All-Star "cheering All The Way To The Er" Article

[stuntjumptumble]

His response to my email!

"Your response to my opinion piece is among the most lucid, if not the most, I have encountered. You are correct all reference to cheer and cheerleading should be removed from the sport.
What it needs is a rebranding campaign.

I am not against allstar cheer. I am against a lack of sanctioning for HS cheer.

I think cheerleading is fine as a sport. But in this state, the High School Association does not sponsor it as a sport. And due to its high injury rate, cheerleaders are not protected from injury in the same way as sanctioned sports.

I recently saw a severe cheer injury at our state basketball tournament, and that cheerleader is 100 percent on her own. If she were a tennis/volley/track athlete, or football player as you say, she would have financial and medial support. That's my beef. Not all of competitive cheer.

If there is going to be competitive cheer representing High Schools, it is my belief they need to sanction it and install safety guidelines, as you refer to. If not, the sport needs to be limited to club cheer where safety regulations are taken seriously and implemented. Otherwise it is reckless, in my opinion.

My wife was a high school cheerleader. My daughters want to be high school cheerleaders as well, but if they want to do it, I will encourage them to join one of our local club cheer teams.

Again, thank you for your response. It speaks well of you that you approached this subject with a reason and logic. You would be surprised at some of the nastiness."



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[TheTalkedAboutMinor]

While I would like to shove pom poms up his rear end after reading that, I am choosing to feel sorry for him. My gut says he likely has resentment issues towards cheerleaders. Likely got turned down by a girl he had a crush on in 1947 who was a cheerleader and never gotten over it. Either that, or I have gas.

He probably tried out for cheerleading himself and pulled a Finn Hudson... now he's just kind of bitter.

 

[EricaElite]

His response to my email!

"Your response to my opinion piece is among the most lucid, if not the most, I have encountered. You are correct all reference to cheer and cheerleading should be removed from the sport.
What it needs is a rebranding campaign.

I am not against allstar cheer. I am against a lack of sanctioning for HS cheer.

I think cheerleading is fine as a sport. But in this state, the High School Association does not sponsor it as a sport. And due to its high injury rate, cheerleaders are not protected from injury in the same way as sanctioned sports.

I recently saw a severe cheer injury at our state basketball tournament, and that cheerleader is 100 percent on her own. If she were a tennis/volley/track athlete, or football player as you say, she would have financial and medial support. That's my beef. Not all of competitive cheer.

If there is going to be competitive cheer representing High Schools, it is my belief they need to sanction it and install safety guidelines, as you refer to. If not, the sport needs to be limited to club cheer where safety regulations are taken seriously and implemented. Otherwise it is reckless, in my opinion.

My wife was a high school cheerleader. My daughters want to be high school cheerleaders as well, but if they want to do it, I will encourage them to join one of our local club cheer teams.

Again, thank you for your response. It speaks well of you that you approached this subject with a reason and logic. You would be surprised at some of the nastiness."



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I got the exact same reply you did!

 

[FamUsM0m]

Here is the whole thing. Not sure how long it will be up but I saved it.

http://digital.postregister.com/dnews/today/B1.pdf

it's not there anymore :-( does anyone else have a copy of the whole article? I will be emailing him myself.

 

[EricaElite]

it's not there anymore :-( does anyone else have a copy of the whole article? I will be emailing him myself.

Last comment on the 3rd page has a link in the quote

 

[FamUsM0m]

Last comment on the 3rd page has a link in the quote

Prime example as to why we should read the entire thread before asking stupid questions. My apologies...I'm on pain meds hahaha

 

[EricaElite]

Prime example as to why we should read the entire thread before asking stupid questions. My apologies...I'm on pain meds hahaha

haha it's okay, I'm pretty sure we've all done it atleast once

 

[Goosepatrick]

I got the exact same reply you did!

That cheerleader who was injured at that state basketball tournament he references was my daughter, a flyer, who was c-collared, backboarded and rushed via ambulance to the ER. And yes I am on my own. We received some isolated support, like the school nurse calling us personally to ensure my daughter had support from her teachers. However, I never received any response from the Athletic Director, Athletic Trainer and the cheer coach remained optimistic she would compete in districts 8 days later with no regard to the concussion rules. I'm thankful she is walking. This is not an exaggeration. In 10 years of All-star cheer we never experienced such a traumatic event. In 18 months of High School cheer, my daughter has incurred 3 concussions.
I appreciate his position.

