The Cheer News

From the NCSSE newletter:

As the new cheer season begins, two health and safety issues take the news–heat and heart.

Heat issues can be minor like heat cramps or life-threatening as heat stroke. Coaches should know the signs and symptoms of heat-related issues and how to treat them. Humidity, direct exposure to the sun and temperature can all contribute to heat-related illnesses. The combination of these factors make up the heat index you hear weathermen talk about. Proper hydration and reducing sun exposure can help reduce susceptibility to heat-related issues. “There’s no excuse for any number of heat stroke deaths, since they are all preventable with the proper precautions,” said Mueller, the author of the Annual Survey of Football Injuries, a long-running compilation of statistics that tracks major injuries and deaths in 1.8 million football players on middle school, high school, college, sandlot (organized, non-school affiliated) and professional teams (see report at http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-07/uonc-urh073008.php).

Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) in athletes was the subject of the June 27, 2008, U. S. News & World Report article by Steven Reinberg. SCA is the leading cause of death in young athletes, but the worst news is that only one in 10 student-athletes who suffer SCA survives. The article goes on to say that “approximately one case of Sudden Cardiac Death (SCD) occurs every three days in organized youth sports”

• Access to external automatic defibrillators (AEDs) can change these statistics. Access to AEDs within three to five minutes can mean the difference between life and death.
• Schools, practice areas, gyms-all need to have access to an AED, a person(s) trained to use the AED, and an emergency plan in place for using the AED.
• Screening exams for heart problems along with a physical before sports participation are recommended. A study in Italy where a screening EKG mandated for student-athletes resulted in a 90% decrease in SCD.

An amazing group of people have formed Parent Heart Watch. Their mission is to promote awareness of SCD, establish credible research initiatives for SCD, and affect public policy change to encourage community action. They assist in getting AEDs placed in public locations and devising a plan for training and maintaining. One of their goals is to provide the resources and training so communities and parents can host group screening events with trained professionals. The Parent Heart Watch is a non-profit, state-by-state network of parents. Check out their website to see if your state has a Parent Heart Watch group and contact them to see if they can assist your team or gym with EKG screenings or procuring an AED.

Technorati Tags: Parent Heart Watch, NCSSE, Cheerleading Safety, Cheerleading News

If you are at least 18 years old and think you can cheer with the best of them, you may have the opportunity to represent your country at the world’s largest international cheer competition. The USA Federation for Sport Cheering will start accepting online applications August 15th to select participants for the two national teams that will represent the United States at the International Cheer Union’s 2009 World Cup. USA Cheer is searching for the nation’s top 60 cheerleaders to form an all-girl and a coed team that will take on the world’s best at next year’s event.

The selection process will consist of three stages; anyone 18 years or older is eligible to apply. The first step is an online application process on the USA Cheer Web site (www.usacheer.net) where interested athletes can complete an application and upload a video of their skills. From there, USA cheer will select the best applicants to attend one of four regional tryouts. USA Cheer will make another round of cuts after the regional tryouts, and the final teams will be announced January 19, 2009.

The International Cheer Union’s World Cup is the largest international cheer competition in the world, consisting of 25-30 competing countries and more than 1,300 participants. It will take place in Orlando, Florida April 22-24, 2009. The competition will include two levels of cheer (elite and premier) and two partner stunt divisions (all-girl and coed).

“Our application process is unique in that it gives anyone a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete to represent our country,” said Executive Director of USA Cheer Bill Seely. “We’re scouring the nation to select the elite few who will form the first-ever USA cheerleading dream team; only the best of the best will represent our nation on the world stage.”

USA Cheer also announced the coaches of the soon-to-be-formed teams:

• James Speed, Head Coach of the University of Louisville cheerleading squads/Owner of Gym Time Cheer Gym
• Jomo Thompson, Head Coach of the University of Kentucky cheerleading squad
• Tony Nash, Head Coach of Morehead State University cheerleading squads

Seely said of the coaches, “Choosing the coaches was a critical step in this process. Our focus as an organization is to support all of cheerleading and to serve community, school-based and gym-based cheer programs, so it was important that the coaches have a strong background in all areas. We also wanted coaches with a successful track record with college-aged athletes, and these three coaches have won National Championships in both the school and all-star worlds. We are fortunate to have such great coaches to lead the first ever cheerleading dream team.”

USA Cheer

USA Cheer is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) and was formed exclusively for charitable purposes.

