March is National Cheerleading Safety Month

While some people do not view cheerleading as a sport, I hope everyone can agree on its dangers. Because cheerleading is the number one most dangerous woman's sport, the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) is hosting a course to educate coaches on how to spot and perform cheerleading stunts and tumbling safely.

Varsity, the leading organization in cheerleading camps and education, announced that it will provide free safety certification courses to the first 200 coaches to log on to the National Federation of State High School Association’s website to take the course in March. This initiative is part of National Cheerleading Safety Month and Varsity’s ongoing mission to raise awareness about the importance of coaches’ education in keeping cheerleading safe for all participants.

“Athlete safety is of paramount importance to us,” said Founder and CEO Jeff Webb. “We want every school’s cheer program to take advantage of the best resources available, and are excited to provide this opportunity to coaches nationwide.”

Providing this program for coaches will hopefully cut down on the number of injuries. I've seen at least one girl on my squad each year get injured, from getting a finger nail ripped off to the tearing of ACLs.

More than 22,000 coaches have already completed the comprehensive risk management course on site and online. The course was created by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA), the leading safety certification and risk management organization, founded in 1987.  Varsity, which includes the Universal Cheerleaders Association, National Cheerleaders Association and United Spirit Association, has worked with AACCA for more than 20 years, providing a comprehensive safety training curriculum for coaches, advisers and students of school-based programs.

Last summer alone, more than 300,000 cheerleaders completed a Safety Awareness Program at camps across the country. AACCA has been endorsed by the NFHS and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and is seen as the standard of care in cheerleading safety nationwide. 

My squad goes to a Varsity sponsored camp and every year the camp instructors go over safety rules and remind us of safe stunting techniques. Always remember to SLACK while stunting. "S" is for spotter. "L" is for know your limits. "A" is for positive attitude. "C" is for confidence. "K" is for knowledge.  Coaches can complete the AACCA Cheerleading Safety Course online by following the steps at aacca.org/safetycourse.