Lauren Chang…

 

 

 

The sad death last week of Lauren Chang who was fatally injured during a competition has got me thinking about how cheerleading is perceived as a sport. Helped of course by my continued reading of ‘Cheer!’ which addresses the subject very well.

From a research point of view, it has been difficult to ascertain what actually happened to Chang as the national media in the US are reporting that she was kicked in the chest by a tumbler but according to this piece by a team mate, that may not have been possible as Chang was not a tumbler and so would have been stunting as the tumbling was carried out in the routine.

The media have also used the word ’stunt’ in a lot of coverage but there remain doubts about that also. All that said, the consensus seems to be that it was an accident and that it happened on the mat.

Almost all the coverage mentions the other two high profile cheerleading accidents in recent memory, Kristi Yamaoka and Ashley Burns.

 

 

 

 

Kristi Yamaoka carries on cheering as she is stretchered off court following a fall from a pyramid.

As with Kristi Yamaoka’s fall and the death of Ashley Burns there has been wide spread discussion on a need for change both in the way cheer is perceived and administered, something which Kate Torgovnick’s book also addresses as she follows the three college teams on the road to Nationals. Without any spoiler intended, Kate witnessed some pretty serious accidents during her time with the squads and it is interesting to see those from her perspective as someone who, at the time, was pretty new to the sport. 

The message seems to be clear though - people are still shocked that cheerleaders get hurt, sometimes fatally, and from what I can see of the coverage this week, that is something that everyone involved wants to see change but at the same time, kept in perspective.

When you compare the stats, almost every other sport has higher reported injuries but because cheerleading involves stunts and tosses there is a greater concern that it is dangerous and when it’s proven to be so, the media interest mounts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Running the London Marathon has killed the same number of people as cheerleading.

Statistically speaking, cheerleading is as dangerous (or as safe) as other activities that people don’t think of as dangerous sports. For example, the same number of people have died running the London Marathon as have died as a direct result of cheerleading; that’s nine since 1981. The activity itself is of course poles apart but there are some similarities - both sports require intensive training year round for just one of two events lasting a fraction of the time put in to prepare.

Does this lead to a conclusion that running is as dangerous as cheerleading or cheerleading is as safe as running? No, of course not but I think it’s helpful as an illustration that all sports carry with them an inherent risk, it is how we manage that risk as coaches and participants that is the important factor.

We need to take measures to prevent accidents happening in practice and at events. We need to educate people that cheerleading can be dangerous and most of all we need to make sure that we all, as cheerleaders and coaches, have done everything that we - as individuals - can do to keep ourselves safe.