Expert: Katlin - 3/19/2007

Question
Hi,

My daughter is in gymnastics and she's really good at it.  I'm not too worried about her safety right now b/c she has plenty of spotters and I think her center goes out of their way in the safety dept.  I'm afraid b/c she is becoming interested in cheerleading and I've heard some horror stories about cheerleaders getting hurt.  I know that schools vary greatly in the amount of supervision and danger of their stunts, but what has your experience been with your high school or others you know of in terms of safety, people getting hurt, supervision, and danger of stunts?  Also, my daughter is going to be fairly tall, not a giant, but probably one of the tallest girls on her squad.  Do the taller girls get put at the top of pyramids and thrown in the air, or is that pretty much just the smaller ones?  Thanks in advance for answering my questions!

Answer
Hi Robin,
  I am not really all that experience in high school cheer, or the kind your daughters seems to be in ... my school doesn't allow us to tumble or stunt any longer as a state wide rule for educational facilities in my area!!!  
   I have been doing all-star cheerleading for about 8 years now and during this i have been a flyer, i recently had to quit cuz my parents couldn't afford it any longer ... so it is pretty expensive...
   I think it is more safe in an all-star gym .. which has qualified coaches, Accidents aren't very common in cheerleading , cheerleaders are more likely to get hurt walking down the street rather then in a cheerleading accident...I was dropped a few times but not seriously injured and this happened only twice in my 8 years of competitive cheer!  Um ... if they fly it jsut depends on their flexibility and weight not necesarily their height ...
LET ME KNOW IF I cAN HELP YOU MORE ... LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES ...
Sincerly,
  Katlin <3