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Tuesday, August 4, 2009

The Most Dangerous Sport is...

...Cheerleading.

Several young ladies I know were cheerleaders back in high school. I don't remember any of them being tossed around like rag dolls as pictured above.

And a good thing too.

According to the US Consumer Products Safety Commission and the National Children's Hospital, cheerleading was the leading cause of spinal cord injuries among athletes:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090804/lf_nm_life/us_cheerleading

The only high school sport I participated in was track & field. However, I was always disappointed that the javelin throw was never included in our track meets. Which was just as well since the Safety Commission's report indicated that running; along with basketball, football, volleyball, soccer and gymnastics was dangerous enough without wielding sharp implements.

Besides, the New York State School Board probably feared that arming teenage boys from opposing teams with pointy sticks was a disaster, or worse--lawsuit--waiting to happen.

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