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Today was Nicole’s first day of school. For the first time ever she’s enrolled in an Ohio school district (one of their better ones), so she’s going to a whole new school.
The bus picks her up almost right in front of our door, which is an added cool bonus. I took a few pictures of her going to and coming from school today, which should appear below.
Please drive carefully as school is back in session!
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As I sometimes do, I spent the last half hour watching “Penn & Teller: Bullshit” off the DVR. The episode from tonight focused on Cheerleading and how it’s not classified as a sport under Title IX. From what I gather, Title IX refers to a law from the 1972 that mandated equal opportunities in sports for both girls and boys.
While I have little personal knowledge of the history of cheerleading or the workings of the, ahem, sport, I am familiar with the perils of the girls who participate. Anyone who’s taken a look at any of the many “national championships” on ESPN or a similar sports channel should be familiar with the dramatic flips, tosses and grabs that these girls attempt and usually — thankfully — complete.
From this episode of “BS” it can be concluded that the nature of cheerleading as it was when Title IX was developed was a completely different beast than it is today. In the past most of the girls basically did simple dance routines with pompoms often employed. In today’s world of competitive cheerleading, these girls combine long strings of somersaults with coordinated jumps and extremely dangerous throws without — since they appear to be frowned upon — the use of spotters.
The vast majority of all things “cheer” are controlled by one conglomeration. The company “Varsity Brands, Inc.” (Varsity) owns nearly every company that cheerleading participants often think of as independent bodies. This includes the organization that appears to be an independent safety watchdog, but is actually one of Varsity’s approximately 30 companies. From what I gathered, each and every one of their companies focuses on selling more uniforms and collecting more fees (sometimes up to $15,000 a YEAR). According to “BS”, all of the safety and other training required to be a certified cheer coach consists of a 3 hour seminar that culminates in an open-book test. Where’s the basic First Aid, CPR, AED, and other important training? If it’s there, I can’t figure how it could be effective.
It seems that Varsity has a major interest in keeping cheerleading from being classified as a sport. If cheerleading was regarded as the sport that it is, then championships would be run on the state level with the potential for real safety measures. In its current form, Varsity, Inc. operates as many as 60 “national championships” per year instead of the one that would be afforded to a typical high school or college sport. Without the numerous national championships, Varsity, Inc. is able to collect a slew of participation (and other) fees in addition to admission fees for parents that wish to watch their children perform.
Who out there knows of a squad of cheerleaders without someone with something broken or pulled? Seriously, cheerleaders are tougher than linebackers. After all, linebackers have the luxury of helmets and pads to protect them from the intense impacts they are likely to endure. On the other hand, when a cheerleader hits the ground she really hits the ground — hard.
What’s gotten me on this topic is my own daughter’s interest in cheering. While I try to be supportive of what she wants to do, it honestly scares the shit out of me. Especially since the current state of cheerleading in America leads me to believe that the best interest of the girls is set aside by the supposed governing bodies in favor of financial gain.
I want cheerleading to be accepted as a sport so that our children can be better protected from these companies that put money before safety. Let’s face it: today’s competitive cheerleading is gymnastics gone wild. And there’s always someone there to monopolize on it at the expense of those who matter most to us all: our children.
Varsity Brands, Inc. owns:
By the way, considering that AC stand for “Athletic Championships”, how could we not consider these girls to be athletes?
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Early this Monday morning, May 3, 2010, the world lost a very good man. Our friend James Douglass is in a better place now.
Jimmy was a Right Worshipful Master in “Blue Lodge” Freemasonry. In York Rite Freemasonry, he was a Past Most Excellent Grand High Priest and Most Illustrious Grand Master of Rhode Island’s Grand Chapter and Grand Council, respectively.
As the Most Illustrious Grand Master, Jimmy created the Rhode Island Grand Council’s first Charity Fund.
A short while before his passing, Jimmy received recognition for being a 50 year Past Master of his Masonic lodge. He also presented two 50 year medals to brethren he had raised that long time ago.
Jimmy was a member of Blue Lodge, the York Rite, the Scottish Rite, and numerous appendent bodies. He was also an Odd Fellow. He was very active as the Secretary or Treasurer for many Masonic bodies, often serving in positions for decades. He only recently began enlisting the help of any assistants.
Jim was preceded in passing by his daughter and then, more recently, his wife. He leaves two of his daughters, both of whom are married and reside locally. The service for Jimmy will be private for the family only and we’ll hold a memorial service for him sometime in the next couple of months.
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I was a delegate for Ward 2 in Fall River and attended the convention with friends and family, many of whom were also delegates.
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