Height Discrimination

[Anika]

Hi, I am new to this so anyway. In cheerleading, you are probably familiar with how they usually choose the short people to fly....Anyway I find it kind of offensive. Not saying that short people are bad but on my team, the short people were like 4 ft 6 and weighed 90 lbs and I was 5 ft and 70 lbs and I was a front ( the average height on my team was around 5 ft). Not only that but I was one of those people with long legs which makes some cool lines. Also, I am extremely flexible. I almost have my needle. I have these on both legs, arabesque, scale, scorpion, heelstretch. I also have my bow n arrow on one leg...I'm sorry I am kind of ranting but I feel like they shouldnt have the shortest flyers if the short ones are not confident doing anything besides a prep, not even a cradle. Anyway my point is, I feel some height discrimination in cheerleading, and I really hope that if there is a short girl who was unconfident next to a taller girl who was flexible, confident, and can hold up their weight. I am sorry if this came off as rude but tall girls can be just as good. I got to fly because I accidentally within ear-shot of my coach said "Maybe she should try other girls, if those 2 aren't right for this, even though they are shorter." Oh my gosh, I just read this it sounds so rude. I feel so bad now. Sorry.....I just needed to let out my feelings oh and btw, this was JV so I was in 7th grade and some people were in 6th

 

[Anika]

el oh el, my contact pic is from when I was like a little child. The height discrimination sounded kinda rude, ok probably really rude, my friend just told me that I shouldnt fly cuz there are shorter people...I am kind of mad about that, I guess I am fine with basing. But I am not very good with getting them up

 

[notimeforthat]

you guys better stop with the bitterness... 70 lbs for a 5' person seems really un realistic... and i cant put a lot of stock in your complaint when you open with that.
Coaches are coaches for a reason and im sure they choose the flyers they chose for a good reason.
Get over the bitterness and be a team player and Im sure you will learn to enjoy the sport for what it is... A team sport


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[CEAisstronger]

I agree with the above poster. 70 lbs and 5' is pretty un-realistic. I mean I'm 4'11 and around 95lbs but I am older than the above ages.

The coaches pick who they think is best to fly but if the said flyers prove not to be the best, there's always chance the taller ones can fly.

My coaches picked the 2 shorter ones and 2 former backspots of average height to fly. Then another girl filled in flying a few times due to injuries and she was the tallest one there.

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Pebbles49]

Hi, I am new to this so anyway. In cheerleading, you are probably familiar with how they usually choose the short people to fly....Anyway I find it kind of offensive. Not saying that short people are bad but on my team, the short people were like 4 ft 6 and weighed 90 lbs and I was 5 ft and 70 lbs and I was a front ( the average height on my team was around 5 ft). Not only that but I was one of those people with long legs which makes some cool lines. Also, I am extremely flexible. I almost have my needle. I have these on both legs, arabesque, scale, scorpion, heelstretch. I also have my bow n arrow on one leg...I'm sorry I am kind of ranting but I feel like they shouldnt have the shortest flyers if the short ones are not confident doing anything besides a prep, not even a cradle. Anyway my point is, I feel some height discrimination in cheerleading, and I really hope that if there is a short girl who was unconfident next to a taller girl who was flexible, confident, and can hold up their weight. I am sorry if this came off as rude but tall girls can be just as good. I got to fly because I accidentally within ear-shot of my coach said "Maybe she should try other girls, if those 2 aren't right for this, even though they are shorter." Oh my gosh, I just read this it sounds so rude. I feel so bad now. Sorry.....I just needed to let out my feelings oh and btw, this was JV so I was in 7th grade and some people were in 6th

Anika, I have to say that your post sounds a little like a pity party... Like you, my daughter is 11 yo, 5'3 and she weighs about 100lbs with the most longest and gorgeous legs ever, but the reality for her, she has always been relegated to being a backspot because of her height and being on youth squads. However, she does not complain about the height discrimination, she continues to work on her flexibility and skills she will need to be a great flyer, in case, when she makes a Senior team or a Coed team in the future and she one of the best backspot, dancer and tumbler on her team, so continue to work on your flying skills, but make yourself a triple and quadruple threats in all areas of cheerleading and not just get bent out of shape about one aspect of this sport. After all, I've seen and heard too many flyers, who have a growth spurt and relegated to other positions, mostly, front spots or nuggets in the back, complaining because they do not have the skills to do anything else well....

PS: Anika, as a mom, I am seriously concern about a young lady, who insinuates that she is 5'0 and only weighs 70lbs - you sound like you are dangerously anorexia and I will talk to a doctor about getting on a weight management/nutrition program to put on some pounds!!!!

 

[ErinS]

PS: Anika, as a mom, I am seriously concern about a young lady, who insinuates that she is 5'0 and only weighs 70lbs - you sound like you are dangerously anorexia and I will talk to a doctor about getting on a weight management/nutrition program to put on some pounds!!!!

Now to be fair. Anorexia is a mental illness not a "just because your skinny that must be your problem" illness.

I was around 70lbs at 4'11 in middle school (8th grade). It wasn't pretty, I definitely wasn't cute but I also wasn't anorexic


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Pebbles49]

As the older person I suspect to Anika, let me be the first to apologize for my harsh statements of possibly being anorexia. Those comments were not needed in our dialogue and not all at helpful... However, What I did want to stress to you is this may be a wonderful opportunity to explore all the other areas in cheerleading... As a new cheer mom, I noticed too many girls get hooked up on flying and when they are not able to fly are useless to their team and only talk about the sport as if it is in the past because they are not able to fly... So don't limit your potential in other areas,,,OK!

