Teaching Expertise

Sports world: South Africa

In 1992 South Africa was allowed back into world sport. The reborn sporting nation has had remarkable national team success and has hosted major sports events – but is it being matched by integration? Chris Green reports

In 1992 I met an African National Congress sports spokesman exiled in London to discuss how the changing political situation might end South Africa’s isolation from world sport. For a young boy who grew up in the English Midlands city of Worcester in the 1960s and whose first sporting hero was Worcestershire and England cricketer Basil D’Oliveira, I had always been dismayed by apartheid and the need for sporting sanctions against South Africa. ‘Dolly’, a hugely talented ‘cape coloured’ cricketer who had fled South Africa to play county cricket in England but had soon progressed – even though he was well into his 30s – into the England test team, was a totem of hatred for the ruling National Party in South Africa. When the England cricket team, under the guise of the MCC, sought to include D’Oliveira in the 1969 touring team to South Africa, president BJ Vortser vehemently dismissed the squad as “the team of the anti-apartheid movement”, so the tour was cancelled and sporting sanctions were placed upon South South Africa African national teams. All this had a profound affect on me as a boy. How could anyone hate someone purely for the colour of their skin – especially dear old, mild-mannered, crowd-pleasing Dolly, whose son Damien I played  schools’ cricket against (and who went on to play county cricket and is now head coach of Worcestershire’s academy)? So spool forward to my meeting in 1992 with the ANC in London where hopes for integration were high but measured. “It will take a while,” I was warned, “maybe generations.”

On the face of it, the acrimony of the days of the so-called D’Oliveira Affair didn’t look likely to whither away quickly. This was recently retold in an excellent book written by Peter Oborne – Basil D’Oliveira: Cricket and Controversy (Little Brown, 2004) – which revealed that D’Oliveira was actually offered cash to pull out of the proposed 1969 MCC tour.

Yet the pace of progress since 1992, on the surface at least, has been stunning: two IRB Rugby Union World Cup wins – the first in 1995 when, remarkably, South Africa hosted the tournament just three years after its South Africa – 15 years on sporting isolation had ceased and a year after free voting took place to elect the country’s government for the first time in South Africa’s history – followed by this autumn’s victory in France. In 2003, South Africa hosted the Cricket World Cup and in 2010 it will become the first African nation to stage the most financially lucrative prize in world sport, the FIFA World Cup, a sport in which they won the African Cup of Nations in 1996 – again, the first time they had competed since the end of sporting sanctions. Throw in the individual successes of golfers like Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, world high jump champion Hestrie Cloete and swimmer Penny Heyns – who won South Africa’s first Olympic Games medal after being readmitted to the Olympic family in Atlanta in 1996 after a 32-year absence – and it is clear to see South Africa has arrived back at the top level with a huge bang. There have also been some poignant symbols too: Nelson Mandela sporting a Springboks shirt and scarf when handing the William Webb Ellis Trophy to victorious South African captain Francois Pienaar to the delight of the capacity crowd at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in 1995. Sadly Thabo Mbeki’s presence in Paris last month didn’t carry the same personal magic – but then it is hard to imagine Gordon Brown or, for that matter, Tony Blair, wearing an England shirt, let alone looking remotely inspiring should they chose to do so. Then there was Basil D’Olveira’s triumphant open top parade through the streets of Cape Town in 1999 – when he was voted one of South Africa’s Sportsmen of the Century. In 2003, D’Oliveria and white South African batsman Graeme Pollock (whose burgeoning career in the late 1960s was arguably hit harder than anyone by the boycotts) were the two cricketing giants invited out on to Newlands Ground in Cape Town to take part in the opening ceremony of the Cricket World Cup. South Africa has been keen to recognise its stars of the past. President Thabo Mbeki handed out the newly conceived Order of Ikhamanga – South Africa’s highest honour for achievement in the creative and performing arts and sport – to 11 South African sportsmen and women who were honoured for a range of achievements under a variety of circumstances. Two orders in the gold class went to South Africa’s sportsman of the 20th century, golf legend Gary Player, and 1950s football superstar Steve ‘Kalamazoo’ Mokone. Mokone would undoubtedly loved to have been among the 115 black African players now competing in European football. The increase from virtually zero in 1992 has been another impressive measure of the improvement of football in Africa as a whole, rather than merely South Africa. So where does this leave sporting integration? At the top level most of the competitors representing South Africa in traditional white sports are still white and those played mainly by black sportsmen, are, well, black. Only pace bowler Makhaya Ntini, the first black player to play test cricket for South Africa, who has been No.2 in the world rankings for much of 2006/07, has gained a regular foothold in the nation’s test team (and all the more remarkably because his career seemed over after he was convicted of rape in 1999 but was overturned on appeal). The reverse situation is similar in South Africa’s predominantly black national football team. After winning the CAF Cup of African Nations in 1996 they were first Southern African country to reach the World Cup final in France in 1998 and reached the 2002 finals in Japan/Korea. In rugby union, pacy winger Bryan Habana – who raced a lion in a publicity stunt – is the most visible black player in South African rugby and one of only two black players in their triumphant Springboks 2007 squad. There is hope that the success will encourage integration in the sport – which is hugely symbolic as the Springboks was once considered the team of the white South African police – and which failed to happen after the momentous 1995 World Cup victory. “Our victory during the 1995 World Cup offered us a window to see what South Africa can be. We did not build on that,” said sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile, who is more confident the 2007 win will be a stimulus to make the game truly representative of the country’s racial mix and believes a repeat failure would be unacceptable. “This victory should herald a new era in which we all embrace change and tackle the challenges still being faced by our rugby and sport in general,” he said. Stofile is chewing over the thorny issue of positive discrimination – whether a quota system needs to be employed in order to achieve more diversity in South Africa’s national teams. The Institute of Race Relations’ Chris Kriel is against the idea: “Sport is one South African factor that is able to bring people together across racial and class boundaries. The success of sports teams and not their racial make-up appears to be the primary unifying factor.” If rugby is supposed to unify the nation, it is a slow process. The Springboks fielded just one black player at the 1995, 1999 and 2003 World Cup finals and two in 2007. But there are slightly more encouraging signs among the five teams competing in last season’s domestic Super 14s league, who fielded 28 nonwhite players between them. ”Without development at primary and secondary school level, transformation at national and provincial level will not take place,’ said Kriel. South Africa’s problems are also about class and gender as well as racial divide. There are voices who believe role models are needed at the top of South Africa to achieve more representative national teams which would help to bring about social change and lead to a more equal society. The country has a huge opportunity to show how far it has come since the end of apartheid when it stages the 19th FIFA World Cup in 2010. Five entirely new stadiums are being built for the tournament with five of the existing venues being upgraded at a total estimated construction cost of R8.4 billion. The stakes are high – with rumours circulating that the World Cup could yet be moved to another country. FIFA executives, including Franz Beckenbauer, have expressed concern over the planning, organisation, and pace of South Africa’s preparations. Welfare organisations have expressed major concern about plans to wipe away squatter camps and shelters to improve the image of the World Cup venues, arguing that it is inappropriate to invest so much public money on stadia when much of the population lacks basic services and housing. These are the real long term issues with which South African sport and society has to grapple, beneath the surface glamour of national teams winning major sports events – the ‘hard yards’ as they are called in sports training.

