by Steve Crouch

Cheerleading involves more than an ability to raise a few kicks, shake some pom-poms and shout rah-rah in a chorus line. In fact, cheerleading has a long, colorful history and its own share of physical challenges that rivals any other team sport. Here's some eye-opening facts about the sport of cheerleading from author Steve Crouch.

Did you know?

- Each year, more females are severely injured in cheerleading than athletes in any other sport (National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research).

- A first-year medical student named Jack Campbell at Minnesota became the first documented cheerleader in 1898. It wasn't until World War II that women started to dominate cheerleading, because the men were off to war.

- In July 2004, the University of Maryland became the first Division I-A school to recognize competitive cheerleading as a varsity sport and count it toward its Title IX requirements.

- A team of epidemiologists led by Dr. Barry Boden from the University of North Carolina analyzed 29 of the 39 catastrophic cheerleading injury reports. The majority of injuries (27 out of 29) were to females. Dr. Boden and his team found that the rate of injury was five times higher for college cheerleaders as compared to high school cheerleaders. Injuries resulted most commonly from pyramid formations and basket tosses.

Cheerleading is part of a team sport! You are responsible for ‘getting the crowd up’. You perform and inspire—as a unit. Cheerleading has been around since the late 1800s in America and is bigger and better than ever today. Some of the most incredible routines I have ever seen were either at football or basketball games and I walked away from the event thinking, "How on earth could they pull that off?"

Not only are cheerleaders usually attractive and fit, but they are also smart. Did you know that most cheerleaders carry a "B" average in high school and college? In fact, at least 83% do. And, a whopping 62% are involved in another sport besides cheerleading. That kind of talent, drive and dedication is certainly something to cheer abou t.

About the Author
Steve Crouch, Calligrapher & owner of Award Certificates By Steve, based in St. Louis, MO, operates the largest collection of hand-lettered Italic calligraphy award certificates available for purchase on the Internet.

Steve's Web site - http://www.awardcertificatesbysteve.com - features over 300 award certificates in 32 separate categories, including cheerleading.