Extreme cheer: Safety is now the No. 1 issue in cheerleading

A broken arm in one case. A fractured knee in another.

On yet another high school practice field, someone was knocked unconscious and suffered a brain injury. A participant took an elbow to the mouth and broke a tooth in another case.

This isn't football or soccer. It's cheerleading.

In the past three years, seven claims have been made to Utah's Division of Risk Management for injuries sustained in cheerleading accidents.

In the worst case one year ago, a South Summit School District student attending cheerleading camp suffered a serious spinal fracture when she was dropped while performing a "basket toss." That young woman is partially paralyzed and has undergone numerous surgeries since the accident.

Cheerleading has evolved miles since the days of pompoms — and as tricks have gotten bigger and competition more fierce, state officials, school authorities and cheerleading coaches are trying to balance safety with spectacular stunting.

"Safety is the No. 1 issue," said Toni Bauman, who works for Davis School District and is one of the eight-person National High School Spirit Committee, the national governing association for high school cheerleading and drill teams.

For 23 years, Bauman coached cheerleaders at Viewmont High School.

"When I first started, there were no rules whatsoever," Bauman said.

Cheerleaders in high school were stacking themselves three high. Essentially anything a student cheerleader could pull off was fair game.

But severe injuries at the high school and college level have put a lid on the tricks and stunts.

According to research by Dr. Sally Harris at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 50 percent of serious injuries that happen to female athletes are caused by cheerleading.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 25,000 cheerleading-related injuries requiring emergency care in 2001.

Because cheerleading is not classified as a "sport" by the Utah High School Activities Association, and the School Boards Association does not track cheerleading injuries, it is difficult to know how many Utah cheerleaders are injured every year.

But anecdotal evidence and interviews with cheerleaders and coaches say injuries are frequent and part of the fast-growing cheerleading scene in Utah.