CHICAGO (AP) The American Medical Association sayscheerleadingshould be considered a sport because of its rigors and risks.

The nation's largest doctors' group adopted that as policy Monday at its annual meeting in Chicago. AMA members saycheerleadingis as rigorous as many other activities that high schools and the NCAA consider sports. Adding it to the list would mean more safety measures forcheerleadersand proper training for their coaches.


'These girls are flipping 10, 20 feet in the air,' Rosman said. 'We need to stand up for what is right for our patients and demand they get the same protection as their football colleagues.'

The new policy means the AMA supports having appropriate accrediting bodies declarecheerleadinga sport, and supports better safety measures including avoiding inappropriate surfaces when performing flips and other stunts and following rules for properly performing stunts.







'The AMA's support for eliminating surgery requirements to update their birth certificate will send a strong message to states that lag behind on these policies,' Mara Keisling, the group's executive director, said in written statement. 'Currently only five states and the District of Columbia have modernized their policies to make it clear that surgery is not required to update a birth certificate.



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