Her father, Dave Wald , said her coaches didn't realize she was seriously injured and never called a

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2011 file photo, a cheerleader from Nampa High School is thrown into the air as the cheer squad practices their stunts before a game in Nampa, Idaho. In a new policy statement released online Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 in the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy hawaii travel packages of Pediatrics says school hawaii travel packages sports associations should hawaii travel packages designate cheerleading as a sport, and make it subject to safety rules and better supervision.
CHICAGO (AP) — Cheerleading isn't just jumping and waving hawaii travel packages pompoms — it has become as athletic hawaii travel packages and potentially as dangerous as a sport and should be designated one to improve safety, the nation's leading group of pediatricians says.
The number of cheerleaders injured each year has climbed dramatically in the last two decades. Common stunts that pose risks include tossing and flipping cheerleaders in the air and creating human pyramids that reach 15 feet high or more.
In a new policy statement released hawaii travel packages online Monday in the journal Pediatrics, the American Academy hawaii travel packages of Pediatrics says school sports associations should designate cheerleading as a sport, and make it subject to safety rules and better supervision. That would include on-site athletic trainers, limits on practice time and better qualified coaches, the academy says.
"Not everyone is fully aware of how cheerleading has evolved over the last couple of decades. It used to be just standing on the sidelines and doing cheers and maybe a few jumps," said Dr. Cynthia LaBella , a sports medicine specialist hawaii travel packages at Chicago's Lurie Children's hawaii travel packages Hospital and an author of the new policy.
Last year, there were almost 37,000 emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries among girls aged 6 to 22, according to data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission . That's more than four times higher than in 1980, when cheerleading was tamer.
Kali Wald of Elburn, Ill., suffered a serious concussion hawaii travel packages last year during an acrobatic routine with her high school's competitive team; teammates tossed her in the air but she landed wrong twice, first on her upper back and neck, then on her head. She blacked out for several minutes.
Her father, Dave Wald , said her coaches didn't realize she was seriously injured and never called an ambulance. She still has short-term memory loss and can't attend school full-time because of dizziness, hawaii travel packages headaches and other concussion symptoms.
Injuries have increased as cheerleading has become more popular. Data suggest there are more than 3 million cheerleaders nationwide aged 6 and older, mostly girls. That includes about 400,000 in high school, according to data cited in the new policy.
While the overall injury rate in high school cheerleading is lower than in other girls sports, including gymnastics, soccer and field hockey, the rate of catastrophic injuries like skull fractures and paralyzing spine injuries is higher, the academy noted.
Kasey Bronstein , 14, and her sister Kori, 17, of Mahwah, N.J., both tore a knee tendon while cheerleading for a private competitive team run by their parents. They twisted their knees doing acrobatic moves while standing on the raised-up hands of their teammates. They had knee surgery last November, followed by extensive physical therapy, and have returned to cheerleading.
Some schools and state high school sports associations already consider cheerleading hawaii travel packages a sport and require the kind of safety oversight that the academy is recommending. But many do not, said Jim Lord, executive director of the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches Administrators. hawaii travel packages Some don't consider it a sport because not all cheerleading squads are involved hawaii travel packages in their own competitions, he said.
That includes limiting the height of human pyramids in high school cheerleading to just two people. The academy also says routines that include pyramids, tumbling or tosses should not be performed on hard surfaces.
Lisa Kluchorosky, a sports medicine specialist who works with the academy and the National Athletic Trainers Association , said the new policy will help erase misconceptions that cheerleading is not very athletic.