Leading the Cheer: Part 1

APPLETON - Cheerleading has a long history in Wisconsin high schools. The peppy performers are expected at football and basketball games, but a growing number of participants want more.

"Some people just see us as the sideline sport, they just cheer for other people," Appleton North High School cheerleader Cassy Hemmen explained.

She says games aren't enough. The girls want respect as athletes and have turned to a high stakes venue to prove it.

"Competition is the real reason we're on this team," Hemmen said. "I think a lot of us wouldn't even be on the team if we didn't do competition."

North has ranked among the best in the country and earned seven state titles for competitive cheerleading. The girls have also made an appearance in cheerleading's main event, finals at the National High School Cheerleading Championship.

But cheerleading coaches and participants have found competition can't be their only focus. Appleton North athletic director Dave Pynenberg says cheerleaders also play a traditional role, leading the crowd and pumping up teams.

"We like it how it is, because they're a spirit squad too," he said. "I mean they really bring a lot to the events."

To keep cheer programs alive in times of sharp budget cuts, coaches say cheerleaders must prove their value. Supporting school athletics must be the priority, though a growing number of local teams are stepping in to dual roles, cheering and competing.

Hundreds of cheerleaders from across the state traveled to the Brown County Arena for the Feb. 13 State Cheerleading Championships.

"We average about 60 to 70 teams at the state event," Cyndnee Totzke, vice president of the Wisconsin Association of Cheer and Pom Coaches, said.

WACPC regulates cheerleading and runs competitions that showcase athletic skill, without straying from cheerleading's crowd-leading roots.

"It's not the big pom-pons you remember from years ago," Pynenberg said. "Girls are throwing each other in the air, they're doing gymnastics."

"For a cheerleader to compete not only does he or she have to know their game skills and sideline technique, but their two-and-a-half minute performance as well," Totzke explained.

Because of the increasing physical demands, Totzke says some schools with competitive teams count cheerleading towards Title IX requirements for gender equity in sports.

Appleton North isn't among them, but does consider it a sport. Cheerleaders there sign the athletic code and pay the same fees as other athletes. In exchange, the school covers the cost of uniforms and busing.

But it's not a uniform landscape in Wisconsin. The WIAA does not consider cheerleading a sport, but has endorsed WACPC to run the state championships, set rules and monitor risks.

"We work with safety, we work with the competitions, basically any questions the coaches have we're the go to people," Totzke said.

For cheerleaders, the "sport" designation is a matter of pride. Some researchers say it's also a matter of safety. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, cheerleading accounts for 65 percent of all catastrophic injuries to female athletes in high school and college.

The center believes cheerleading would be safer, if cheerleaders had the standard rules and regulations of other sports. Researchers also want to see cheerleading considered a sport in high school and at the college level under NCAA rules.

A similar study by the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators shows the danger may be overblown. The association says cheerleading lasts two seasons, double that of other sports. When you account for season length, the study shows the risk of injury is more in line with other girls sports like softball, soccer and track.

Researchers also say cheerleaders are more likely to seek treatment at an ER than other athletes because they often have reduced access to trainers.

"In terms of getting into being an actual NCAA recognized sport I don't know that that will happen on a national level," University of Wisconsin-Madison Spirit Squad Director Josette Scheer said.

Scheer says some colleges have made cheerleading a sport, but at Madison the focus is leading the crowd, any competition comes second.

She and other coaches believe cheerleading will maintain its dual nature, offering both a spot on the sidelines, and moment in the spotlight.

"A lot of people think it's just let's cheer on the football team, basketball, whatever, but we have our own season where we do what we want to do," Hemmen said.