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

The 2011-12 AACCA School Rules have been posted. So, what’s new?

by Jim Lord, AACCA Executive Director I’ve had the opportunity to be involved in cheerleading for over 25 years as a cheerleader, coach, camp instructor, head camp instructor, staff trainer, administrator, conference presenter and safety expert and perhaps more than anything else, safety comes down to this: progression and repetition.

Cheerleading, like all sports, comes with risk. We’ve all heard the phrase that “injuries are part of sports”.  That isn’t a reason to turn a blind eye to prevention and just accept that any injury is part of the game.  As coaches, as parents and as athletes we all must refocus our energies on preventing [...]

As men’s and women’s basketball teams begin vying for the NCAA and NIT tournament crown, make sure your cheer team follows the proper procedures and represents your school in the best light.  Here are some basics for those new to the “dances” as well as for those that are veterans to these tournaments. New venues [...]

If you need to take or renew your safety certification course, March holds a great opportunity! For those coaches that take the online safety course in March, AACCA will be selecting 10 coaches each week and will be refunding their course tuition thanks to a generous grant from Varsity Brands. To kick off National Cheerleading [...]

USA Cheer has announced the creation of their new Safety Council. The AACCA is proud to be a member of this council as they continue the efforts made by AACCA, NCSSE and other organizations. For more information, see the release below. http://usacheer.net/Content.aspx/SafetyCouncil

Whether it is a coach heading to competition this weekend and just had to change something, a parent who is questioning whether something his daughter is doing is legal, or even a rules interpreter out in the field who just saw something that falls in a gray area, responding to rules questions is one of [...]

As was expected, there were quite a few responses to the announcement May 11th that there would be new restrictions by AACCA for elementary, middle school and junior high school cheerleading programs. I’ve been asked about those responses and I thought it would be beneficial to share some of them with you (in addition to [...]

(A press release has also been issued here) The AACCA released its “2010-11 School Cheer Safety Rules” today which include some changes for all school teams along with the first ever set of rules specifically for elementary, middle and junior high school cheer teams. Changes affecting all school teams: Released stunt transitions must be braced [...]

There are two major issues when it comes to safety; preventing injuries from happening in the first place and properly addressing injuries when they happen through the preparation of an Emergency Action Plan.  I have said in the past that these concepts of prevention and preparation play an equal role – that they are two [...]