The History of Cheerleading

Cheerleader Cornell University Postcard 1906

John E Campbell was the first cheerleader in November 2, 1898 at the University of Minnesota. Campbell was a medical student and began leading cheers in front of the crowd when the football team was going through a loosing streak. Minnesota won the game 17-6. Ten days later it was reported that a squad of yell-leaders was forming for the football game.
   Fun Fact: My name is Jasmine Campbell and John Campbell was born April, 3 1875 and I was born April 3, 1986.

Cheerleading Accidents Flying Under The Radar

   "There is a zero system for holding anyone accountable," said Kimberly Archie, the executive director of the California-based National Cheer Safety Foundation. "It's a self-governed, $2 billion industry with no regulations for a child's welfare. In football you can say X number of people died. Well, in cheerleading, it's hard to find any numbers at all because nobody has to report anything." Reported by the Dallas News. In Texas cheerleading is not considered a sport therefore it is not overseen by the University Interscholastic League. Safety regulations are ultimately up to the individual coordinator. In many cases it seems as though the athletes know more about the sport than the sponsors or coaches. I can vouch for that. Rule book and regulations are a great idea except they are rarely enforced unless the team is competing. Varsity the parent company of National Cheerleading Association and Universal Cheerleading Association which host multiple cheer camps over the summer throughout the country. Camps are a great idea they give squads the opportunity to bond, learn new stunts, practice techniques, most importantly teach participants and coaches safety techniques. Texas is not required to follow certifications put in place in other cities or states.

Cheerleading Risky Business

   KU's coach Mike Peterman says cheerleading is naturally hard on the body and feels that because athletes have to work jobs as well to pay for cheerleading many of the girls are exhausted which increases risk. Like most Division I schools cheerleading is not recognized as a sport therefore are provided little to no funding from the schools.

KU cheerleaders

    

After a KU cheerleader left a game on a stretcher the NCAA tightened regulations concerning safety and cheerleading.  KU cheerleaders point out that not only do the girls get hurt but so do the males in cheerleading. Male injuries are less catastrophic and more of an enduring injury such as muscle strains and bruises. The above picture(male) shows a bloody nose acquired during practice. Cheerleading has come second to football in claims filed with the NCAA totaling in $12 million dollars. NCAA insurance company has raised the deductible so coaches have increased their qualifications and set new limitations to add ease for the NCAA.  Live coverage video

In an article title "whats the point of cheerleading?" it raises the question if cheerleading has evolved too far from its roots and intended purpose. Cheerleading originated in the 1800's at a students attempt to arouse the crowd from the slump it was in. Cheerleading was started and meant to get the crowds interest and spirit involved in the game.  Now cheerleading involves stunting and gymnastics which is the cause of many of the catastrophic injuries in the sport.
     In Wisconsin, Supreme Court ruled cheerleading as a contact sport in that state to prevent law suits against schools,coaches, and other cheerleaders. I think the problem is although cheerleading squads originated to cheer on the team and crowd a spin off of school cheerleading has been created. All star cheerleading which is not meant for cheerleaders to cheer but rather to show off their athleticism by doing stunts,jumps, and tumbling. When cheerleaders for schools start doing what All Star cheerleaders do thats when a majority of the injuries will happen. It is hard to track the amount of injuries because the amount of cheerleaders is not recorded. Some researchers think that the number of injuries and visits to the emergency room may be a little bit more than other sports that have team doctors.
     As you can see there are many different levels of athleticism involved in cheerleading.

College

NFL Colts Cheerleading

'Helcats' Cheerleading Show

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Hellcats is a T.V. show about competitive cheerleading team. The clip above is a trailer about the show. Ahley Tisdale from the Disney channel is the lead character. Tisdale describes the show as 'Bring it On' meets 'Friday Night Lights'. Tisdale also tells MTV cheerleaders do not take themselves lightly and it is hard work. She is having a blast filming the show.

Sport Science Cheerleading Vs. Football

Sport Science did a study to find out if a football hit has as much force as a cheerleader falling from stunt. The study involved NFL player Hassim Osgood tackling a crash dummy. The football hit had a force of 1,800 lbs. The study also used a crash dummy falling from 18 ft. in the air to measure the pressure of a cheerleader falling from the highest performed stunt a basket toss. The cheerleading dummy fell with a force of 2,000 lbs. The force of the fall is greater than the force of a football hit. The falling cheerleader is equal to the force of a Heavy Weight Rampage Jackson body slam. The highest recorded on Sports Science.

PR Tips for your own Cheerleading Gym

   In order to have a productive all star cheerleading gym many things need to happen to make that happen. The first most important thing is getting a turn out at your gym. Whether it is athletes trying out or other teams from schools/team, and individual open gym sessions. For people who are not familiar with cheerleading, paying for open gym sessions can get expensive. Cheerleaders go to open gym sessions for a one on one training with a coach to improve their skill typically tumbling(gymnastics).
  
    To get publicity for your gym there are many things you can do. Some ideas that Kentucky Elite uses are to have the members of the gym wear bright colored shirts that promote their gym, and every time they get seen with the shirt on in public they receive a free pass for an open gym session. Another tactic is to reach out to the public schools and the coaches of cheerleading to get those teams to use your gym for practice or specific training.
   
   The most convenient way is to reach out with social networks or through the media. Twitter, and Facebook are so popular and widely used it is a good way to get the word out about your gym. These networks leave room for conversations and comments which can make a huge difference. Also using the media especially the local media that looks for stories to cover.
    
    Of coarse advertising the normal way through magazine, penny savers, etc are always a good way to get the gym name out to the community.
 
Here is sample press release of an actual press release put out by Kentucky Elite CATS

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