Don't Try This At Home!

[AlohaAnnie]

Wow! Very Nice!

Looks like a bunch of young girls having fun.

Is it dangerous? Yes! Liability Issues? Why, Yes!

Picture of a lifetime for the girls! Yes! Yes!

I did things as a young girl that I think back on as a parent and an adult, I think I am lucky something bad didn't happen that day. Thank you, God!

I hope the girls were safe that day.

 

[WEDWDW]

Accidents happen to the best of them.

Yes,I think that is why,after a little while,the Disney Cast Members came over and told these amazing athletes that they would have to stop for safety reasons.

I stayed at one of the Resorts that the Worlds athletes were staying at and realy enjoyed watching them compete one day at WWoS.

I saw some great teams including the amazing Top Guns out of Miami.

For those that don't now,this is the largest competition in the World each year with only the best of the best coming;this year there were 60 countries represented,385 teams and over 13,000 athletes!

I can see why they wanted to make the RnRC pictures-they are really cool,but I totally understand why Disney came over and stopped them-there is always a slight chance,even though they ARE amazing athletes,that something could happen,and Disney just can't afford to take that chance.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

A cheer aunt of a "squad" tells me your niece is not all stars. Pop Warner maybe as they have squads. As you can see there was no one that close to her but her team, who trust me, if she were to start to fall, would just underneath her. Bases will get hurt before the flyer, that is the bases job to ensure the safety of the flyer. Do accidents happen, of course. This stunt, outside of a freak accident of maybe the guitar falling, or some random person running blindly into the stunt group, poses very little risk.

I am well aware of All-Star cheerleading as that is what my niece (Back/Base)does, not Pop Warner. Trust me, I've seen a Base drop a girl causing all of them to fall down at the highest levels. They are not invincible and freak accidents due occur, which makes them, just that, an accident.

 

[BluesTravlr00]

There are 4 words that relate how I feel about this topic:

"Survival of the fittest."

Let em do it If she drops on her neck, well... nature intended it that way.



And as for the mom saying OH THEY ARE AMAZING THIS IS FINE ITS NOT INAPPROPRIATE:
You asked at one point, I believe, "who are you to decide what's appropriate?" Something in that vein. Well, one individual is not the person to decide that-- but a group of people does. That's what's great about society. If the vast majority of people think a certain act is wrong or inappropriate, then it is. And it looks like you're in the minority. You can defend this all day, but you're not going to convince the other people here you're right.

 

[4kids4karen]

If it was a full extension, one man, one leg stunt, I might be slightly concerned if no one was around to catch her. My daughter does this stunt with her male private coach with only them out on the floor. They have fallen to the ground before, but always with coach on the bottom! He would never let her hit the ground first. I watch from the parent room.

 

[4kids4karen]

There are 4 words that relate how I feel about this topic:

"Survival of the fittest."

Let em do it If she drops on her neck, well... nature intended it that way.



And as for the mom saying OH THEY ARE AMAZING THIS IS FINE ITS NOT INAPPROPRIATE:
You asked at one point, I believe, "who are you to decide what's appropriate?" Something in that vein. Well, one individual is not the person to decide that-- but a group of people does. That's what's great about society. If the vast majority of people think a certain act is wrong or inappropriate, then it is. And it looks like you're in the minority. You can defend this all day, but you're not going to convince the other people here you're right.

And the ones saying it isn't appropriate has little to no cheer knowledge, thus is not educated enough on the topic to know what is safe for this sport... plus, the concern over her crotch.... yea let's no go there again. I am not here to convince anyone of anything. The general stereotype on this board of cheerleaders is always negative.

 

[torinsmom]

If nothing else, it is setting an inappropriate example for kids/teens not trained in doing this safely. If these girls are allowed to do this, then who's to say that my son and his friends aren't allowed? I could also see someone rushing by on their cell phone and oblivious to the world running into the girls and the girl on top paying the price. My niece was on the UNC-Chapel Hill varsity cheerleading squad and fell off her partner's shoulders at a basketball game. A tv time out was called early and she was up when the correction was made. Play started and the ref ran into her partner before he could get her down. She hit the ground hard and was lucky not to be hurt worse. She ended up with a sprained wrist and a concussion. They were both well trained, but sometimes accidents happen way too quickly for anyone to react.

 

[cheer25mom]

Okay my two cents.. As a parent and a firefighter if I in fact had found out that this was being allowed by a chaperone I would be furious due to the unsafe act. First, if you look closely at the picture you'll see the one girl holding has an ankle brace on so, she has an injury. Now, let's move on to no safety equipment on the ground and yes, I know from the cheerleading parents that the girls do this all the time but here is a famous quote I hear all the time before a trip to the ER "hey, watch this"! If this girl had fallen from the height she was at there is a good possibility of head, neck and back trauma which could seriously injure her or be fatal.
Now, with that being said I'm sure if an accident did occur which I'm sure it didn't who would have be liable? The chaperone, Disney or both because you know it would be in the works had an accident happened.
All I'm saying is as a parent I let my children go on trips matter of fact my son and his marching band is heading to WDW next year and my wife and I will not be going so I am trusting him and his chaperone to keep him safe. He knows what I have seen in my line of work and I trust he will be safe. Just take that moment to think if you are ever a chaperone and the kids in your care ask to do something that may be unsafe. Ask yourself will they get hurt and if it was my child would I allow them to do it.
Okay, my PSA is over. Flame on..

