Cheerleading Safety From AACCA. Solutions to address the risks involved in cheerleading.

I get rules questions and notices of violations on a daily basis here in the AACCA office and I’m starting to notice a new pattern – YouTube.

You see, the internet is to modern cheerleading what nationally-televised competition was to cheerleading in the early 80′s. For the entire history of cheerleading up to this point, the highest level of cheerleading most teams could conceive of was what they saw at their own local camps, games or competitions.

Then came ESPN.

Suddenly, teams all over the U.S. realized you could actually extend your arms and press someone overhead. They saw that it was possible to stand on one foot in what was called a “liberty”. Coaches found out that with some work, you could have more than just one “tumbler”. Teams realized that they just might be able to do a higher pyramid or a more intricate dismount. Coed bases saw that you could use only one arm to hold up an entire girl! The collective imagination of coaches, choreographers and cheerleaders across the country was fueled by the possibilities.

Then came reality.

The downside of this awakening of possibilities was that there were teams attempting skills they were not prepared to attempt. Instead of following the proper progression to achieve these advanced skills, many jumped straight to those stunts and pyramids they were seeing on the television. This was in fact one of the reasons AACCA was created – to increase the safety education of coaches regarding the use of progressions and risk management techniques.

Today’s cheerleading community doesn’t have to wait for a television show. They can visit YouTube or facebook on the web or even have video content delivered directly to their iPhone instantly. While this brings another exciting wave of creativity and growth, it also creates a greater need for coaches and even cheerleaders to be familiar with the rules they must follow.

Because you see a skill being performed on the internet doesn’t mean that skill is legal for your team. In my experience, that skill may in fact not be legal for the team that was performing it!

I’ve seen videos of high school teams doing basket toss back flips with the excuse that “We were just practicing it for fun. We weren’t doing it at a game or competition”. I’ve seen what was sent to me as an illegal college skill that turned out to be a three year old video that was taken when that pyramid was allowed on the basketball court. All-star teams have all different levels of skills allowed. But there are different rules for different all-star levels, rec leagues, high schools, and colleges. Even some states or schools may have more strict rules than others.

The lesson here is clear – know your rules. If a little red flag goes up in your mind that says “that stunt might be illegal” or “I wonder why I haven’t seen any other teams in our division do that pyramid transition” you should act on it. Start by reading through your rule book again to see if the skill is prohibited. If there is still an interpretation or just confirmation needed, contact the competition company or your state association rules interpreter. If that isn’t a possibility, contact us. We’ll be glad to walk through the rules with you to help confirm whether the skill is or isn’t illegal.

But one place NOT to rely on for the legality of a stunt is the internet. (Unless it’s the really cool iPhone rules app from USASF)