Cheerleading Safety Month

 All the years of being a cheerleader and a cheerleading coach i never knew that their was an actual cheerleading safety month. The month of March. Safety is the number one priority in cheerleading and should be with any sport. With injuries increasing every year in the sport many of the injuries come from common lack of knowledge of safety procedures and just knowing the skill set of the cheerleaders that are being coached and performing.  In the state of Florida coaches have to be certified and attend many safety seminars, I can not say the same for all the States. Even in Florida alone all the counties have their own rules on the level of difficulty with stunts and tumbling the members are allowed to perform. In Brevard County, FL the cheerleaders are not allowed to perform basket toss.  According to the National Center of Catastrophic Sport Injuries, research showed an dramatic amount of injuries over the last 20 years from 5,000 to 28,000 injuries. In the November 2009 Journal of Athletic Training published three studies that were done about cheerleading injuries. The study included fall related injuries, the type of team and events over the year, and the surfaces on which practice occurred. The studies showed that the softer the ground the better, no duh, and that stunts are dangerous and the harder the levels(less regulations) the more injuries. For more exact statistics check out the Journal of Athletic Training. I myself tore more ACL and Meniscus in my knee making me have arthroscopic knee surgery from cheerleading.

For more safety tips you can visit National Cheer and Safety and Parents Guide to Cheerleading Safety