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The weekly newsletter for Fed2 by ibgamesEARTHDATE: November 22, 2009
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REAL LIFE NEWS: THE DANGERS OF CHEERLEADINGby HazedLandmines, cellphones... this is turning out to be a catalogue of dangerous activities. Now it's cheerleading that inflicts a horrific toll of injuries on innocent teenagers and should be banned immediately. Actually, that's overstating it a bit. Ordinary cheerleaders seem to be OK. The problem is with those who perform stunts. In a study that does rather state the bleeding obvious, it is reported that cheerleaders who perform stunts are at a greater risk of injury than those who don't. Stunt-related injuries accounted for 60% of US cheerleading injuries, according to scientists from Columbus Ohio, who used an "Internet-based reporting system for cheerleading-related injuries." Head injuries and concussions were almost all a result of stunts. By stunts, the study means the following: cradles, elevators, extensions, pyramids, single-based stunts, single-leg stunts, stunt-cradle combinations, transitions and miscellaneous partner and group stunts. No, I don't know what some of those things are but they sound like hard work. And they are clearly dangerous. Most of the serious fall-related injuries were sustained, the report says, while the cheerleaders were performing on artificial turf, traditional foam floors or wood floors. Yes, hard surfaces are more dangerous than soft ones. Perhaps in future they should only performs stunts on matresses. So, parents, if your children absolute insist on becoming cheerleaders, try to stop them from doing stunts. (Or from competing against a witch for a place in the team, in which case they may spontaneously combust, as happened in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode called The Witch...) |
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