Flying high

CISD careful about cheerleader safety

By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

The Flying Wallendas were daredevil circus acrobats of the mid 20th century, renowned for their seven-person pyramids high above arena floors, generally with no safety net.

They courted, and occasionally met, disaster.

The risks are far less for high school cheerleaders, who soar like birds and perform somersaults and handstands with the greatest of ease for adoring crowds.

But the risks are not nonexistent, which is why Cleburne ISD officiuals, coaches and athletic trainers are careful to monitor the preparation and performances of the limber teens.

Cheerleading in Texas is governed not by the University Interscholastic League but by the U.S. All Star Federation. Schools have regulations they must adhere to.

Those regulations have grown stricter over the years, Cleburne trainer Kathy Martino said.

“There are rules that dictate what stunts they can perform and lifts they can do,” Martino said. “The pyramids used to be very high. My understanding is that you can have no more than two [tiers] now. We enforce the rules. Amber White, our high school coach, is very well versed in the rules. She does a good job looking out for the cheerleaders’ safety. She makes sure not to introduce skills the cheerleaders aren’t ready for.”

According to a Columbus, Ohio, children’s hospital study cited by The New York Times, 22,900 cheerleading-related injuries were treated in emergency rooms in 2002, up from 10,900 in 1990.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported that nearly six times as many emergency room visits were made by cheerleaders in 2004 than in 1980, according to The Times.

Emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries nationwide have more than doubled since the early 1990s.

A study by the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, also cited by The Times, added that of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes from 1982 to 2005 — head and spinal trauma that occasionally led to death — more than half resulted from cheerleading.

Cleburne ISD has had no catastrophic cheerleading injuries, Martino said.

“We see wrist injuries, bumps and bruises, occasionally a broken bone but not too often. We’ll see a head injury sometimes if somebody is dropped coming down from a lift. We haven’t had anything horrible happen, but we’ve had enough injuries that we have to remember we’re putting people up in the air and trying to catch them. We have to be careful.”

Among the first safety steps is preparation.

“Cheerleaders need to follow a good conditioning program, same as any other athlete,” Martino said. “That may be lacking a little bit at some of the younger levels. Sometimes, you see injuries because the cheerleaders aren’t in shape, and they’re trying a skill they aren’t ready for. Once they’ve learned about safety and they’re in good shape, we don’t see as many injuries.”

Physical conditioning is different in different sports.

“We’re not looking to make cheerleaders football players,” Martino said. “We want them to have good muscle tone, good strength, and the mobility to control their bodies.”

Like most schools, Cleburne offers a summer conditioning program for all athletes. Cheerleaders are welcome.

“And during the school year, we encourage them to lift weights and run to stay in shape,” Martino said.

Most cheerleaders have undergone training before becoming part of a school cheerleading squad.

“A lot come from gymnastics backgrounds,” Martino said. “Some are from places like Miss Tammy’s or some of the dance and cheer studios. They get their basics from those. Almost all cheerleaders have some sort of cheer background. In cheerleader tryouts, they have to be able to demonstrate basic skills. That gives Miss White an idea what they can and can’t do.”

Is cheerleading dangerous? Yes to a degree, Martino said, but so is any other sport.

“In football, we see people run into each other and we say, ‘Good hit.’ They’re wearing helmets and pads. In cheerleading, they’re not wearing any kind of padding, and a 110-pound girl is throwing another 110-pound girl into the air. It can be dangerous if you don’t know what you’re doing. If you err on the side of caution, you’ll be safe.”

Like football players, cheerleaders undergo physicals. Also like football players, they drug-test.

“They fill out the same paperwork as an athlete in any other sport,” Martino said. “We treat them like athletes. Cheerleading is a sport.”