Chris Green is a freelance journalist

Sport spotlight: Boxing

Boxing has long been absent from school sport. Tina Ryan explores its return

Who would have thought that boxing, a sport that has taken some battering over the past few decades since it was banned from the curriculum in 1962, would be making a comeback into the fold of school sport? For so long boxing was the bad guy sport, tarnished by a seedy image and media scare stories about the long-term cerebral injuries sustained by boxers. However, in recent years it has clawed back some respectability. Thanks must go, in part, to repackaged, redesigned versions, such as ‘boxercise’ and ‘boxzone’ – these new concepts have enabled the sport to cross from boxing gym to leisure club and appealed to us more leisurely partakers of exercise. And, of course, the more stringent controls introduced by the British Board of Boxing Control have contributed to making the sport safer to practise. Boxing – even without the combat side – is undoubtedly one of the most all-round challenging sports. The gruelling discipline, the mental and physical agility, coordination and sheer physical exertion involved is enough to impress even the crème de la crème of other sports. In fact many elite sportspeople regularly box-train with professional coaches as a key part of their fitness regime. No question then that boxing has something positive and even, dare I say it, unique to offer. The swing in boxing’s popularity has not gone unnoticed in education but alarm bells still ring in some quarters when it is associated with schools. So the challenge for PE professionals is to find ingenious ways to draw on its strengths and leave the negatives at the school gate. Richmond LEA found a creative way to exploit boxing. The borough has a history of using sport innovatively to address a range of diverse issues relating to children in its schools. Five years ago, Phil Davies – the director of sport and the inspiration behind the project – and teacher Wayne Simon piloted ‘Self Esteem Through Sport’ or SETS as it is now referred to. The initiative, supported by the pupil referral unit, was aimed at disaffected children who were at serious risk of permanent exclusion or criminal activity. The borough devised two- and three-year programmes for Year 10 and 9 pupils respectively that put specific children on a series of sports courses as a partial replacement to some curriculum subjects. Wayne Simon led the project, initially with a group of 15 boys from Whitton School. He said: “The pupils we approached were those who were becoming increasingly isolated – we needed a mechanism to get them attached to a group again and give them a sense of belonging. It was also important for these teenagers to achieve something we could reward them for and ultimately bring about a change in their attitudes.” Not all teachers were in favour of the initiative. Some were concerned it would look like the disruptive children were the most rewarded. Staff involved have overcome the problem well with good communication between subject teachers and Wayne Simon’s team – Simon leads with authority and charisma and ensures he is aware of what’s going on in the classroom, while teachers feed back good and bad behaviour and children are not only incentivised but penalised too. In this way, the programme works hand in hand with the curriculum and not in isolation. The school chose pupils who had at least demonstrated some interest – active or passive – in sport. Getting the parents involved was important too. Wayne Simon says: “Parents have to buy into the idea and participate in evaluating their child’s progress”. He adds that the “hands-on” approach has broadly contributed to changing some of the adults’ own attitudes to being a parent and to the role of education. SETS’ first generation teenagers showed a significant positive shift in attitudes to school and overall demeanour. Teachers reported that their concentration levels were much improved and that they interacted better with their classmates. Overall the group had gained confidence from their sporting achievements. Spurred on by its success, the programme is now in six of the borough’s schools. The objective is increasingly to catch children at an earlier stage, before negative behaviour patterns are entrenched. Children now targeted typically have poor attendance, are disruptive and are victims of bullying – or even the bullies themselves. Various sports and skills are chosen to address the specific issues and difficulties of the group members. Wayne Simon has found that water-based sports such as rowing and sculling are particularly effective in understanding the value of working together as a group and has helped improve the teenagers’ relationships with their peers. The other core sports that provide the focus of SETS include football, rugby, archery and, of course, boxing. Wayne Simon was initially concerned about teachers’ and parents’ perception of boxing and admits that it was “an uphill struggle” to persuade those involved that it had something to offer. But Simon was convinced from the outset: “We had used team sports successfully but I wanted the kids to get other things out of the programme by trying an individual sport. Boxing perhaps takes the term ‘individual’ to an extreme – it’s called the loneliest sport but it is all about self-discipline and rigour and that was what initially appealed. I also wanted to release some of the boys’ pent-up aggression.”  