Btw, Hi Heresathought, anorexia is not the mental condition you are thinking about- anorexia actually means 'no appetite' and the person is not eating because they have no appetite and becomes alarmingly thin...The mental disorder you are thinking of is anorexia nervous and this the mental disorder when a person is intentionally starving themselves out of fear of getting too fat... In additional, all medical charts shows a young person who is 5'0 and weighs less than 78 lbs will be considered anorexic - only 14% of young girls fit this category and will be considered unhealthy... Only saying!!!

 

[jessluvsu4evr]

I totally understand why you feel this way! It shouldn't be about height. This may sound worse than height discrimination but flying should be based on weight. If someone is a little bit taller than everyone else, is not too heavy, and is suitable to be a flyer then they can be! Maddie Gardner was fairly tall if you recall. Height matters in bases and spotters, not flyers. Your coaches seem like the don't really know what they're doing. When I was in middle school I was the best flyer on the team but they moved me to back spot because there was another girl who was wayyy shorter than me. I had to back spot her and she was terrible. It sucked. Finally one of the other flyers pretended to have a concussion and I got to fly again, but long story short I know how you feel. When you get on a more experienced team you shouldn't have this issue.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Ashley]

Now to be fair. Anorexia is a mental illness not a "just because your skinny that must be your problem" illness.

I was around 70lbs at 4'11 in middle school (8th grade). It wasn't pretty, I definitely wasn't cute but I also wasn't anorexic


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

Technically, anorexia just means a lack of appetite. Anorexia nervosa is the mental eating disorder.

Eta: whoops someone else said it.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[ErinS]

Technically, anorexia just means a lack of appetite. Anorexia nervosa is the mental eating disorder.

Eta: whoops someone else said it.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

Yes but not knowing this person she still can't make that assessment. She could have a decreased appetite or she could just be petite with a fast metabolism. It's unfair to toss out terminology assuming why someone is thin. When you throw out the word "anorexia" in this day and age people will always go to anorexia nervosa because that's what is prevalent in today's society.





The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Ashley]

Yes but not knowing this person she still can't make that assessment. She could have a decreased appetite or she could just be petite with a fast metabolism. It's unfair to toss out terminology assuming why someone is thin. When you throw out the word "anorexia" in this day and age people will always go to anorexia nervosa because that's what is prevalent in today's society.

The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

True, and height and weight is an indicator of nothing but BMI. The height and weight chart wouldn't say she is anorexic, it would say her BMI is underweight, which is not the same thing. It doesn't automatically mean you're unhealthy, just like being in the overweight BMI category doesn't automatically mean you're unhealthy.

 

[Pebbles49]

Hi Ashley and HeresaThought,
I do not need to know this young lady to throw the terminology of anorexia that way... based on the description she provided, those numbers suggested a person who will be anorexia or underweight based on her height and weight... When I initially mentioned anorexic to Anika, I was not referring to this as a negative thing, but as a cheer mom of an athlete, whose been told that she needed to keep her weight up to be at her peak conditioning and performance... Like I mentioned earlier, at 5'0 tall and less than 75lbs all medical charts will classify you as anorexic, Ashley...and yes, it could be a fast metabolic system, but as an athlete, he/she should go to a nutritionist to help with the diet to feed the body... Only saying again!

 

[Twinklestars]

Like I mentioned earlier, at 5'0 tall and less than 75lbs all medical charts will classify you as anorexic, Ashley...and yes, it could be a fast metabolic system, but as an athlete, he/she should go to a nutritionist to help with the diet to feed the body... Only saying again!

She would not be classified as anorexic. She would be classified as underweight.

Anorexia may or may not be contributing to her low body mass. We don't know.


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[cmghas3]

Can't help but post this!!!! My 16 year old is 5"7 135-140lbs. In "my world" that is called solid muscle or semi beast. She is solid.
11 yr old 4"6 70lbs. I little on the small side, but has actually gained a lot of muscle tone.
6yr old. 4"0. 51 lbs. Built solid. Beast mode when older!
I don't weigh my children, nor put any type of "focus" on what position they may be at any given time! I feed my children healthy, they condition at practices and in class, and they are normal, healthy CP's. They have no control over their height as my husband is 6"4 and I'm 5"7. I was a competitive skater and I know the damage of being "picked" apart about weight can do. Even just one comment could through a poor child's dream down the drain! Sorry I had to rant!


The Fierce Board App! || iPhone || Android

 

[Ashley]

Hi Ashley and HeresaThought,
I do not need to know this young lady to throw the terminology of anorexia that way... based on the description she provided, those numbers suggested a person who will be anorexia or underweight based on her height and weight... When I initially mentioned anorexic to Anika, I was not referring to this as a negative thing, but as a cheer mom of an athlete, whose been told that she needed to keep her weight up to be at her peak conditioning and performance... Like I mentioned earlier, at 5'0 tall and less than 75lbs all medical charts will classify you as anorexic, Ashley...and yes, it could be a fast metabolic system, but as an athlete, he/she should go to a nutritionist to help with the diet to feed the body... Only saying again!

Anorexia != underweight. You can't diagnose someone with anorexia solely based on their height and weight. Please show me a medical chart that says otherwise.

Like you said, anorexia (without the nervosa) just means a lack or loss of appetite for food. Someone's weight alone doesn't tell you if she has a lack of appetite.

Good lord.