Technorati Tags: USA Cheer, Cheerleading News

From the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education newsletter:

The Twenty-Fifth Annual Report on Catastrophic Sports Injury Research reports these statistics and several individual cases dealing with catastrophic cheerleading injuries. These numbers include fatalities, non-fatal injuries with permanent severe functional disabilities, and serious injuries. Many of these are head and neck injuries.

The time for denial and comparing cheerleading to other sports is over. Now is the time to focus on prevention. Safety begins with the coach. Four elements are of utmost importance:

1) the coach must be trained and knowledgeable about cheerleading skills,

2) physicals (including a complete medical history) should be included in pre-participation screening,

3) proper conditioning programs should be provided for cheerleaders,

4) proper training in gymnastics and stunting (including proper spotting techniques) should be provided.

Whether you coach high school, all star or recreation cheerleaders, safety and proper training for all should be your focus.  The full report written by Dr. Fred Mueller and Dr. Robert Cantu can be accessed at http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/AllSport.htm

Read the special section on cheerleading and the individual cases included in the report.

IRVINE, CA, August 08, 2008 - The National Cheer Safety Foundation is now sharing online cheer injury data with Dr. Fred Mueller, Founder and Director of the Catastrophic Sports Injury Research Center in an effort to reveal injury data that will help alert industry leaders to troubling injury trends and be a catalyst for developing additional prevention strategies that will decrease cheer injuries resulting in death or disabilities. After reviewing over 200 cheer injuries, 30 classified as catastrophic plus the deaths of Ashley Burns and Lauren Chang, a pattern of delayed emergency medical services emerged and the NCSF jumped in to expand the Rehearsed Catastrophic Injury Emergency Plan for Competitive Cheerleaders to a comprehensive 9 page color guide to aid coaches during emergencies. The guide is free and can be downloaded at www.nationalcheersafety.com/emergencyplan.pdf.

“For cheerleading injuries to account for 2/3 of all catastrophic injuries to female athletes in high school and college is a huge red flag that will require identifying what factors put athletes’ at risk for injury to begin with, implementing new strategies, studying effects and making new changes to increase effectiveness. We have to stop comparing cheerleading injuries to other sports, or defending the alarming number of life altering injuries and get serious about learning from the injuries that have already happened.” stated Kimberly Archie, Executive Director of the NCSF.

After completing this year annual report Dr. Fred Mueller advised that, “Cheerleading should be considered a sport and as such should have qualified coaches, safe facilities, pre-participation physical exams, sports medicine care, and safe travel. Cheerleading will then receive the recognition it deserves, and injury prevention will play an important role,” Dr. Fred Mueller is a professor of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research. To view Dr. Mueller annual report, go to http://www.unc.edu/depts/nccsi/AllSport.htm.
Read more »

27 Cheerleaders Selected From 10 Twin Cities High Schools To Participate In 2008/2009 All-State Cheerleading Performance Team

Minneapolis, MN - August 7, 2008: Northern Elite All Stars, Minnesota’s fastest growing cheerleading company, is pleased to announce the roster for the first ever All-State Cheerleading Performance Team. Comprised of selected cheerleaders from ten different Minnesota high schools, the Performance Team is the first of its kind recognizing the best cheerleaders in the State. The performance team is designed to showcase the most complex stunting and tumbling routines allowable under State cheerleading guidelines.

The team will perform exhibitions at several local competitions throughout the 2008/2009 cheerleading season. Scheduled exhibitions include performances at Lakeville North High School (Nov. 1, 2008), Minnetonka High School (Nov. 8, 2008), Eastview High School (Nov. 16, 2008), Armstrong High School (TBD), and the Minnesota Cheerleading Coaches Association (MCCA) State Competition in St. Paul, MN (Jan. 31, 2009)

Athletes were specifically hand picked for the inaugural team because of their talent, hard work, and dedication to the sport of cheerleading. Additional selection criteria include leadership, discipline, work ethic, personality, sportsmanship, and ability to be coached. High School and All Star coaches were consulted in team selection, and the athletes will wear cheer uniforms from their respective high schools or all star programs during the Performance Team exhibitions.