Simon had sought partnerships with impressive credentials for football (Brentford FC and Fulham FC) and rugby (Harlequins) and boxing was not to be outclassed. John Holland, son of Harry, a former pro-boxer in Audley Harrison’s team, owns a boxing gym in the borough. Holland Junior runs sessions for total beginners, boxers and elite sportmen alike: Harlequin rugby players and professional footballers are regulars there. John Holland, along with his colleague and ex-World Superfeatherweight Champion Barry Jones, ran a four-month boxing course for the SETS students. No sparring was involved – training focused on skills and fitness alone. The teenagers were coached in footwork, handspeed and coordination, first in front of the mirror and, as they progressed, using pads and punch-bags. Holland says: “There is a lot to think about in boxing – it’s much more mentally demanding than people imagine. The kids had to really concentrate to think on their feet and stay focused to maintain coordination and agility.” In fact, a few of the teenagers involved had already excelled in other sports, yet boxing proved to be the toughest, most gruelling of lessons. James King was one of the SETS participants. He said: “It took a lot more effort than the other sports but also the skills were more precise, there was greater technique involved – it was definitely the most challenging sport I had tried.” Enthusiasm running high from both sides, the boxing pros set about organising something special for the group. Barry Jones contacted his old friend, World Champion Joe Calzaghe, who invited the children to his gym in Cardiff for a weekend of masterclass training. Barry said: “The kids were a little in awe of their surroundings when they first walked in, as the gym was much bigger and filled with serious boxers in training. We carried on as usual with our warm up, skipping, mirror techniques and then the punchbags.  And then Joe walked in. He was clearly pleased to have the kids there and was interested in what SETS was trying to do.  James King described their time with Calzaghe: “Joe told us about his boxing career in a normal, down-to-earth way and we got to ask him questions. We all just connected with him, he was very easy to talk to and yet we left feeling very inspired by him as a person.” Richmond Borough’s initiative has won it acclaim from government and a PDM Conference National Award. For Wayne Simon, the programme has been successful in what he refers to as “overwriting children’s own sets of principles” and breaking the cycle of behaviour. In plain terms, Richmond Borough has seen a marked reduction in exclusion (only two pupils out of the 105 SETS attendees ended up at the pupil referral unit). Teachers have reported a significant improvement in attitudes and behaviour and, finally, the teenagers have come away armed with leadership diplomas and coaching certificates: the ARA Wetskills Level 1; RFU Coaching; Level 1; the FA Coaching Award. Oh – and a few rounds in the ring with Joe Calzaghe into the bargain.


Tina Ryan is a freelance journalist

Improving social skills using sport

Social skills such as teamwork can be effectively demonstrated and taught using sport. Jody Specht discusses this cross-curricular method

The Bexley School Sports Partnership (SSP) was set up in 2002 with the initial aim of reaching and exceeding the national target of young people taking part in two hours of PE and sport a week. Over time, the remit and focus of the partnership has changed, as we have come to use sport as a tool for making fundamental changes to young people’s lives.

Responding to schools
This came about because schools in the partnership reported that they had many pupils with very poor social skills: they were unable to work as a team or with a partner and could not share with each other.

This led us to set up an adventure-based learning (ABL) programme, which sought to teach the basics of communication and cooperation in a fun and creative manner. Using adventure is a specific technique in experiential learning, where the outcome of the experience is uncertain and may contain physical, social and psychological risks.

Facing risks
Direct participation in action requires us to face our fears of risk. In dealing with challenges, we have the opportunity to turn perceived limitations into abilities and achievements. In the process, we learn a great deal about our relationships with others and ourselves.

Experiential learning is based on people being ‘active and doing’ rather then being ‘passive and done to’. Having the chance to practice the skills they are learning leads to them being more likely to maintain these changes in other areas of their lives.

Learning becomes ‘experiential’ when a person is:

  • involved in an activity
  • looks back at it critically
  • determines what was useful
  • uses this information to perform another activity.

Providing an experience alone does not create ‘experiential learning’. The activity comes first. The learning comes from the thoughts and ideas created as a result of the experience.

The project uses adventure and experiential learning activities to engage pupils, but the learning takes place through pupils:

  • experiencing success
  • evaluating their successes (and failures)
  • transferring these skills to the next activities.

The ultimate aim is that young people will transfer these skills back to the classroom.

