Fans sitting in the stands at football games often hold their breath after a big hit or hard fall on the field by a player covered in protective gear, but few worry about the athletes being thrown in the air across the track wearing nothing but a ribbon on their heads.
According to 2012 report from the American Academy of Pediatrics, cheerleading accounted for 65 percent of all direct catastrophic injuries to young female athletes, and according to an Aug. 8 study from the Journal of Pediatrics, many of these athletes often fail to accurately report their injuries. Many of these injuries are concussions, which can jeopardize athlete’s standing as students as they are forced to miss school time and can have memory issues.
“My coach does her best trying to prevent them but sometimes no one can help it when a girl accidently comes down and hits you and you get a concussion,” senior cheerleader Gina Biciocchi said. “You just have to keep your eyes open and be ready.”
On CHS varsity cheer, six out of 27 cheerleaders received concussions this season.
When a girl practicing a flying stunt fell on senior Mara Zankman’s neck, she was hit with enough force to cause Zankman to sustain a concussion.
According to Zankman, though there are adequate safety rules in place, “girls who are flying should be more cautious” when they fall.
“I think enough is being done to prevent concussions,” Zankman said. “They have a lot of precautions.”
These precautions include a new mandatory baseline concussion test for all Montgomery County athletes, new return-to-play processes (which emphasize coaches monitoring athletes as they gradually return to play) and the requirement that coaches annually review the MCPS Concussion Plan.
“I think that it’s been very effective,” said Dr. William G. Beattie, director of MCPS system-wide athletics. “We’re going to continue to monitor the effectiveness of our plan. We’re always evaluating.”
MCPS also goes beyond the National Federation of High Schools Spirit Rules Book with an MCPS Cheerleading and Pompons Handbook that details even more specific safety guidelines, such as a “way-back” spotter. MCPS also has 10 judges at every cheer competition with two devoted to safety alone.
“I feel that our cheerleading program emphasizes the safety of our student-athletes at the highest level,” Montgomery County athletics specialist Jeff Sullivan said. “MCPS has provided safety mats for schools, so that all MCPS high schools have mats to use when conducting practices. Additionally, the MCPS competition will be conducted on a full competition 42 x 42 mat for the first time this year. I am excited about the new changes that we have implemented for this year.”
However enforcement of these guidelines does not come from the county level but rather relies on each school’s administration and athletic director. CHS athletic director Scott Rivinius declined to comment for this story.
Montgomery County has started a new system for tracking concussions by having each athletic director report concussions seasonally. These new guidelines, which put a focus on athlete’s safety, have already proven effective in dropping the number of injuries to cheerleaders.
“There were a lot more concussions last year,” Biciocchi said.
This decrease may also be due to new coach Margo Hopkins. Though she declined to comment, many cheerleaders believe that her style and new stunts make cheer safer than previous years.
“The stunts aren’t too hard this year, but it’s better that way because this way we can be more precise and hit all of our stunts without a problem,” Biciocchi said.
Unfortunately a cheerleader sustained a severe concussion on Nov. 14 before the squad’s Nov. 16 competition, causing the team to have to scramble to get their routine ready in time.
The squad ended up placing fourth at the Montgomery County Cheerleading Championship after reworking their routine by replacing the concussed cheerleader.
