about school spirit. But now that it’s become highly competitive – and even considered a sport in itself – it concerns other things, too. Those things include spectacular stunts in which cheerleaders are hurled high into the air – stunts which can go horribly wrong. Such has been the case across America, with many thousands of persons visiting emergency rooms each year due to cheerleading injuries. And such injuries can lead to disability, paralysis or even death. Sprained ankles or strained backs may be the least of injured cheerleaders’ worries. Others may endure a lifetime of pain after a cheerleading accident.

The Dallas Morning News reports that these injuries occur in part because states haven’t done enough to catch up with the growing extremes of cheerleading activity. The newspaper says that “No monitoring system or organization totals injury reports, slaps fines on violators or tracks participation rates in most states, including Texas. Meanwhile, stunts have become more sophisticated and interest continues to peak.”

The Washington Post followed up that report with its own story, avowing that a “growing body of evidence indicates cheerleading has become one of the riskiest athletic activities for women.”

So have fun and show school spirit. Just be aware that cheerleading is not all that safe when cheerleaders are sent flying up, up and away!