# Body Balance Ability of Girls Practicing Cheerleading
## 4 Discussion  
The aim of this study was to assess whether participation in cheerleading is associated with improved postural stability among girls aged 8-14. Our findings confirmed that older participants (12-14 years) showed significantly lower center of pressure (C.O.P.) excursion and velocity compared to younger age groups, suggesting improved balance. The median C.O.P. distance decreased from 184.5 mm (8-9 years) to 147.9 mm (12-14 years), with a statistically significant difference (\(p\) = 0.028) and a large effect size (r = 0.531). Moreover, statistically significant differences were found in right foot forefoot loading between age groups, with the youngest group exhibiting higher pressure values. Balance plays a critical role in cheerleading, representing a fundamental skill that enables athletes to execute and maintain various figures, acrobatic elements, poses, and complex dance movements. The findings of the present study highlight the importance of postural control in enhancing performance quality and reducing injury risk among cheerleading athletes. Unlike prior research that primarily addressed overall physical fitness and injury incidence, this study specifically examines balance in relation to athletes' experience and training seniority. The observed age-related improvements in stabilographic parameters may reflect the unique physical demands of cheerleading routines as well as neuromuscular adaptations arising from long-term training. The data indicate a decrease in center of pressure (COP) displacement with increasing age and training experience. These results support the hypothesis that engagement in cheerleading training contributes to enhanced postural control and balance. This evidence further suggests that targeted interventions focused on balance improvement could yield performance enhancements and mitigate injury risk--an area that remains underexplored in the current scientific literature. The results of the present study indicate that regular cheerleading significantly improves postural control. This finding is corroborated by recent research employing advanced biomechanical assessment techniques. Studies utilizing stabilometric platforms have demonstrated that interventions based on dynamic movement sequences (e.g., aerobic dance) reduce center of pressure (COP) displacement by approximately 12-18% under unstable surface conditions [26]. These results are consistent with the findings of [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2022), who reported that an 8-week balance training program increased dynamic balance reach distance, as measured by the Y-Balance Test, by 9.2% in 11-year-old children, regardless of sex [27]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline
**Variable/Test** & **Distance C.O.P.** & **Average Speed** \\ \hline Epsilon squared (\(\epsilon^{2}\)) & 0.324 [2] & 0.322 [2] \\ \hline \multicolumn{4}{c}{Post hoc effect size (\(r\))} \\ \hline Age group comparison & & \\ \hline
8–9 vs. 10–11 & 0.167 [1] & 0.160 [1] \\ \hline
8–9 vs. 12–14 & 0.531 [3] & 0.534 [3] \\ \hline
10–11 vs. 12–14 & 0.715 [3] & 0.710 [3] \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 7: The effect size of the epsilon squared coefficient (\(\epsilon^{2}\)) for the variable and the effect size measure of the rank biserial correlation (r) for the body balance parameters. Additionally, [PERSON] et al. found that a 6-week exercise intervention incorporating rhythmic components improved Flamingo test performance by 22% in preschool children, supporting the efficacy of training programs that integrate motor control and coordination elements [28]. Importantly, unlike traditional balance training protocols that often require specialized equipment, cheerleading inherently includes proprioceptive challenges, deep musculature engagement, and dynamic stabilization demands, which may account for the observed improvements in postural control parameters [26; 27; 28]. [PERSON], in his research, demonstrated the positive influence of dance training on balance and overall physical fitness in children.