Cheerleading A Sport Essay

Because of the physical demand, skill set needed, and the rules set to tumble, stunt, and jump, competitive cheerleading should be considered an official sport. Yet cheerleading has rules, guidelines, training, and many other things other sports also include. It also is definitely a physical and contact sport which has caused countless injuries throughout the years of the sports existance. But, most people only know cheerleading as sideline (school) cheerleading and have not had a glimpse into the world of competitive (All Star) cheerleading.

Cheerleading is simply entertainment for viewers and is a social club for its participants. “Sports Beat - The Sport of Cheerleading: It’s a lot More than Just Pompoms and Smiles,” points out that a main benefit of cheerleading is the ability to “easily transition into the entertainment industry” (Hatton C-04). This statement supports our belief that cheerleading should not be considered a sport. Cheer-leading, the leading of cheers at sporting events is not a sport. Entertainment, versus athleticism, is more of what cheerleading is. Team supporters are present at games/events to raise school spirit and encourage cheering. Cheerleading generally requires a competition to be in progress, so the cheerleading itself can occur. This is not an activity which can take place alone.

To begin the argument at hand of whether or not cheerleading is a sport, it must be recognized that there isn’t truly a set/official definition for what a sport is. There are no set of regulations that have been universally agreed upon in which all activities can be examined against in order to determine whether those activities is a sport or not. It’s difficult to put under simple terms and rules what exactly qualifies something as a “sport” without disqualifying any currently agreed upon

Cheerleading might be considered to be an extracurricular activity to the average individual, but have you tried it? Even though four years ago, a federal judge ruled that competitive cheerleading is not an official sport, this physical activity includes all of the elements and more of a defined coed sport.

One component cheerleaders also must have is flexibility. “Flexibility is the range of motion in a joint or group of joints or the ability to move joints effectively through a complete range of motion. Flexibility training includes stretching exercises to lengthen the muscles” (VeryWell). Flexibility must be present in order for flyers (the girls that are lifted into the air) to pull positions in midair, for the whole team to perform various jumps, and also helps in tumbling, which is a very important skill to have when participating in competitive cheerleading. “Tumbling is a form of gymnastics that requires athletes to use their bodies to flip, twist, roll and jump” (OmniCheer). Tumbling can take years to develop and isn’t an easy skill at all. Some girls work their whole life to just master simpler areas of tumbling and only the best of the best can do some of the hardest tumbling, which incorporates twists while flipping in midair. The last skill that cheerleaders must have is coordination. There is a lot of dancing whenever it comes to cheerleading. Dancing can be considered easy but not when it must be sharp and synchronized with all of the other teammates, along with adding in facial expressions, which appeal to the judges. These aspects take loads of time to perfect and some of these skills take years to even begin learning how to do.

Some people think cheer is not a sport, to me it is my life. There is school cheer and competitive cheer, some prefer one over the other or they do both. School cheer is the yippie, go, go, go sideline chants. Competitive cheer is when a team of five or more create a two and half minute routine and compete against other teams on the same level. Both sports take huge dedication to the coaches and teammates.

One reason people claim that cheerleading is not a sport is that sports require competition, and cheerleading is merely a means of rallying excitement at sporting events, and therefore is not a sport itself. However, in addition to performing at sporting events, many cheerleaders and cheer squads also compete in cheerleading competitions across the globe. In a cheerleading competition, cheer squads perform routines to music, and are judged based on what stunts the squad performs and how well

Cheerleading involves skills which require the strength of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastics. Complex maneuvers are performed which challenge the limits of the body. Safety organizations such as the AACCA were formed to develop safety rules to guide programs in the safe performance of cheerleading gymnastics, which include jumps, partner stunts, pyramids and tumbling. Cheerleaders do not give up their time to practice for nothing; most teams participate in multiple competitions throughout their yearlong season. Both high school and all-star cheerleading teams are given the chance to compete. Every year high school squads can participate in one of numerous national championships while all-star squads compete against teams from all around the globe at The Cheerleading Worlds. For “Worlds”, teams come from everywhere including China, Chile, Britain, Canada, Australia, and France. Attending the Worlds or Nationals is a privilege, and teams must qualify at smaller local and regional competitions first.

There is a broad argument about what is and isn’t considered a high school is very touchy. They argue about which sports should and shouldn’t be considered a sports. The big debate for this article is that cheerleading should be considered a sport. Many people say that it shouldn’t for many different reasons. Yes, cheerleading should be considered a sport.

People often argue what makes a sport a sport. Whether or not cheer is a sport is often argued and questioned. It is usually thought of as a support team for other sports. “Along with cheering on the sidelines at games, most cheerleading squads participate in heated competitions to show their athleticism (Popoloski).” Even though cheer is not listed

Competitive cheerleading is probably one of the hardest sports there is. In cheerleading, there is tumbling, stunts, and a lot of physical activity going on, it’s not like any other sport. To be a cheerleader is a lot. Cheerleading takes a lot of dedication. You should be dedicated to your teammates and also your coaches. You need to commit a lot of time into cheerleading; majority of the time, practice is an everyday thing, even over the summer. The cheerleading practices can last from up to 2-4 hours, or maybe even longer than that, so again, you need to be very time committed. The dances and cheers are not always easy. The stunts and tumbling

The definition of a sport is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical [ability] and often a competitive nature… (“Sport”). Cheer leading has become a thriving female industry in a primarily male dominated world that should be worthy enough to receive the respect it deserves to be called a sport. Many may agree to competitive cheerleading being a sport due to it having to be highly competitive, physically and financially demanding, and requiring an abundant amount of trust in the team.

For the past couple of years, athletics, judges and ESPN have debated on whether or not if cheerleading should be an official sport or not. Lots has changed since the first cheer at a University of Minnesota football game. Today cheerleading teams have taken it to a new level. According to Merriam Webster dictionary, a sport is defined as, an activity involving physical exertion and skill where teams compete against other team. In short version, a sport involves, physical contact, skill, and competition. There are two separate groups of cheerleading, all-star and college/ high school. All-star teams perform for the challenge and competition of the sport. The purpose of college and high school cheer teams, is to support the football and basketball teams, some teams dabble in the competitive side. Although many of us would say that cheerleading is a club, but should considered as a sport because cheerleaders train and practice for years, camaraderie is important with teams, and cheerleading has fierce competition.

The first reason cheerleading is considered a sport is because of the many similarities it has to other sports, and the competitive aspect it has to it. Just like in all other sports, the goals is to be the best. Cheerleading competitions are put on and run all over the country by different organizations and take place almost every weekend. A mix of All-Star gyms from around the world of different levels compete against each other with a two and a half minute routine. Many teams participate in multiple events throughout their competition season, just as any other sport would do. Just like any other sport, cheerleading has a set of strict guidelines and rules that can result in serious penalties or problems if they are broken or not followed. Cheerleaders also compete in different divisions based on the number of people, age, and level that they are at. Cheerleading teams also develop rivals, as do most other professional

Football players and other already approved sports also suffer the same accidents however the amount of cheerleading injuries has had a shorter recorded history than football (Mueller). Also, to be a cheerleader strength and conditioning are required just like any other sport. Many sports such as football, soccer, and track have to condition to be ready for the upcoming season. Cheerleaders have to condition as well as be fit