Ankle brace doesn't necessarily equatectobactive injury in this sport. Many many girls with past injuries wear them all the time for injury prevention. Other than that I agree with what you are saying.

What? They are not doing anything wrong. Why would security be called? They do this all the time everywhere. It looks like the team is Orlando Allstars. Did you threaten to call security on them? Also the date on the picture is during WORLDS (All Star Cheerleading), nothing even close to pop warner. Also these are not little kids. If you know anything about WORLDS they are the best of the best and pretty much as close as it gets to being professional cheerleaders. That is an EASY stunt as well, with no risk of her falling and hitting her head or anything. If they were doing any stunts that included basket tosses or double downs, then maybe there would be a concern. Do you see the girls! They are not of age to need a Chaperone. Actually in Orlando Allstars cheer music, one of their voice overs says WELCOME TO MY BACKYARD, a note for all the visiting cheerleaders.

Pulled their video from that weekend. As you can see, that picture is of an easy stunt compared to their capabilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjstKve96Bc

.FYI. My daughter DOES do that at home all the time. I am paying more yearly on cheerleading expenses than the cost of anyone's trip to Disney. ;-)

My CP is an allstar cheerlear, and our gym sent a team to worlds this year. NO WAY would our coaches allow or in any way condone or encourage stunting of any kind on concrete. It is simply not safe. There is in fact risk of a fall. I have watched OA's worlds level team drop stunts like this in competition. No one is perfect and everyone drops at some point. That is why our gym has rules about when and where the girls stunt, and they are never to put anyone up over concrete. These girls made a poor decision, and unfortunately there is now pictorial evidence of that. I sincerely hope that, for everyone's safety, they have a talk with there teams about taking these kinds of risks.

Anyone involved with cheer knows how expensive it is, but I fail to see how that matters at all to this discussion. If anything I would think that as much time effort and money as we pour into this sport we would expect the coaches o instil proper safety measures into our kids and teach them that stuff like this is simply not worth the risk of injury.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

And the ones saying it isn't appropriate has little to no cheer knowledge, thus is not educated enough on the topic to know what is safe for this sport... plus, the concern over her crotch.... yea let's no go there again. I am not here to convince anyone of anything. The general stereotype on this board of cheerleaders is always negative.

We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have the knowledge having been around the sport as a child, assisting in the coaching and now as the aunt who not only goes to every comp, but pays the bill. I still know that unfortunately bad things happen. I also happen to love the sport and have no negativity whatsoever!

 

[cheer25mom]

We are going to have to agree to disagree. I have the knowledge having been around the sport as a child, assisting in the coaching and now as the aunt who not only goes to every comp, but pays the bill. I still know that unfortunately bad things happen. I also happen to love the sport and have no negativity whatsoever!

Same here. I am very knowledgable about the sport and the safety protocols. I make it my business to be because my child is involved. No way. No how is this safe. USASF will tell you the same thing. They advise against any type of stunting over concrete, period.

 

[chartle]

If nothing else, it is setting an inappropriate example for kids/teens not trained in doing this safely. If these girls are allowed to do this, then who's to say that my son and his friends aren't allowed?

This is why its inappropriate. If they do it now there could be a line of teams with varied amounts of training also wanting to do it and now Disney has to post a CM.

 

[BluesTravlr00]

And here's another thing. We've already had a firefighter chime in, now it's time for a civil defense attorney to chime in.

And this is forgetting for a second the fact that it's just an obnoxious thing to be doing in the parks.


The WDW CMs are *TOTALLY JUSTIFIED* in telling these girls to knock it off, from a risk management standpoint. Without getting into all the bits and pieces of claim management and procedure, I can safely say an injury from an accident doing a stunt like this will be extremely expensive for WDW, no matter how you cut it. If you factor in the actual monetary cost, plus the bad publicity that is unavoidable in this day and age despite all of Disney's resources, then a single accident can be unbelievably costly. No matter what arguments you might have to the contrary, this is just the way it is. And that's coming from a "person with knowledge."

 

[WEDWDW]

I still know that unfortunately bad things happen. I also happen to love the sport and have no negativity whatsoever!

Same here. I am very knowledgable about the sport and the safety protocols. I make it my business to be because my child is involved. No way. No how is this safe. USASF will tell you the same thing. They advise against any type of stunting over concrete, period.

