August is National Cheer Safety Month! Thanks to years of progress and safety advancements, cheerleading is now ranked as one of the safest high school sports in the U.S., with catastrophic injuries nearly eliminated.

Each week, USA Cheer will share what is being done to improve our sport and protect young athletes, as well as how you can help keep your program safe. 

• Find the National Cheer Safety Toolkit Here
• Read More About The Progression Of Safety In Cheerleading

Here Is This Year's Agenda:

Aug 1 - Kickoff! Start by taking the iCheerSafe Pledge by yourself or with your team and sharing it on your social channels. 

Week 1 (Aug 4) - Cheerleading Injury Information Updates

Week 2 (Aug 11) - Injury Prevention Week - preventing injuries through skill progression, following rules, proper surface, and staying within your ability level. 

Week 3 (Aug 18) - Cheer safety is more than preventing injuries - focus on body positivity, anti-bullying, and athlete abuse prevention. 

Week 4 (Aug 25) - Tips from the pros - and you! Experts share their best safety tips! 

You can wrap up this month by taking the National Cheer Safety Month Quiz! 

Cheerleading Safety & Data Research:

• According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission NEISS, in 2024 there were fewer emergency room visits for girls ages 12-18 for cheerleading (22,313) than girls’ basketball (46,795), soccer (39,085), volleyball (29,706), and softball (29,052).
• The 2023-24 High School RIO Study shows that cheerleading again ranks as the lowest 17th out of 20 high school sports studied for overall injuries.
• According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research (NCCSIR), catastrophic injuries in cheerleading have dropped significantly, resulting in a decrease of 85% in the total number of catastrophic injuries from 42 in 2003-2014 to 6 in 2014-2023.
• The most recent 2023 NCCSIR Annual Report shows no direct fatal or permanently disabling injuries in cheerleading in the past two years.

Read more about the research on USA Cheer.

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