Countywide : Cheerleaders Glum Over Pyramid Ban

There was little to cheer about Friday among cheerleaders in the Anaheim Union High School District.

Mandy Strohmyer, 16, and the rest of the varsity cheerleading squad at Cypress High School had their goal of winning the National Cheerleading Assn.’s championship competition taken away without even so much as a holler or a kick.

District administrators have told them and all the other cheerleaders in the district’s eight high schools that human pyramids, in which cheerleaders climb onto each other’s shoulders, and other stunts will no longer be allowed.

Some of the most competitive cheerleaders at Cypress and Katella high schools, who would have traveled to Dallas next month to try to capture a national title, won’t be going now because they say elaborate pyramid stunts are keys to winning.

“You can’t have a competition without stunts at all,” said Michelle Henry, 16, a varsity cheerleader at Katella High School in Anaheim. “We are in the only sport in the whole school that does not get to compete now. That’s ridiculous.”

“The girls are devastated,” said Jim Fardette, whose daughter is a cheerleader at Cypress High School. “My daughter is very talented, and she’s being cheated out of her opportunity to use her talent to compete.”

The district decided to ban human pyramids after its insurance broker suggested the action to prevent further accident claims.

So far this year, at least 10 girls in the district have fallen from pyramid stunts and seriously injured themselves, said Rita Newman, assistant superintendent of business. Each has filed a claim against the district, she said.

According to Newman, pyramids have always been banned. She said she’s repeatedly informed the district’s high school principals that their cheerleaders should stop the practice, but nothing was ever done. “Pyramids are becoming much more risky, and cheerleading accidents in the district were becoming more and more prevalent,” she said.

Graham Grice, administrative vice president of Keenan & Associates, the district’s insurance broker, said liability awards have become bigger over the years. “All the district is trying to do is reduce its risk,” he said.

A survey of some of the largest school district in the county revealed no similar ban on pyramids. Robert Francy, assistant superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, said there is no ban and officials were not contemplating one.

At Magnolia High School in Anaheim, the cheerleading squad was utterly disappointed, June Penn, the school’s cheer instructor, said Friday. “I think it will really take away from their performances. They said today, ‘What’s the point in cheering now?’ ”

Cypress Principal Jack Weber said he told his school’s cheerleading squad about the ban last week. “The kids wanted to compete next month, but now they don’t have a chance,” he said. “I certainly support the ban on the pyramids for the safety of the students. But on the other hand, accidents can happen any time.”

Cypress parents said they will meet with the superintendent next week to determine whether something can be worked out.

“I feel really cheated,” said Teri Smith, 16, of Cypress. “It’s hard for me to believe that anyone would take away our stunts, pyramids and big jumps. It’s going to make the games really boring.”

And competition will be impossible, said Strohmyer, adding, “It’s really unfair.”