Programme
Each programme lasts approximately six weeks, with group sizes ranging from six to 22. Schools select the young people they wish us to work with, and inform us of each child’s developmental needs.

The students are not led to see the teacher as the ultimate source of all answers and wisdom. Instead, they learn from each other, with the facilitator providing guidance when needed.
The facilitator aims to gradually give over control to the group. A leader of a newly formed group will be relied upon by the group for leadership. This allows the leader to model behaviour, set the tone of the session and gain respect. As a group develops, the facilitator’s role changes, allowing students the opportunity to become leaders themselves.

Meeting individual needs
Adventure-based learning is effective in making a difference to pupils’ social and emotional needs because it is not an area of school life where they are seen to fail. The programme ensures it meets individual needs, engaging pupils actively in their own personal development. The majority of the activities are active, so pupils can feel and see their success instantly, thus gaining instant gratification. Pupils develop the skills to understand that they can achieve anything, but they need to apply the right techniques at an appropriate time. For example, they cannot achieve a group task if they do not think of others or achieve a blindfolded task if they cannot trust and communicate effectively.

More confidence
The programme has played a part in breaking down the barriers faced by some pupils when accessing classroom learning. Facilitators have observed that pupils have become: 

  • more supportive of their peers
  • more confident in communicating their ideas
  • less aggressive.

We also have reports from classroom teachers of pupils:

  • taking more pride in their work
  • shouting and arguing less in class
  • behaving in less violent and attention-seeking ways
  • not giving up with frustration if they do not succeed first time.

The next step for the partnership is to train more school staff in facilitating adventure-based learning. We will evolve the programme continually, allowing more young people to develop their social and emotional learning through physical education.

Using sport to motivate all achievement

Jill Wyatt investigates how Windsor High school used sport to boost achievement across the curriculum, seeing increases in independent learning and confidence as a result

Increased motivation, improved independent learning and better decision making are just some of the results Windsor High School boasts following four years’ involvement in the PESS investigation, which it joined in 2004, two years after being designated a specialist sports college.

The school identified increasing its Year 10 pupils’ motivation and confidence in PE lessons as a key initial objective, which it decided could be best met by offering a range of courses that matched their needs and interests. With this in mind, it introduced the BTEC First – a vocational course to balance the GCSE option – and the Certificate of Achievement, designed to appeal to those pupils who would enjoy a course with a more practical emphasis.

Pupils in Year 10 who were already showing great promise in coaching children in local primary schools were fast-tracked to the Junior Sports Leader Award (JSLA) course, with the remainder lined up to follow in their footsteps in Year 11.

A decision to keep the ability groups created in Year 9 in place for Key Stage 4 – formerly they had been mixed at this point – proved popular and a further source of motivation for most pupils.

The results from these initiatives were promising, clearly demonstrating that pupils were becoming more confident as the year progressed. In a survey at the end of the year, 75 per cent of Year 10 pupils felt more confident in demonstrating what they could do, while 67 per cent claimed to be more willing to try out new roles and 63 per cent thought that they contributed more in lessons.

Asked if this work had helped them in other lessons or in school life, 72 per cent of pupils said that they were generally more confident about making contributions in other lessons and being able to ask others to do things. Some said that their communication skills had improved and others felt that coaching younger pupils had given them insight into the challenges faced by teachers, which had in turn improved their own behaviour in lessons.

Interaction between pupils also improved, especially between boys and girls working together. Other positive indicators included more pupils than ever before asking to be house seniors, an almost three-fold increase in the numbers doing National Governing Body Awards and 20 pupils starting JSLA a year earlier than intended.

Windsor High School in profile

This mixed comprehensive school in Halesowen, West Midlands, which was designated a specialist sports college in 2002, caters for 1,376 pupils aged 11 to 16. It has been awarded both Artsmark Gold and Sportsmark Gold.

A very high proportion of pupils attending the school are of average or just above average ability and the number on the school’s register of special educational needs is well below the national average. The percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is just below the national average and around six per cent of pupils are of minority ethnic origin.

The school’s extensive facilities for PESS include two gymnasiums, a field with two soccer pitches and an athletics track, Astroturf, an all-weather cricket pitch, netball and tennis courts, a purpose-built dance studio and a fitness suite and dedicated PE classroom with ICT facilities.

A programme of action
Spurred on by these results, Windsor High School intensified its programme of change. An analysis of its strengths and weaknesses pinpointed shortfalls which it addressed through formulating the following new objectives for the coming year:

  • increasing the number of pupils displaying the PESS high quality outcomes
  • offering pupils a wider range of accreditation opportunities in core PE at Key Stage 4
  • formalising the leadership opportunities on offer and opening these to all pupils
  • increasing the number of pupils in Years 7 to 11 taking responsibility and showing confidence in lessons and extracurricular activities
  • improving pupils’ understanding of key concepts in PE and improving their decision
  • making skills
  • improving the confidence of pupils in lower ability groups to demonstrate and lead others.

With the new objectives in mind, staff made a concerted effort to use assemblies and PE lessons to keep pupils informed of all the PE and school sport opportunities open to them. A member of staff was given specific responsibility for the PE out-of-hours programme, including organisation, troubleshooting, data collection, promotion and reporting back twice yearly to the subject leader.

Theme evenings run by PE staff and/or outside coaches were introduced to give pupils from all year groups opportunities to get active, alongside new opportunities for out-of-hours activities such as boxing, girls’ rugby, fitness, rhythmic gymnastics and ballet.

