Dangers of Cheerleading
I know that before I met Sheila, I thought that Cheerleading involved standing there with ‘pom poms’, dancing a little and shouting “woo!” all the time. That’s all those of us outside the U.S. see of it when we occasionally catch sight of a Cheerleader on a game of American Football or Basketball.
Sheila used to be a cheerleader and before we met had told me about times when she has saved… Sheila’s job was to push people up into the air and try to catch anyone who fell. One particular girl who was flipping through the air was caught by Sheila just before landing on the top of her head. I can only imagine the serious spinal injuries that girl would have had if Sheila hadn’t been there…
Real cheerleading is actually something I’d call ‘group gymnastics’. It’s complex routines that include some shouting, some dancing, but also a fair amount of flips and stances where girls can be literally 15ft up in the air stood ontop of someone who happens to be stood ontop of someone else. Girls get pushed up into the air to heights of over 15ft and have to turn their body in the air to be in the right position to be caught by others below… It’s a very dangerous sport.
Tags: Cheerleading, Gymnastics