 

[mariahnicole1216]

I got a response that was very similar to the rest of yours. "Hi Mariah -

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

First, I want to clear up the article was not at all directed at AllStar, Extreme or other club cheer organizations. It was written solely about HS cheer (sideline cheer) in Idaho, an activity not sponsored by the HS Association.

Clearly I failed to communicate this. That is on me.

When I was using the term "competitive cheer" it was in reference to HS kids practicing and performing Level 2 and sometimes Level 3 stunts over hardwood floors - not what you are doing.

I am not against AllStar cheer. I am against a lack of sanctioning and oversight for HS cheer.

Again, you are correct for reading it as an indictment of your sport. That was never my intention, and that is my failing as a communicator.

I recently saw a severe cheer injury at our state basketball tournament, and that cheerleader is 100 percent on her own. If she were a tennis/volley/track athlete (or Kevin Ware for that matter) she would have financial and medial support. That's my beef. Not all of competitive cheer.

If there is going to be competitive cheer representing High Schools, it is my belief they need to sanction it and install safety guidelines. If not, the sport needs to be limited to club cheer where safety regulations are taken seriously and implemented. Otherwise it is reckless, in my opinion.

My wife was a high school cheerleader. My daughters want to be high school cheerleaders as well. But if they want to do it, I will encourage them to join one of our local club cheer teams.

Again, thank you for your response. Despite feeling disrespected, you responded with respect. You took the high road and are a fine ambassador for your sport. You would be surprised at some of the nastiness."

I'm not sure how I feel about it but I am pleased to get a response.

 

[Nothanks]

I got a response that was very similar to the rest of yours. "Hi Mariah -

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

First, I want to clear up the article was not at all directed at AllStar, Extreme or other club cheer organizations. It was written solely about HS cheer (sideline cheer) in Idaho, an activity not sponsored by the HS Association.

Clearly I failed to communicate this. That is on me.

When I was using the term "competitive cheer" it was in reference to HS kids practicing and performing Level 2 and sometimes Level 3 stunts over hardwood floors - not what you are doing.

I am not against AllStar cheer. I am against a lack of sanctioning and oversight for HS cheer.

Again, you are correct for reading it as an indictment of your sport. That was never my intention, and that is my failing as a communicator.

I recently saw a severe cheer injury at our state basketball tournament, and that cheerleader is 100 percent on her own. If she were a tennis/volley/track athlete (or Kevin Ware for that matter) she would have financial and medial support. That's my beef. Not all of competitive cheer.

If there is going to be competitive cheer representing High Schools, it is my belief they need to sanction it and install safety guidelines. If not, the sport needs to be limited to club cheer where safety regulations are taken seriously and implemented. Otherwise it is reckless, in my opinion.

My wife was a high school cheerleader. My daughters want to be high school cheerleaders as well. But if they want to do it, I will encourage them to join one of our local club cheer teams.

Again, thank you for your response. Despite feeling disrespected, you responded with respect. You took the high road and are a fine ambassador for your sport. You would be surprised at some of the nastiness."

I'm not sure how I feel about it but I am pleased to get a response.

I think it's a solid response. He took responsibility for not communicating his thoughts and stance on things, and gave us his reasoning behind writing the piece. While it didn't erase the hurt that we feel as a community, it is almost an apology, which is actually a lot more than I expected we would get from him, especially with the vast amount of us that said we would be emailing him.

 

[BowsnBling]

That cheerleader who was injured at that state basketball tournament he references was my daughter, a flyer, who was c-collared, backboarded and rushed via ambulance to the ER. And yes I am on my own. We received some isolated support, like the school nurse calling us personally to ensure my daughter had support from her teachers. However, I never received any response from the Athletic Director, Athletic Trainer and the cheer coach remained optimistic she would compete in districts 8 days later with no regard to the concussion rules. I'm thankful she is walking. This is not an exaggeration. In 10 years of All-star cheer we never experienced such a traumatic event. In 18 months of High School cheer, my daughter has incurred 3 concussions.
I appreciate his position.

