Cheerleaders scarred in battle, but still buoyant

RALEIGH -- Sixteen-year-old Karsyn Bailey loves to show off her battle scars.

They run along three sides of her left forearm, the results of surgeries to repair her radius and ulna. She's broken both forearm bones twice doing back handsprings as a competitive cheerleader.

Karsyn competed Saturday with her N.C. School of Science and Mathematics squad at the N.C. High School Athletic Association's seventh annual invitational championship at the Raleigh Convention Center.

Cheerleading lacks sanction as an official NCHSAA sport, which didn't seem a big bother to the athletes and coaches gathered Saturday. Though some have campaigned for the activity to be declared a sport, many still want to be known for boosting school spirit - as long as people also recognize that cheerleading demands some of the most difficult, dangerous moves the human body can do.

"Girls throwing girls in the air," said East Chapel Hill High School cheerleading coach Patrice Parker. "Now how many football players can throw other football players up in the air?"

And that makes cheerleading dangerous. Its high-flying maneuvers cause more serious injuries than any girls scholastic sport in the United States. Emergency-room visits have grown five-fold since 1980, topping 26,000 a year, according to the National Center for Catastrophic Injury Research at UNC-Chapel Hill. In that time, cheerleaders have suffered 71 catastrophic injuries such as paralysis or spinal fractures. Two have died. That's more serious injuries than all other female sports combined.

"They fall from a pretty good height, and lots of times they'll hit their head if they miss," said Lee Doak, an athletic trainer from Harnett County covering the contest. Three Wake County emergency medical technicians were on hand.

Karsyn's second break came in August 2008, a week after her doctor had cleared her from the first surgery just four months earlier. Trying out for the spirit team at Panther Creek, her former high school, she attempted a cartwheel into a back handspring, but her forearm couldn't hold up.

"My mom has always just been, like, supportive of what I do," she said. "We both thought that it wasn't going to happen again, which was not a very good judgment on either of our parts."

Four metal plates and 22 screws later, she's staying away from floor tumbling. Still, that hasn't eliminated the danger.

During Saturday's routine, Karsyn lost her balance as her teammates hoisted her high above their heads. One foot remained in their grasp at head level while her other foot broke her fall, stretching her legs apart like a wishbone. Fortunately, she had stretched beforehand.

"It's always easier when you're on the ground and not in the air," she said with a wry smile.

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