There was also a strong emphasis on the use of assessment for learning to enable Key Stage 3 pupils to evaluate their own and others’ performances, set targets and plot their way through programmes. Pupils’ assessment sheets were used for each unit of work, pupil-friendly level descriptors were written to help with target setting and assessment for learning work cards were introduced to help pupils lead activities independently.

The work previously centred on Year 10 was built on by the introduction of a programme that channelled some pupils into sport education (officiating and leading) and others into performance and participating. The data from these units will be used in the future to offer some pupils an opportunity to follow GCSE short course JSLA and Dance Leaders Award during core PE in Year 11.

Developing leadership skills
 In January 2005, to address the lack of clear structure or monitoring process identified by the school as a shortfall in the leadership opportunities arising in PE lessons, a five-point scale for leadership and organisation was launched for all pupils in Key Stages 3 and 4.

As part of this, all pupils were required to keep a log book to record their leadership activities, such as working with primary school groups, assisting coaches in after-school clubs, delivering partnership primary tournaments, organising and running house events and assisting in the holiday programme.

To supplement these leadership opportunities, 80 pupils were trained as house leaders. For the first time, sport and non-sport leaders were trained separately, with 50 pupils training once a week for a month specifically to organise and run house sports events.

To reward pupils’ participation and performance, a system of certification called the PE Profile was introduced. This operated at three levels (bronze, silver and gold) and pupils had to achieve a participation rate of over 90 per cent in PE lessons in order to qualify for consideration. This initiative allowed some pupils to gain a record of their achievements in PESS for the
first time.

Measuring outcomes
The changes that the PE department made to teaching and learning at Key Stage 3 produced encouraging results for Windsor High School:

  • 50 Year 9 pupils opted for BTEC (PE-related) courses in 2007, an increase of almost 50 per cent
  • 38 pupils (up 12 per cent) opted for a Level 1 award in sports leadership through curriculum enrichment; in addition, over 10 per cent of pupils in Years 7 to 10 signed up for the school’s own five-point leadership scale
  • participation rates in out-of-hours activities rose to 59 per cent (up 15 per cent).

In addition, staff evaluation revealed:

  • an increase in pupils’ motivation, and not only in the top groups
  • an improvement in pupils’ skills and control, with half of PE staff grading pupils at amber/green (at least 50 per cent+ consistently demonstrating
  • the characteristics) and the other half at green (at least
  • 75 per cent+)
  • a rise in the number of pupils able to demonstrate good decision making in games
  • improvement in independent learning through all areas, especially in the leadership modules.
Ofsted’s verdict on Windsor High School: “An effective school with a number of outstanding features which leads the field in its promotion of healthy and safe lifestyles.”

 

Sport spotlight: Cheerleading in schools

Cheerleading is the fastest growing spectator sport in Britain. A form of school athletics which has not always been popular in Britain, cheerleading is being recognised as a competitive sport which is exciting to watch

Cheerleading is a vibrant, high energy, athletic discipline that is exploding in popularity. Probably the fastest growing sport across Britain – and certainly the fastest growing spectator sport – major indoor arenas are frequently sold out. Part of its evident appeal is performing in front of large appreciative audiences and being a competitive sport in its own right that is also exciting to watch.

Embodying cheers, chants, dance, jumps, tumbling, partner stunts and pyramids into skills-packed two-and-a-half minute routines requires many hours of dedicated training and conditioning. However, as an effective fitness activity it can be enjoyed by all who are reasonably fit and have the enthusiasm to learn.

As with any progressive skills-based discipline there are many levels in which you can get involved – from attending ‘cheer for fun’ sessions at a local club to building a school-based team that can greatly enhance positive image publicity for the school.

The ethos of the sport is about encouraging pride in yourself and the community you represent and respecting that in others, as well as learning good sportsmanship and teaching teamwork and responsibility along the way.

History

Cheerleading, as we know it today, was initiated in 1898 by Johnny Campbell, an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota, who stood before the crowd at a football game and directed them in a famous and still used yell.

“Rah, Rah, Rah! Sku-u-mar, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!”

1890s
Organised cheerleading was initiated at the University of Minnesota.

1900s
 Usage of the megaphone was becoming popular. (When the megaphone was invented is not known but it was in use on the day cheerleading began in 1898.) The first cheerleader fraternity, Gamma Sigma, was organised.

1910
The first ‘homecoming’ was held at the University of Illinois.

1920s
Women became active in cheerleading. The University of Minnesota cheerleaders began to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling into their cheers. The first flash-card cheering section was directed by Lindley Bothwell at Oregon State University.

1930s
Universities and high schools began performing pom-pom routines and using paper pompons.

1960s
The vinyl pompon was invented by Fred Gastoff. The “Bruin High Step” style of pompon routine was developed by UCLA cheerleaders and the International Cheerleading Foundation.

1980s
 National cheerleading competitions for junior and senior high school as well as collegiate squads took place across America.

1982
 Cheerleading starts in Britain with the introduction of American Football here.

1984
 The British Cheerleading Association was founded, originally with just six teams but that has since grown to over 400.

