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November 13th, 2012 | no responses
By Scott Oxarart, Reno Gazette-Journal
A few years ago, Spanish Springs cheerleader McKenzie Bush tossed a teammate in the air, waited for her to come down and prepared to catch her. But there was a problem with liftoff, and the teammate lost balance and drifted midair.
Bush sensed the problem and went to her teammate?s rescue. But when the teammate came down, she elbowed Bush in the head.
Bush will tell you that same story about her first concussion whenever someone says cheerleading or spirit is not a physical sport.
Data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that there were about 37,000 emergency room visits nationwide last year for cheerleading injuries among girls ages 6 to 22. That figure is more than four times higher than in 1980.
The Academy of Pediatrics said cheerleading should be designated a sport so it is subject to rules and regulations, so it has access to athletic trainers and so it is under injury surveillance. State spirit officials want the designation but aren?t sure it will help the supervised activity prevent injuries.
Spirit not a sport
Injury figures in Nevada were not available, but Terrie McNutt, spirit coordinator for the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, said there hasn?t been a single catastrophic spirit injury in Nevada in her 27 years at the helm.
Designating spirit as a sport would not help with safety anyway, she said.
?Making it a sport provides more validity, maybe some more recognition to the activity, which is important. I?m all for that,? McNutt said. ?But making it a sport is not going to help prevention of injuries.?
The Academy of Pediatrics? eight-page report suggested spirit be a sport so it will earn ?the same benefits as other sports, such as availability of athletic trainers, improved access to medical care, limits on practice time, better facilities, certified/qualified coaches and inclusion in injury surveillance data.?
McNutt said that spirit already has rules and regulations in place from the National Federation of State High School Associations that the NIAA already enforces.
Washoe County School District has lead athletic trainers for sports, but cheerleading doesn?t fall under their control.
Making spirit a sport would lead to paid uniforms, coaches? pay, a state tournament and other recognition. As of now, each school decides how its cheer program is run and how much funding it gets.
Spanish Springs coach Gina Allen said her squad gets no financial support for the team and raises money on its own. Allen, who is not a teacher, is given a coach?s stipend and a smaller stipend for an assistant.
Jay Beesemyer, assistant director with the NIAA, said many people approach the body asking to make cheerleading a sport along with other activities like lacrosse. But budget concerns are a problem.
?(Spirit) has certainly been talked about and has become a bigger talking point,? he said. ?With the economic conditions of schools and school districts, adding sports is not something they?re looking at.?
Injury risks
Allen has spent her whole life participating in spirit and got into coaching after helping out her daughter. She?s an expert with technique and safety.
But not all coaches have that background.
?With the way that cheerleading is going, it?s getting more and more difficult,? Allen said. ?When it comes to being competitive or performance-based, you have to maintain the utmost physical strength and conditioning. You have to learn the proper technique and safety for the head, neck and shoulders.?
Bush, Allen?s student, said her team practices three days a week, two hours per practice. The difference between spirit and a sanctioned sport is that it goes from fall football to the end of spring basketball, nearly seven months in all.
The concussion she suffered was rare. Most of her injuries include sprained wrists and ankles.
?We are throwing and catching 100-plus pound girls and putting our lives at risk,? she said. ?I?ve been hurt worse doing cheerleading than volleyball, basketball and horse riding. And it?s a lot more challenging.?
It?s not just performing at football games for Bush and the Spanish Springs squad either.
Like other squads, it travels to state and regional spirit competitions where the stunts are taken to a higher level.
Safe in Nevada
McNutt said one of the reasons Nevada hasn?t had a catastrophic injury is because of the saftey awareness she and others create.
Each school in Washoe County sends spirit coaches and teams to a conference each August, where safety and technique is taught by trainers and professionals.
McNutt makes sure every coach in the state has all the necessary paperwork and certification.
They also have restrictions on how high human pyramids can go (two levels) and make sure that the stunts performed are done within the athlete?s ability.
?We are very serious about injuries and safety to the students,? McNutt said. ?But I don?t personally see (spirit becoming a sport) on the agenda. I don?t see it happening in the near future.
?Nevada has an extremely good track record with injuries. We probably do at least, if not more, than most states in preventing injuries.?
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