2008/2009 All State Performance Team members include:

Tasha Hansen (Bloomington Jefferson High School)
Jess Snyder, Fallon Acker (Eagan High School)
Kelsi Franta, Jillian Lentz, Bridget Moran, Morgan Poulson (Eastview High School)
Holly Johnson, Sarah Johnson, Lucy Rymes (Edina High School)
Amanda Paulson (Forest Lake High School)
Becca Barrea, Haley Bina, Shelby Davidson, Taber Hanna,
Lauren Heide, Ashley Ray, Margaret Arnold, Katie Huber (Lakeville North High School)
Rachel Happe, Kira Johnson (Minnetonka High School)
Sam Landvick, Rebecca Wiig (Rosemount High School)
Will Couture (Saint Paul Harding High School)
Dan Galloway, Bobby Hedeen, Allyssa Orton (White Bear Lake High School)

For additional information about the Performance team, Northern Elite all-star cheerleading teams, and classes please visit www.necheer.com. For more information regarding the Performance team please contact Coach Dane Campbell directly at coachdane@hotmail.com. For questions regarding any other teams or classes please contact Coach Carin Moore at carinmoore04@msn.com.

About Northern Elite :
Northern Elite is a non-profit corporation based in Eagan, MN. They support 9 cheer teams and three dance teams in addition to the All-State Performance Team. Northern Athletics is also a proud sponsor of the Northern Elite Adaptive Team. Its coaching staff features both state and nationally recognized cheer experts with a combined total of over 75 years of cheerleading experience. Northern Elite offers a wide range of classes and teams for all ages (tumbling, dance, jumps, motions, and choreography) with open enrollment all year long. Northern Elite’s competitive teams are nationally ranked, and compete at the local, regional and national levels.

Found this blog entry at Worthplaying.com that includes screen shots and a trailer for the Wii - We Cheer game.

Putting players at the center of a nationwide cheerleading competition, We Cheer utilizes two Wii Remotes as virtual pom-poms to create an authentic cheerleading experience. Players must move the wireless Wii Remotes as directed by the on-screen indicators to choreographed routines, utilizing a full range of arm and body movements such as spins and twists. As each routine is successfully performed, the player will be able to recruit new team members to their squad, adding new cheerleading abilities and choreographed routines. The first cheerleading video game to offer licensed music, We Cheer features 30 smash-hit master recordings for players to perform to, including tracks from Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ, The Plain White T’s and Natasha Bedingfield.

Read the full post….

Also, here is the link to the trailer. Get the We Cheer [Wii] Trailer off WP (5/6mb)

Technorati Tags: Wii, Video Games, Cheerleading

In a blog post at American Cheerleader, Alex Neason talks about what makes her so obsessed with cheerleading.

My non-cheerleader friends and family often ask me what it is about cheerleading that has me so obsessed. One of the first aspects of the sport that attracted me (and essentially got me hooked) was COMPETITION.

The Anaheim Convention Center is a big place, and it was FULL of people. This was my first time ever competing, and we were at a national event! Warm-ups were stressful, and by the time we were on deck, I was literally shaking with fear. As soon as the announcer introduced our gym and we took the floor, ALL the nervousness was replaced with the most intense adrenaline rush I’d ever experienced. What came next was an almost out-of-body experience, and at that moment, cheerleading officially became an addiction for me.

Read the full post…

Technorati Tags: American Cheerleading, Competitive Cheerleading, Cheerleading News

From a post in CheerInCollege.com

BT Webb and Kent Madison, cheerleaders for Western Kentucky University, were substantially injured in a car crash May 3rd. Unfortunately, the injuries were life altering. Webb was paralyzed from the neck down and Madison from the waist down. Bowling Green High School has offered to help raise funds for costly medical bills to help ease the burden of hospital care

Donations can be made to the following address:

BGHS
c/o BGHS Cheer Boosters
1801 Rockingham Lane
Bowling Green, KY 42104

Technorati Tags: Bowling Green High School, Western Kentucky University

From the blog “The Ups and Downs of a Cheerleading Coach” comes a good post about cheering in college.

Pretty much all colleges and universities have cheerleaders, whether or not the school competes. First and foremost, you have to decide why you want to cheer in college. Do you want to cheer, just to compete? If that is the case, cheering in college might not be the right choice for you.

Read the full post….

Technorati Tags: College Cheerleading, Cheerleading News

From an article by Sue Taggart in the C and G News.

The Roseville, Warren and Eastpointe All-Star and Elite Young Champions cheerleading teams are going back to the national cheerleading championship July 26 in St. Louis.

The cheerleaders — girls ages 7-18 who reside throughout Macomb County — became two-time state champions June 8, when they earned their ticket back to the Young Champions Cheerleading Nationals.

“It’s very exciting because we never expect it,” Roseville Young Champions coach Jessica Setlak said of the program’s success. “We just want to go out there and have a good time.”

Read the full article….

Technorati Tags: Roseville, Warren, Eastpointe, All-Star Cheerleading, Cheerleading News, Young Chmapions Cheeleading Nationals