1990
 First three-day training camp hosted in Britain with top US Instructors.

1991
 Cheerleader magazine launched, the longest running national cheer publication in the world.

1997
BCA goes on the internet.

2003
 NCSSE coaches courses and qualifications introduced in Britain. First University Championships.

2004
 Ten BCA clubs compete at five major US championships. One first, three second and four third place trophies.

2005
 BCA Internationals welcomes over 3,000 entrants for first time.

2007
 1,062 NCSSE coaching courses sat across the UK.

2008
Nineteenth annual BCA internationals, using three halls for the first time.

The first cheerleader fraternity, Gamma Sigma, was organised in the 1900s

Schools’ cheerleading
To be a cheerleader is not just a place on an athletic team, it is a position of responsibility, wearing school colours with pride.

Start a squad at your school and you will not only be involving students in a fun and exciting fitness activity, you will be generating spirit and pride in the school – opportunities to promote the high standards of athletic and academic excellence of the school in the community abound. Parades, carnivals, charity and community events all have local media potential. To have press photo features about your school’s work in the community sends very positive messages.

Cheerleading does not have to be expensive. ‘Uniform’ means everyone wearing the same and being neatly presented, school sweatshirts with PE shorts or netball skirts are fine. Poms can be made from 2cm strips of crepe paper, 50 cm long, bound at the centre then ‘fluffed up’ into a ball. If you keep only to dance you will not need safety mats. Helpful booklets and DVDs are available from the British Cheerleading Association (BCA).

There is also the TOP Activity module for cheerleading, available through the Youth Sport Trust. We were pleased to help them with the DVD and activity cards. We are already working with several schools partnerships and running schools competitions.

Cheer for fun
Many clubs run sessions for beginners or for those who want to enjoy the spirit of cheerleading as a weekly fitness exercise. As a high energy aerobic workout participants may have so much fun as not to realise how much they are working – exercise need not be boring. Where some activities demand quiet for concentration, cheerleading uses voice training to help focus sharpness and synchronisation.

Cheer dance
The style of dance used in cheerleading is totally unique. Originally developed for giant stadia where audiences may be up to 200m away, 360 degrees around and looking down, movements have to be ultra sharp and formation synchronised. Poms were introduced to visually highlight arm motions at a distance. Dance schools are increasingly finding the benefits of running a couple of cheer dance sessions a week, with up to 30 students at each.

Taking it up a step
If you would like to get into the more athletic aspects such as stunting and pyramids, this requires qualified coaching and safety mats. Having said that, there are a wide variety of visually exciting techniques that can be built where no one gets their feet more than two feet (60cm) off the floor, firmly held in place. Each stunt group consists of two bases, one top person and a safety spotter behind, whose job it is to make sure the top person is fully covered at all times. Sessions include a staged conditioning programme, plyometric exercises, warm-up and cool down sections.

Conditioning includes exercises to gradually strengthen muscle performance, improve flexibility and control, plus the ability to store and release energy. Plyometric drills for jumps training, for instance, include sequences of walking lunges, progressing to switch lunges single leg bounds and speed tucks. Jumps need to explode to reach the height where the variety of jump techniques can be performed effectively.

BCA has the best safety record in Europe for cheerleading and this is because of our excellent training and education programme plus the inherent safety in controlled technique. Cheerleading is a very safe sport but do not just ‘try’ things from pictures in books. You need to learn from qualified and experienced coaches. As you build your programme BCA can help you progressively develop your skills with safety.

Beginners learn arm motions and basics. From there they can move up to basic stunts, then to higher levels as they master each stage. Within a club you can move up from a development group to a display or competitive team and get to perform in front of large audiences.

With stunt building it is important to teach correct technique from the start, not just for safety but through constant repetition to encourage muscle memory so that skills can be hit exactly to correct form every time. Training drills for safety spotters ensures they are able to instinctively step in to cover any unplanned dismount situation.

Competition
As a competitive sport practiced in at least 45 nations worldwide, cheerleading reaches its ultimate level, should you choose. BCA runs many regional competitions at major venues around the UK in which competing divisions are arranged to allow equal opportunity to all. Routines are generally two-and-a-half minutes in which to showcase your range of techniques and choreographed creativity and to fire up the audience. Cheerleading at its best is interactive performance rather than a display to applaud afterwards.

There are separate dance and cheer divisions and each of these is split according to age range, skills level and/or team size. Up to 85 per cent of teams receive a trophy, the largest being over 1m tall. This is a larger than life sport, so the awards match the level of spirit. Another nice side to the ethos of cheerleading is that when any team is performing they are enthusiastically supported by all in the hall.

From regionals you can take it to nationals and the BCA internationals where teams can earn bids to compete in top American competitions. More than a dozen BCA teams have competed in America over the last 18 months, with significant successes. Five competed in North Carolina and Florida this March.

Competitive cheerleading is scored in categories such as perfection of technique, jumps, creativity, stunts and pyramids, tumbling and crowd appeal. The combined scores from three to four judges are added together, less any infractions. Awards ceremonies can get emotional – and noisy – as even a seventh place generates waves of excitement both on and off the floor.

