It’s all about the team spirit. Now that the feeling of fall is in the air, all the hard work and practice begins to pay off with the excitement of school matches. Cheerleaders with their stunning routines, cheers and bright metallic cheer poms are an essential part of sport. And cheer leading in turn becomes an important part of their lives.
Customise pom poms for all occasions
If you’re a Team mom, cheerleading coach or athletic director, you’re likely always looking for a something to give your team an extra burst of energy and color. Whether it’s plastic megaphones or metallic cheer poms, you’re ready to try anything new. Custom pom poms are an easy way to mark an occasion or event. Pink poms poms for October are becoming a popular choice for breast cancer awareness month.
In fact, cheerleader pom poms are even making appearances at weddings, with the friends of the bride and groom using shaker and rooter poms instead of rice, for the farewell.
Cheerleading then and now
Even though nowadays we associate cheerleading with high school girls with metallic cheer poms, it started out as an activity for men. The goal was always to express the school spirit, to encourage the team and to provide a spectacle for the audience. The first cheerleading team at Princeton in 1897 was an all-male affair and was formed to cheer the visitors as well as the home team.
There are now almost 4 million cheerleaders in the U.S. and about 400,000 of those are in high school teams. About 36 million kids participate in sports every year, which means that cheerleading touches many lives.
Cheerleading and sports injuries
The spectacle has become more and more athletic and daring over time, with jumps, twirls and stunting. Stinging refers to the building of human pyramids and it can get very competitive. This aspect of cheerleading also makes it the leading cause of sport injuries for young female athletes. In fact cheerleading is responsible for 65.1% of all catastrophic sports injuries suffered by female high school athletes in the the past 25 years.
Stunting or building human pyramids is the leading cause of cheerleading injuries and can result in broken arms and collarbones and injuries to the knees and elbows, back and even the head. Sprained wrists and ankles are almost a given.
Cheerleaders never get the blues
Despite the high risk of injury, cheerleading is a popular sport with kids and parents alike. Parents like that it keeps their kids active and out of trouble. In fact, female athletes are 92% less likely to use drugs in high school than kids who don’t participate in any sports. Scientists have found a link between exercise and an overall positive outlook.
When it comes to a positive outlook, few sports do it better than cheerleading. With their metallic cheer poms encouraging the team to go out and conquer the world, they keep everyone focussed on winning.