The Cheer News

We have all see the parent exhibition performances at some of the competitions we’ve been to. Here is nice story about one team of parents doing just that.

Twenty-three parents have a new perspective about what it takes to be a cheerleader.

The parents — three men and 20 women — have practiced once a week since November. Their hard work culminated last weekend at the Jam Fest Super Nationals cheerleading competition in Indianapolis.

The intrepid parents range in age from the late-20s to 51.

“The best part of it was that the parents got a chance to see so many aspects of what we do, from the skills to not missing practice,” Bayley said.

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The Shelton State Community College cheerleaders, in only their second season as a competitive squad, won a national championship on Saturday.

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On December 12, 2007 the AACCA Board of Directors approved a new policy to review an individual’s certification status. This policy is in effect a “three strikes” policy which may result in the removal of an individual’s safety certification.

At this time, the implementation of this policy is as a pilot program that affects only college coaches, but may be expanded in the future. The policy goes into effect February 1, 2008.

This program was created to make certain that college teams are following the AACCA guidelines and rules in order to protect their cheerleaders. The purpose of this decertification policy is to have an effect on those coaches and teams that are blatantly, willfully breaking the AACCA college safety rules. It is not intended to unfairly penalize someone that has misinterpreted a rule.

The program provides for due process and thorough investigation, as well as several options for the steps that can be taken in the event of a violation, including the removal of a coach’s AACCA certification.

The specific process for reporting teams violating these guidelines, as well as the steps AACCA will take towards decertification, are outlined in the “AACCA Certification Review Process”, available on the AACCA website at http://www.aacca.org. Additionally, you can view and print copies of the current AACCA College Safety Rules on this site.

Thank you for your interest in cheerleading safety!

Sincerely,
Jim Lord
Executive Director, AACCA

Here is a great article about the Minot High Cheerleaders. Which are heading to Disney World for the Universal Cheerleading Associations National Championships. The Minot High Cheerleaders are not going to be competing but are there to be recognized for there achievements off the mat.

The team earned the prestigious American School Spirit Award by performing community service, having academic excellence and with their school spirit. The squad followed their team motto and “turned up the heat”. Now they find themselves headed to the Universal Cheerleading Associations National Championships.

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From an article in The Welwyn & Hatfield Times:

A FAULTLESS display of stunts, gymnastics and synchronised dance saw cheerleaders scoop a top national prize on their competitive debut.Hertstoppers Cheerleading Club, which was formed less than a year ago, won the Future Cheer Competition at Brentford, after impressing a capacity crowd and a panel of judges.

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This is not specifically about cheerleading, but still is very relevant as cheerleading has become a year around sport.

The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that more than 30 million children and teens participate in organized sports each year. Of those, about 3.5 million seek treatment for overuse injuries and chronic fatigue from overtraining. Though no data exist, local sports medicine specialists say they’ve seen a steady increase in the number of injured and overtrained athletes between ages 8 and 18 by as much as 25 percent in recent years.

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Both the Iselin Giants Midget and PeeWee teams took first place in the Pop Warner Cheerleading Nationals held at Disney World Dec 3 -7.

From the Sentinal:

The Iselin Giant Midget team consisted of 19 girls ranging in age from12 to 15, and the PeeWee teamconsisted of 29 girls ranging from 9 to 12 years old.

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From an article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

The Arlington Martin High School cheerleaders took home a first-place award Saturday in the Small Varsity Division of the National Cheerleading Association’s Senior and Junior High School National Championship.

With the win, the Martin cheerleaders celebrate their 16th first-place award in the NCA’s national championship, competition officials said. The victories occurred over a number of years and speak well of team members’ dedication, said Diane Little, Martin cheerleading coach.

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From an article in the  New Times:

Three of the teams won the Pop Warner regional competition and advanced to the national competition at Disney World in Florida.

At Disney, the Junior Pee Wees took the first-place gold medal, the Pee Wees won a bronze medal and the Junior Midget team, which was competing in the advanced division, came away with a silver medal.

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Found this great article about a special needs cheerleading team.

The six girls, ranging from 11 to 15 years old, had beaten the odds and captured the National Challenger Division championship at the National Pop Warner Cheerleader Competition in Walt Disney World Dec. 4.

“The Pop Warner Challenger Division is an extension of the organization’s philosophy that there is a place in sports for every child regardless of their ability or skills,” said Mary McArdle of East Brunswick, former cheer coordinator of the St. Bart’s Pop Warner League. “Children who participate in challenger teams, football or cheerleading, can have any kind of disability – learning, physical, cognitive, developmental or behavioral.”

Read the full article here…