Recent competitions include:

Event Venue Teams Clubs Entrants
Midlands Classic Telford International 151 45 1,898
Western Classic Newport Centre 149 46 1,722
University Championship Telford International 110 45 1,596
Southern Classic Brighton Centre 166 38 1,985
Northern Classic Blackpool Winter Gardens 132 29 1,365
BCA Scotland Glasgow, Braehead Arena 104 29 1,192
BCA Internationals Telford International 244 60 3,267

A North East Classic regional was also introduced in Autumn 08

Safety procedures in place and general practice for BCA competitions include:

  • full safety floors in both the main hall and practice hall
  • full BCA safety systems and equipment, fully risk assessed
  • a paramedic team
  • photo IDs for fairness to all, safety and child protection
  • unique hologram security passes for competitors and coaches
  • events start and run on time, using up to 30 experienced and qualified event staff
  • video and photographic staff vetted and CRB cleared
  • professional sound engineers and equipment
  • current fully qualified judges
  • entry costs from as little as £12 per cheerleader.

What is the appeal?
This is a question I am often asked. Cheerleading is growing fast, despite a drop in participation in many traditional sports. Young ladies tend to be more conscious of their appearance nowadays and getting cold, wet and muddy in outdoor activities such as cross-country or field hockey requires a lot of dedication. On the other hand, dressing up like a pop star and performing for huge appreciative indoor audiences does have image appeal, as well as keeping your hair looking good at all times. As a fitness activity it is a regular high energy workout. With a sensible eating regime excess input can be more easily burnt off in a way that is also fun to be involved with.

How do you start?
If you have recently started a squad or are thinking of starting one, the BCA website is an excellent place to start. By joining the BCA community you will have access to the latest information and assistance, courses, workshops and qualifications.

We run coaches’ courses and qualifications around the UK. NCSSE is an international standard with the combined expertise of leading experts in America and other countries. The UK edition is substantially upgraded for duty of care, safety and child protection issues. The four successive level modules include extensive support materials and ‘hands on’ instruction. These have been held in Bristol, Manchester, Stevenage, Burnham, Renfrew, Leeds, Leicester, Leominster, Brighton, Liverpool, Chepstow, Chelmsford, Livingston and Belfast. Each module is just £27. Pass all four within three years and with at least one year’s coaching experience to gain your Master Level certificate.

BCA also offers training workshops for cheerleaders at a location to suit you for 25 or more students. Starting a club you have the support of local experienced groups to help you get underway. As a community, coaches try to help new groups.

About the BCA
The British Cheerleading Association is a registered non-profit organisation founded in 1984 – the governing body for cheerleading in Britain. There are currently 405 registered BCA member clubs throughout the UK. Growth in cheerleading is currently 23 per cent and has been over 20 per cent for several years. BCA organises training and education for cheerleaders and coaches, runs regional national and international competitions, plus many other events and opportunities.

More about the BCA and cheerleading in Britain

  • As of 27 February 2008, current auditable paid BCA membership stands at 405 clubs, comprising of 16,067 participants. Ninety-three per cent of all known active groups are members of the BCA. More clubs joining every month.
  • BCA events are growing by an average of 26 per cent per year.
  • The BCA website receives 1.3 million ‘hits’ a month. 34,871 visitors read 81,182 pages from this site (1.5 million ‘hits’) during November 2007.
  • www.cheerleading.org.uk is by far the most visited cheerleading site in Europe and ranked highly in the USA. Visitors from 100 countries visited BCA in November.
  • Membership is growing at over 30 per cent per year; 17 new clubs joined BCA in February.
  • BCA does not advertise or recruit, we have no need to – personal recommendations are given based on our integrity and results. BCA has the depth of expertise and scope of resources to make a difference.
  • We were founded in 1984.
  • BCA is a registered non-profit organisation, the only such body in British cheerleading.
  • We work to the same professional safety rules as the United States and many other countries worldwide.
  • The only qualification courses recognised by major professional bodies in the USA, Britain and elsewhere are offered by the BCA. NCSSE costs only £27 per course and 3,090 courses have been sat in Britain over the last three years.
  • Our goal is at least one event within easy driving range for 95 per cent of clubs in the UK, keeping bus hire and accommodation costs down for kids.
  • All BCA events are non-profit, any surplus is reinvested in quality and improvements, essential equipment and giving maximum value, over £19,000 last year.
  • We offer the only genuine child protection policy in British cheerleading, officially approved by the NSPCC CPSU and fully implemented.
  • Free CRB processing for all registered voluntary staff, BCA is a CRB Registered Body
  • All BCA events are planned in detail, fully meeting mandatory health and safety requirements.
  • BCA produces the only regular magazine or newsletter (established in 1991), the only monthly e-bulletin newsletter and the only internet cheerleading news service in Britain.
  • We provide the only team of professionally selected and trained instructors to teach camps and clinics.
  • More than 2,500 Cheerleading In Schools booklets have been mailed out free of charge on request to schools. There is now also a schools DVD.
  • Most of our unique member services are provided free of charge.

For further information
British Cheerleading Association 102 White Horse Road, Windsor, SL4 4PH Phone/fax:  01753 867 723

Teaching non-traditional street sports

Schools working with the National Healthy Schools Programme are embracing a range of non-traditional ‘street sports’, such as rollerblading or iceskating, in order to develop healthier lifestyles in young people

Encouraging our children and young people to undertake more physical activity is becoming an increasingly important priority for schools. In summer 2007, prime minister Gordon Brown said: “We need to put school sport back where it belongs, playing a central role in the school day. Whatever their natural ability and whatever their age, sports and activity can make our children healthier and raise their self-confidence and self-esteem.”

