Usually, basketball, football and baseball come to mind immediately when asked to think about sports. When asked to think about cheerleading, the first thought to come to mind again would most likely be basketball or football. Cheerleading is almost always associated with bigger, more popular male sports and is rarely considered a sport in its own right. The trouble with that, however, is that cheerleading is in fact a sport capable of standing on its own; it is not only a sport, but a rather difficult sport at that.
People associate cheerleading with catchy slogans shouted out by a group of girls on the sideline of a football field or basketball court. A cartwheel here and a wave of a pom pon there is basically what makes up the fundamentals of cheerleading right? Wrong. Cheerleading is one of the most underrated sports today. Although it is sometimes thought of as mindless shouting, it incorporates difficult dance routines, extensive gymnastic tumbling and intricate stunts. Serious cheerleaders practice for hours each day: working on choreography, practicing dangerous stunts and spending time in the weight room building their muscles. Cheerleading is not just a sport to these athletes but a lifestyle. When they are not at practice, they continue to stay fit and remain on a healthy diet so they can perform at a top level.
Cheerleading has been stereotyped over the years as a safe, simple sport with no real risk involved when compared to other sports. The truth of the matter is that cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports around, and the risk factor has been growing significantly over the past few years. According to a research study done at the Columbus Children’s Hospital in Ohio, there were 22,900 cheerleading related injuries in emergency rooms across the country in 2002 which was a significant increase from 10,900 in 1990. These figures also do not include private consultations for similar injuries, so the actual cheerleading injuries could be much higher. Another study performed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Catastrophic Injury Insurance Program found that in 2005, 25 percent of money spent on claims for student athletes since 1998 resulted from cheerleading accidents. Clearly there is more risk to cheerleading than it is given credit for.
A recent article posted online by the New York Times featured a story about a young woman who was a member of the cheerleading squad at Sacramento City College and was asked to perform a difficult stunt, a stunt that almost cost her her life. In the article, journalist Bill Pennington told of how this young woman was thrown into the air to do a particular flip, but was not caught by her teammates and ended up breaking her neck. Although incidents such as this are not common, they are more prevalent than they may seem and are another illustration of just how dangerous the sport truly is.
Alongside the obvious danger of breaking bones through challenging gymnastic stunts, cheerleading also comes with a great risk for eating disorders which can lead to even more serious problems. Since cheerleaders must remain relatively small to successfully do certain dance moves or become “fliers” (a cheerleader who is thrown into the air), and also to look attractive in the barely there uniforms provided, it is not uncommon for them to be concerned with weight and body image. Along with gymnasts and dancers, cheerleaders are at high risk for developing eating disorders in order to maintain a certain image. The Boston Globe featured a story in 1991 about a young woman at the University of Connecticut who had been kicked off the cheerleading squad for being overweight. She turned to a restrictive diet of water and lettuce for five weeks, and also abuse of diuretics to drop her weight from 147 to 123. She was let back on the team after her massive weight loss, but soon after had to leave the squad for a second time due to severe illness caused by her eating disorder.
Cheerleading continues to be overlooked as a real sport by many and is typically seen as a safe alternative to real sports. When examined closely however, cheerleading comes out on top as one of the most challenging and dangerous sports available today. Think twice before you dismiss cheerleading as a sport for the weak, because chances are that cheerleaders are tougher than they appear.
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