All-Star Do You Think We Need Tighter Security At Cheerleading Competitions Because Of Recent Events

[dat.jpp]

I don't feel like its needed cause im not saying cheerleading isn't a big thing. I just think they wouldn't go for them because most people don't even know what allstar cheer, school, rec, you name it, is a big thing.

 

[dat.jpp]

At the Cheersport local comp in Philadelphia they check your bags for food and water bottle smuggling. I would have no problem with bags being checked for weapons and going through a metal detectors for safety.

oh, we did that at mardi gra comp at Hershey.

 

[SL&AM]

I don't think bag checks are a bad idea and I'm not completely opposed to metal detectors, but maybe just use the wands that they seem to use at a lot of the sporting events. In those cases, it doesn't appear extreme or jail like. I don't want my kids to learn that type of fear and I refuse to give in to that type of fear. I do think, however, it's important to talk to your kids about what to do in an emergency situation---even weather can change on a dime and bam tornado or earthquake...etc, etc. so I've talked about "What do you do if you hear or see a gun?" That type of stuff already since their schools do those type of lock down drills now.

 

[SL&AM]

I don't feel like its needed cause im not saying cheerleading isn't a big thing. I just think they wouldn't go for them because most people don't even know what allstar cheer, school, rec, you name it, is a big thing.

Any event where a lot of minors are in one confined area would actually be considered a good location because there are minors involve. When you attack our children, our elderly, and our disabled you bring a completely different set of fear and emotion than you would the average man or woman walking on the street.

 

[HeyMom]

When I cheered I put the food in my shoe case or an empty makeup bag. Seemed to do the trick

We have a venue here that checked CP's shoe case which was inside her backpack - and it wasn't even a competition; it was only our showcase

 

[Alexx]

We have a venue here that checked CP's shoe case which was inside her backpack - and it wasn't even a competition; it was only our showcase

I haven't been active in the cheer world since 2012, so things might have changed since then.

 

[HeyMom]

I haven't been active in the cheer world since 2012, so things might have changed since then.

Probably not too much - this one venue is my least favorite. They don't even allow athletes to bring in unopened bottles of water. No other place around here ever opens her shoe case. And I wouldn't recommend it - unless you have a gas mask...

 

[Cheermom1969]

One thing that drives me insane about bag checks is when they are done under the guise of security and then my granola bars are confiscated. I tend to avoid places that use bag checks to force me to buy their food inside. (At a minor league baseball bag check I actually had a single granola bar confiscated in a "security" check)

Exactly right. Infuriating.

If the goal of a bag check/metal detector is to keep out weapons, then I say yes, please! If it's to take away a freakin' granola bar s

 

[Miialovescheer]

I don't cheer and never have but i would not be against security checks. I have experience with high risk enviroments since i have been politically active since i was 17 (inactive right now due to personal reasons but aming to become active again in 2016) and i felt more secure in the secure envioroments than the not so secure ones (like camps and stuff) and maybe cheer is not a high risk enviroment but maybe after these events some people might feel more secure with a little bit of security.

 

[HeatUniqueJ]

Cheerleading pretty much sums up everything ''sinful'' some crazy fanatic radical people could think of, i don't think it's a main target but i think i would feel a little more secure if there were more security measures

 

[XtremeWpg]

This may be my distinctly Canadian view point, but in my last time at the airport here they barely security checked me, never mind going into an event. I've also never had to pass through a metal detector anywhere but an airport.
I feel like if someone is bound and determined to cause a mass shooting/explosive blast they're going to find a way, but that the likelihood is quite low that a cheerleading event would be a target. I've learned that we have a drastically different response to terror based events in Canada verses the USA. We had someone do a shooting at our Parliament in 2014. They haven't really changed much regarding security, and won't be changing a ton (This article outlines what they're considering). I find the difference in response interesting.

What about people who, for a variety of reasons, cannot pass through a metal detector. My dad cannot, he has a pacemaker which would reset if he passed through. Same situation for metal implants etc. Are staff at a venue going to be equipped to deal with those situations?

 

[amy1k]

I'm not going to post all the details, although I'm sure any terrorists reading the board have figured this out already, but I went to my mom's post-op appointment after her knee replacement. I'm not sure how we got there, but her doctor was telling me that a knee replacement is the perfect disguise for an IED to get through a metal detector. These security screens, for the most part, only slow down regular people. Terrorists spend their time figuring out ways around them. Thankfully, the risk of being a victim of a terror attack is extremely low...despite what the media wants us to believe.

 

[SL&AM]

This may be my distinctly Canadian view point, but in my last time at the airport here they barely security checked me, never mind going into an event. I've also never had to pass through a metal detector anywhere but an airport.
I feel like if someone is bound and determined to cause a mass shooting/explosive blast they're going to find a way, but that the likelihood is quite low that a cheerleading event would be a target. I've learned that we have a drastically different response to terror based events in Canada verses the USA. We had someone do a shooting at our Parliament in 2014. They haven't really changed much regarding security, and won't be changing a ton (This article outlines what they're considering). I find the difference in response interesting.

What about people who, for a variety of reasons, cannot pass through a metal detector. My dad cannot, he has a pacemaker which would reset if he passed through. Same situation for metal implants etc. Are staff at a venue going to be equipped to deal with those situations?

I'm going to shoot my own foot off for this statement...but we are nothing, if not overreactive to everything and anything. It's the American way; not that I agree with it!

 

[King]

I'm going to shoot my own foot off for this statement...but we are nothing, if not overreactive to everything and anything. It's the American way; not that I agree with it!

GO BIG OR GO HOME

 

[amy1k]

Out of curiosity, I checked the policy at Centurylink field. One of the banned items is box cutters. That thinking is ridiculous because who is going attack someone with a box cutter? Wait. We all know that box cutters were used on 9/11. So, obviously, they were added to every banned item list. Yet I can bring my long, metal knitting needles everywhere, including an airplane. Can a knitting needle do some damage? I think so. Could it be modified to do even more? Surely. We ban things AFTER they've been used successfully. By the time we are patting down granny looking for her knitting basket, the terrorists will move on to something else we aren't afraid of yet.