Here is what is wrong with Wisconsin's Anti-Cheerleader Tort Reform
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If you're a parent of a cheerleader in Wisconsin watch this video and listen to the podcast.
After your baby girl is catastrophically injured, good luck finding a lawyer in Wisconsin who can help you with the school district that turns their back on your quad-kid.
Or the health insurance company that debates every rehabilitative measure while the head of BCBS gets a nice big fat pay check.
Think I'm being discourteous or mean? Get a grip, I'm telling you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Cheerleading is the leading cause of catastrophic injury in young women in America; that means it's the most dangerous sport your child can do.
In Wisconsin the bottom line is: No matter who's at fault, if your baby girl brakes her neck it's on the parent's dime.
Listen to the podcast
Follow the safety rules for high school and college cheer safety! Know what you can do to avoid or prevent injury!
The Verdict 
Is cheerleading a contact sport?
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Cheerleading Safety and the Law of Cheerleading
Cheerleading Safety is an article written by Valerie Ninemire for About.com concerning what coaches and cheerleaders should do to prevent being injured while cheering. Here is what Valerie lists as the reasons cheerleaders get injured and then how to prevent such injuries.
Why Cheerleading Injuries Occur
· Lack of conditioning and not being physically prepared
· Untrained coaches, instructors or advisors
· Poor decision making by instructors or participants
· Risk taking attitudes
· Inadequate supervision
· Inadequate equipment (example: improper shoes)
· Non-cushioned surfaces
· Poor nutrition
· Attempting difficult stunts before being ready
What You Can do to Prevent Injuries
· Adhere to all rules and regulations
· Practice on mats or pads
· Wear well fitting shoes with proper cushion and support
· Have an emergency plan in place and practice it
· Require proper spotting
· Gradually progress to difficult stunts and skills
· Become educated and certified in safety, first aid and CPR
· Require and use the proper techniques
· Learn how to identify eating disorders
· Treat all injuries as soon as they happen
· Increase flexibility
· Strengthen lower back, abdomen and shoulders
· Gradually increase intensity of practice
She lists suggested readings and a list of interesting articles. The book Developing A Successful Cheerleading Program, by Pan Headridge and Nancy Garr looks like interesting reading and is available at Amazon.com as well as Barnes & Noble.com. The book costs $12.54 and if it saves a life or prevents an injury that results in a life of misery, then it is well worth the price. Coaches Choice if the publisher and it’s in paperback. The ISBN is 9781585188994. Headridge also wrote 101 School Spirit Ideas. Cheerleading, by Inside Cheerleading Magazine is another resource for cheerleading programs to design their program around safety.
Coaching Cheerleading Successfully, Linda Rae Chappell is described as the definitive how-to book is sure to meet the needs of the growing number of cheer coaches, sponsors, and parents. Covering both support and competitive cheering, it explains cheer techniques and tactics, as well as how to plan and develop cheerleading programs. Through text and illustrations, you'll learn basic cheerleading skills - hand positions, arm and leg motions, and jumps; how to combine skills to develop the precision and timing required of a top squad; mounts and pyramids, from beginning to advanced; how to develop a coaching foundation and plans for the season; important safety guidelines from the National Federation of State High School Associations; and much, much more.
With states requiring the cost of coaching and school administrative mistakes to be shouldered by the cheerleaders and their parents it’s more important than ever that they have the right insurance and personal safety plan. Cheerleaders need to make decisions about those stunts they will and will not do.
This reminds me of a summer during law school when I worked construction building grain storage facilities. My boss was a great guy and I enjoyed the hard work. His name was Tel Coffey and he was tough but always fair. For months I worked the ground as a carpenter constructing frames for concrete walls and ceiling panels. After all panels were poured the idea was to lift each panel off the ground and set it into place using a crane. Each panel weighed probably more than 1,000 pounds. The day they were to set panels he motioned me to stand on a panel that had been hooked up to the crane. As we rode up to the top of a couple of walls that had been set he motioned for me to get off and to stand on a 6” wide wall panel. I looked at him, and with a smile said, Tel, I’ve not worked this hard in my life to become a lawyer only to get killed or brain damaged. I wasn’t willing to risk my brain or life for a few dollars. I’d worked too hard to get into and through a year of law school and wasn’t willing to risk losing it all. You have to do the same with your personal cheer plan. Decide what you are willing to risk and just say no.
The best thing I can say about the Noffke vs. Bakke decision is that it's not an Iowa decision.
Library for Cheerleading Safety and the Law of Cheerleading:
- 2009-2010 AACCA High School Safety Rules
Description: Here you'll find the AACCA High School Safety Rules for the 2009 - 2010 school year. Join us for Safety First and save a cheerleader's life.
- 2009-2010 AACCA College Safety Rules
Description: The AACCA is the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators – more than 20,000 cheer coaches. The 2009 - 2010 Cheerleading Safety Rules for Collegs is provided here.
- NCSF & NCSSE Partner for a New Era in Cheer Safety
Description: The National Cheer
Safety Foundation (NCSF) panel of experts teams up with the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) to establish college-level safety courses for cheer coaches around the world. The new alliance brings together two powerhouses in cheer safety setting the stage to revolutionize cheerleading, signaling a dawning of a new era coined “safety first.”