The National Healthy Schools Programme is an initiative which aims to do just this by providing schools with a framework to help children and young people develop healthy lifestyles and make improved life choices. Improving physical activity and encouraging participation in sports is a major part of the programme.

Working with a comprehensive network of local and national partners, schools working with the National Healthy Schools Programme are embracing a whole range of new physical activities including popular ‘street sports’ to help make PE lessons more accessible and appealing to young people.

Children and young people at Phoenix School in Tower Hamlets in London, for example, have been enjoying inline skating as part of their PE lessons. This popular sport has proven a massive hit at the school, which caters for children with a variety of special needs including autism and language and communication difficulties. The school achieved National Healthy School Status in July 2007 and has been working with the programme since it began.

Troy Gering, PE coordinator for the school, says: “Incorporating inline skating into a physical education programme allows for a greater range of students to achieve sporting proficiency. Inline skating can be enjoyed by children who may not think of themselves as ‘sporty’. It also builds self-esteem and cardiovascular fitness.”

“Children love to skate. It doesn’t matter whether they are strapping wheels to their shoes or using the latest recreational inline skates, kids simply love rolling,”says Asha Kirkby, manager of Skatefresh Inline Skateschool.

As one of the highest level of certified skate schools in the world, based in both London and Brighton, Skatefresh’s mission is to enrich the physical education curriculum by bringing the fun and excitement of inline skating into PE classes and after-school clubs.

Gering explains: “We contacted Skatefresh after realising we had a lot of interest from students and teachers in starting a PE skating lesson and an after-school ‘skate club’. We’ve now been running skating sessions as part of our curriculum since 2005.

“We have found it a great means for encouraging participation in sports and physical activity. Our students who have taken part in skating sessions have really enjoyed themselves and we have seen real developments in regards to their improved balance, fine and gross motor skills, coordination and cognitive skills.”

Inline skating in school can be successfully introduced in any school from the age of six and seven and can be easily accommodated in any school – either inside in a sports hall or outside on the playground and it can also be extended to before- and after-school clubs with opportunities to allow students to progress to other skating disciplines such as inline hockey, freestyle skating or slalom.

“Skating is also a great form of aerobic exercise because the children remain active for the whole lesson, as even standing still in skates takes balance, coordination and muscle effort. We notice the students who tend to give up in other sports often really enjoy and persevere with skating.”

Gering adds: “We’ve also seen that the benefits of skating lessons go beyond the obvious fitness benefits. For example, one autistic child who previously didn’t socialise or participate in any group situation in regular lessons, after just 12 skate classes spontaneously started to join in with the rest of the group and now she is participating in group activities in all regular lessons. Skating motivated her to overcome her fear of being with other people.”

In the north east, the Healthy Schools team was approached by the Mobilx Vipers Community Foundation, a charitable organisation which is part of the Mobilx Vipers professional ice hockey team, to offer their team players for school visits throughout the region.

Ann Johnson, regional coordinator for the National Healthy Schools Programme in the north east, explains: “The Vipers approached with the idea of partnering on a schools programme designed to encourage participation in sports, improve sports education and help tackle various health issues such as child obesity by introducing their ice hockey players as role models within school to deliver and endorse key health and lifestyle messages to local children.

“The foundation approached us because they knew that we had strong established links into every school in the region and that together we could effectively help schools encourage greater participation and more enthusiasm about sports in our schools.”

A two-year programme is already running in six-week cycles across many schools across the north east and includes interactive assembly sessions with demonstrations that are packed with positive lifestyle messages focused on nutrition, education and healthy life choices. It also includes after-school classes where children and young people actually get to learn the sport’s techniques through specially designed training drills and fun games focused on ball hockey and Unihoc. After this, they also have the opportunity to learn to ice skate with the Mobilx Vipers.

Ann Jonhson adds: “We find that schools in more deprived areas tend to have poorer physical activity levels among their children and we therefore decided to specifically target 44 schools which had 50 per cent free school meals or above as part of this initiative. We also had to carefully consider schools in our ‘hard to reach’ areas near the Scottish borders where access to ice rinks is difficult. We set aside a special budget to bus the children and young people from schools that fell into these categories and wanted to be able to acces their nearest ice rinks.

“Whilst it’s still relatively early days, one benefit that is immediately apparent is that introducing non-traditional sports and street sports into the PE curriculum is proving an effective way of re-engaging children and young people in health and fitness. Schools tell us that even children who don’t enjoy PE and sports are suddenly enthused about it. We are also finding that some children are inspired to continue developing their skills in the sport outside of school hours.”

  • Nine out of 10 schools in England are currently involved in the National Healthy Schools Programme, with over half at full National Healthy School Status.
  • This translates to about 3.7 million children and young people currently enjoying the benefits of a Healthy School.
  • The National Healthy Schools Programme is a joint Department of Health (DH) and Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) initiative, which supports the links between health, behaviour and achievement through a whole-child approach.
  • It is a successful non-statutory national programme with 95 per cent of schools already articipating (20,887 schools). The government has set a target for all schools to be participating by December 2009.
  • Fifty-six per cent of schools have already achieved National Healthy Schools Status (12,275 schools).

(Figures from December 2007)

Please note: The National Healthy Schools Programme does not endorse any programme, brand or company

More information about the National Healthy Schools Programme