Cheerleading has evolved immensely over the years since it began it 1898. It started out as people simply cheering for sports teams from the sidelines, and now it has progressed into a sport itself.

When a number of schools discontinued gymnastics programs for liability reasons in the 1980s, many gymnasts sought out cheerleading instead, making the competition even fiercer. Since then it has become even more athletic as catapults, pyramids, and basket catching are performed on a regular basis. While these things may make it more exciting for the crowd to watch, cheerleaders are suffering from countless numbers of injuries each year.

From 1990 to 2002, cheerleading injuries across the nation more than doubled. Cheerleading at GBS is no exception to these statistics; just in the past few years our cheerleaders have endured concussions, asthma attacks, and a variety of broken bones.

“Everything we do is dangerous,” says junior Jeannie Andreson. “My freshman year we didn’t have mats, and Kelly fell from an extension outside and wasn’t moving or speaking for ten minutes. It turned out she had a broken rib and a bruised lung.”

So not only does cheerleading require skill and physical endurance, but it also requires everyone to pay constant attention to what they are doing. One mistake could result in the death of a teammate, which has been known to happen in cheerleading.

GBS cheerleaders put themselves at risk each and every time they perform in order to please the crowd. The stunts that we see them perform in a matter of seconds take weeks of practice, dedication, and guts for them to master. The girls all work really hard to make GBS proud.

Katie Kwielford, assistant sports editor