Of the approximately 10 teams I watched performed at WWoS,2 teams had athletes that had to be carried off the floor after the performance was over-they somehow made it to the end,but could not walk off the mat,so injuries happen ALL the time to these amazing athletes even in a "controlled" environment.

I was so nervous watching them at WWoS,so I was EXTREMELY nervous when I walked up on the RnRC "performance" and was glad when the Cast Members came over so I could breathe again!lol

 

[JKSWonder]

I think the real point is not whether its safe or not, or appropriate or not, but if they are breaking park rules by doing it. I wouldn't think the performing of any stunt, whether they are professionals or not, is allowed, likely because Disney might be liable if anything, no matter how remote, did happen.

If they can do it, then why shouldn't a pro skateboarder be allowed to do his thing in the park? Or any other athlete?

I'm impressed at their ability and probably would've stopped to watch myself. But I can see where Disney would frown on it and why other park guests might be less than thrilled.

 

[disnut8]

What? They are not doing anything wrong. Why would security be called? They do this all the time everywhere. It looks like the team is Orlando Allstars. Did you threaten to call security on them? Also the date on the picture is during WORLDS (All Star Cheerleading), nothing even close to pop warner. Also these are not little kids. If you know anything about WORLDS they are the best of the best and pretty much as close as it gets to being professional cheerleaders. That is an EASY stunt as well, with no risk of her falling and hitting her head or anything. If they were doing any stunts that included basket tosses or double downs, then maybe there would be a concern. Do you see the girls! They are not of age to need a Chaperone. Actually in Orlando Allstars cheer music, one of their voice overs says WELCOME TO MY BACKYARD, a note for all the visiting cheerleaders.

Pulled their video from that weekend. As you can see, that picture is of an easy stunt compared to their capabilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjstKve96Bc

.FYI. My daughter DOES do that at home all the time. I am paying more yearly on cheerleading expenses than the cost of anyone's trip to Disney. ;-)

We get that you are very proud of your daughter and her cheerleading. Kudos to you and her. However, this was not in a very good setting and Disney World would have been liable which is why security said to stop it. No one ratted out the cheerleaders. Same thing would have happened if any other child was doing something that could have resulted in an injury and security saw it.

And trust me, if that girl had fallen and had a traumatic injury, her life would have been changed forever. This coming from a woman who has to live the rest of her life with a broken neck - fractured between C1 and C2. I'm fully functional but I live every day hoping I don't get into a traffic accident from behind which could cause my neck to totally separate. I cannot tell you how many times I've had to break hard on my commute and literally cringe hoping the cars behind me stop. Life changer.

 

[frisbeego]

To me, it seems as if there is reasonable debate as to the risks associated with the picture.... which is precisely why it shouldn't be allowed. Disney can't train all of its CMs to determine which stunts are more dangerous than others. Nor should CMs determine which guests are qualified to perform certain stunts.

 

[BluesTravlr00]

To me, it seems as if there is reasonable debate as to the risks associated with the picture.... which is precisely why it shouldn't be allowed. Disney can't train all of its CMs to determine which stunts are more dangerous than others. Nor should CMs determine which guests are qualified to perform certain stunts.

this is the correct response. you sound like a lawyer

 

[frisbeego]

this is the correct response. you sound like a lawyer

Shhhh! I try to keep that a secret. It often works against me.

 

[Schmeck]

First you are not seeing someone's CROTCH! Again, another ignorant comment. Why are your eyes TRYING to see her CROTCH? Again, walk around the parks and you just might see someone's crotch, nipples, etc. showing through their sweaty clothes and other inappropriate things.

Second, the braces they are wearing have absolutely nothing to do with this stunt. Yet another ignorant comment by someone who doesn't care to really know. Without knowing them personally to ask them, my first guess would be the braces are from tumbling, not flying! These girls do high level tumble skills over and over and sometimes if they land wrong or just from repeat stress they decide to wear a brace. Just like a football player may wear a brace during the superbowl, he is still able to play!

My husband just commented, so I will post his comment. Instead of focusing on the girls athleticism, strength, and balance, they want to focus on her crotch?

Focusing on the crotch because that area is exposed. Simple as that. Spreading the legs apart and sticking one up in the air exposes the crotch. What else are you going to call that area?

I still think they were reckless to do this trick in an unmatted area. I don't care how good, skilled, trained, they are, accidents can happen, and if they were 'professional' they'd know not to do it.

 

[f15robyn]

It was interesting to wake up on a Sunday and find this thread. I am a member of the rules committee for a national cheeleading safety organization. I've been coaching cheer at all levels (including college and semi-pro stunt teams) for 27 years.

Since we seem to feel (based on the OA on the tops) that this might be the Orlando All-Stars, they fall subject to the USASF rules. From the "general safety" section of the USASF rules:

5. Athletes must always practice and perform on an appropriate surface. Technical skills (stunts, pyramids, tosses or tumbling) may not be performed on concrete, asphalt, wet or uneven surfaces or surfaces with obstructions.

Seems to me that closes the subject.