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It’s not enough to just be shocked by the uncovering of abuse in Netflix docu-series Cheer, we need to ask how we can take meaningful action in our gyms AND THEN ACT to create a paradigm shift in the culture of the sport. The new season of Netflix has understandably been met with mixed reviews. While some feel strongly the series should never have aired, or at a minimum, edited out footage of Jerry Harris, others see Episode 5, (titled “Jerry”, and given over to his arrest an

After its break-out star Jerry Harris was charged with the sexual exploitation of children, it seemed inconceivable that Netflix would commission a second season of the hit series CHEER. The news of Harris’ crimes devastated the cheerleading world. It also opened up a critical and long overdue conversation about safeguarding in the sport, sparking multiple initiatives to improve athlete safety, including SQUAD SAFE. Netflix has just announced a surprise January premier of a s

Over 3000 people on LinkedIn have already read "5 things you need to know about the sport of Cheerleading". The blog below is a re-post of the original article, which can also be found here: www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-things-you-need-know-sport-cheerleading-2020-joanna-gamper-cuthbert/ 5 things you need to know about the sport of Cheerleading Forget everything you think you know about Cheerleading, and get ready to discover a visually exhilarating sport, at which England are re

When I was thinking about starting Squad Safe, a coach told me he thought clubs might view my training offer as a “bougie extra”. If all clubs need for insurance purposes is to complete a $25 online course, your staff are good people, your kids are happy and you’ve been running your gym or studio for years without a problem, why bother? Organisation specific training just sounds like a time-sucking luxury. Here are 5 great reasons why training your staff to have a practical u

I was thrilled to be invited this month to write a guest blog for CheerConditioning.Academy. Like all of us, they had watched Netflix’s ‘Athlete A’ with horror and a strong resolve that we must not let anything like this happen again …but how? Using their international platform and reach, they invited Squad Safe to discuss the basics of Safeguarding, and signpost coaches to further resources. You can read the article here: https://www.cheerconditioning.academy/single-post/saf