So sorry for your child's injury. May I ask what type of rules system the IHSAA has in place for your championship ? I guess I am confused as to why the IHSAA would host a championship but your daughter or other athletes would not fall under the same care as when a football player or soccer play is injured. How can they sanction an event and then not support the event as a sport if they are the Idaho High School Athletic Association. Frustrating on so many levels. I hope your child finds the care she needs to be healthy.

 

[Goosepatrick]

It's a great question. She was at the girls state basketball tournament cheering. It's wasn't the cheer state tournament. But they don't restrict the skills at those events and they don't have athletic trainer or emergency response teams for cheerleaders. Same response to her as if she was a spectator.
Now that being said. The state and district tournaments are not better. There is not an athletic trainer on site. One competition they ran a girl broke both ankles during the routine. She crawled off the floor they finally helped her off the floor and then the routine continued without her and without any pyramid they still one first because they would have had they not has the injury..it's bad. The IHSAA only took over the districts and championship to make money not to help sanction or make safer. If there are standards they are not provided or responding to me with them as I have been asking under the recent circumstances. I'm looking for advice too if anyone has an idea of how to better go about getting them to do something. I've written letters, met with athletic director, met with the district AD. Nothing .. It's disappointing for my child and the entire sport here. I'm pushing as many kids to all star that I can

 

[Ashley]

I think it's a solid response. He took responsibility for not communicating his thoughts and stance on things, and gave us his reasoning behind writing the piece. While it didn't erase the hurt that we feel as a community, it is almost an apology, which is actually a lot more than I expected we would get from him, especially with the vast amount of us that said we would be emailing him.

I just don't understand why this response couldn't have been the content of his piece. He speaks quite clearly about how the sport needs to be sanctioned and regulated - things we all agree with and why the American Association of Pediatrics has said that cheerleading should be recognized as a sport. But he didn't say any of those things. He said that cheerleading should go back to standing on the sidelines looking pretty, shaking their poms for the crowd's pleasure. Which is just demeaning. This isn't the 1950s anymore.

 

[cheerIL]

His response to my email!

"Your response to my opinion piece is among the most lucid, if not the most, I have encountered. You are correct all reference to cheer and cheerleading should be removed from the sport.
What it needs is a rebranding campaign.

I am not against allstar cheer. I am against a lack of sanctioning for HS cheer.

I think cheerleading is fine as a sport. But in this state, the High School Association does not sponsor it as a sport. And due to its high injury rate, cheerleaders are not protected from injury in the same way as sanctioned sports.

I recently saw a severe cheer injury at our state basketball tournament, and that cheerleader is 100 percent on her own. If she were a tennis/volley/track athlete, or football player as you say, she would have financial and medial support. That's my beef. Not all of competitive cheer.

If there is going to be competitive cheer representing High Schools, it is my belief they need to sanction it and install safety guidelines, as you refer to. If not, the sport needs to be limited to club cheer where safety regulations are taken seriously and implemented. Otherwise it is reckless, in my opinion.

My wife was a high school cheerleader. My daughters want to be high school cheerleaders as well, but if they want to do it, I will encourage them to join one of our local club cheer teams.

Again, thank you for your response. It speaks well of you that you approached this subject with a reason and logic. You would be surprised at some of the nastiness."



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This is a much more sensible and reasonable approach to the problem at hand. However, please let's not assume that all high school cheerleading is unsafe and unregulated while all all-star cheerleading is safe and regulated. If we go down the road of all-star cheer is always "safer" than school cheer, we are no better than the author who wrote the original piece. We cannot paint every situation with the same broad strokes.

Carry on...

 

[yojaehs]

His response is proof that education is the key. I can't blame him for writing the article. The mother of the injured athlete came on and explained what he witnessed. I do however expect higher standards for ALL cheer. All-star, high school, rec etc. need higher standards.
I am thankful that the educated industry stood up and spoke up. Now, lets do the same thing and DEMAND stricter guidelines for coaches qualifications!


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