Cheerleading Debate

Tensions were high. Her nerves were frazzled. The crowd was quiet, waiting to hear the name of the team who was to move on to nationals. Only two teams in the division would be moving on. The crowd went wild as the announcer said, “And moving on to the 2009 Cheerleading Nationals will be the Kankakee Valley Kougars!”

In this paper I am going to be talking about the difference between Sideline Cheerleading and Competitive Cheerleading. Although it may not seem like there is a big difference between the two, there is a pretty big difference between the two different types of Cheer categories. In this paper you will learn a little bit of history about both types of cheer categories and the differences between the two. Cheerleading can help you let out your anger or anything like that because you have to use your voice but in a controlling matter.

We arrived at Smalls Field not even ten minutes later. York High’s stadium is not in the best of shape, but it still works for the game of football. Once we got there, the guys started warming up. I went to help Gianni set up the camera in order to film, and the bleachers we were on overlooked our opponent’s practice field. Gianni and I kept careful watch over their practice. It was an absolute mess. The kids were all running around yelling, cursing, and everything else without any order. There wasn't even a coach in sight. They were not setting a good example for the image of their team, or their school. We got the camera set up and went back down to the field. Max, Wil, and Gianni sat around with me and Dani since they were injured and we just talked about the season. Surprisingly enough, most of their memories were good, even if they did have a losing record. A lot of what they said was positive even if they were talking about losses and I couldn't help but smile knowing

When it comes to cheerleading, most of us will readily agree that it is not a real sport. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of why not. Whereas some are convinced that cheerleading doesn’t meet necessary qualifications to officially be a sport, others maintain that it does have qualities deeming it to be a sport. This is because the competition level in high school and college exceeds the expectation of those other sports that put in the time, hard work and effort to win a championship or tournament. Many don’t consider the cheerleaders that get tossed in the air, have extensive acrobatic skills, and the strength to carry their teammates on their shoulders or even in their hands in the competitions. They don’t get the credit they deserve or are recognized appropriately enough for the sport they compete in, earning them the respect of being the athletes they are in the sport they’re apart of, therefore I’m in favor of cheerleading being considered a sport.

The first intercollegiate American Football game was played between Princeton university and Rutgers University in 1869, and cheerleading began in the 1880s with Princeton's all-male pep club. In 1923, women were allowed to become cheerleaders at the University of Minnesota, and during the 1920s, cheerleaders added acrobatics to the cheers (Being a Cheerleader). The first Cheerleading National Championship was held in 1982, hosted by the Universal Cheerleaders Association, and since then there have been many cheerleading competitions and events worldwide (History of Cheerleading). Cheerleading takes physical strength, coordination, and teamwork, and in 2009, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that it is legally classified as a contact sport (ESPN). Yet, despite these things, many people do not consider it to be a sport. They give many reasons it is not a sport, but despite these claims, cheerleading takes a lot of hard work, and should be considered a sport.

When most people think of cheerleading, they think of the spirit squads that attempt to pump up the local crowd at high school basketball and football games. People are not aware of what these athletes are doing when they are not in front of these crowds. Strangers to cheerleaders who do not follow the sport extensively do not know the exact involvement of the athletes in this sport, at all ages. Cheerleading requires athleticism like all other sports as you must be in shape and at a great fitness level to be involved in most circumstances. Cheerleaders have to know what they’re doing at all times; while knowing what everyone else on the team is doing as well, which involves a high level of mental preparation. Cheerleading, high school or

With 7.8 million student athletes, some are bound to get injured. On average 2 million student athletes are injured each year. Although there are regulations in place, athletes compete to be the best that they are able and push the boundaries of the regulations, and they still end up injured. The NCAA looks over college athletics and controls the regulations that athletes are obliged to follow. Without regulations, sports would be “a-wall”, athletes would become even more injured, that might be why cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females, and on average 26,786 cheerleaders are injured each year. The NCAA does not count cheerleading as a “sport” which means that they do not govern the cheerleading rules and regulations. If the NCAA would adopt cheerleading as a sport, the cheerleading regulations would change, and it would become a safer activity for all participants.

Why is it that most americans believe that cheerleading isn 't a sport? Could it be because cheerleaders don’t compete against other cheerleaders on specific “game days”? Cheerleading is different from most sports because they usually compete with how loud they are, and their facial expressions. In order for an activity to be considered a sport it has involve physical activities. Cheerleading is a sport because people train and compete for it, the cheerleaders also have to be physically fit.

Cheerleading is just one of those activities, which cause many controversial upheavals. Whether it is the outfits they are wearing or the moves they are doing, there is always a problem it seems like. I mean just think about how many times you may have seen something you don’t like or agree with cheerleaders doing. Well I guess that’s just the wonderful world of cheerleading. Cheerleading can be a great sport to become involved in, but many things need to be changed, like their skimpy outfits and sexual moves.

As Christmas break approached, the team faced what was going to be our biggest challenge of all. Due to his new job, our coach now took the title of “assistant” and we were given a new head coach. The coaches were, and are, good friends, but have totally different coaching styles. The first was laid back and carefree with a great sense of humor, which made him well liked by everyone he coached. The new coach had a reputation for being arrogant, strict, and having a no-tolerance policy when it comes to joking around. Because of this perspective some girls held of our new coach, many were upset with the change. After we attended a tournament over the break, however, the girls realized that they had been wrong about the coach and he was just what we needed to help us achieve our goal.

In today’s society there is a huge argument on whether cheerleading is a sport or not.

Cheerleading is one of the leading causes of catastrophic injuries in female athletes in high school and college levels, yet people still argue that it is not a sport and how “easy” it is. Reasons cheer is not labeled a sport yet is because all of the benefits that would need to be provided for cheer teams because of title IX, the primary purpose of cheer (not competing), and the fact that cheerleading would not exist if they labeled it a sport because then their primary purpose would be to compete, not lead on their school’s teams.

The sport of cheerleading has been around for a long time; since 1884 in fact! In the beginning, cheer was a sport dominated by college men. Since, women have taken over, and in 1967 the first ranked college cheer competition was held. Both school and competitive cheerleading offer many rewarding opportunities. Though they are a part of the same sport, the two types of squads are actually quite diverse. School cheer is undeniably a worthwhile and respectable sport, but competitive teams often provide a more challenging approach, and are more suited to experienced cheerleaders.

As if I had unconsciously alienated myself from the squad. But no matter what I did I couldn’t shake the quasi -mental abuse that I had endured from cheer phi earlier on. No one likes to feel like the black sheep. But being a rebel was embedded in my DNA since birth. After all the separation, stress, and burdens of my financial obligations. I had contemplated quitting the team. I figured that if I didn’t want to be a part of cheer phi and if I couldn’t afford being on the team then why bother. One of the cheer phi members overheard me discussing my plan to the coach .I immediately got defensive and was silent the whole practice thinking that they were happy that I was leaving.

I didn’t think it was fair for a fifth grader to make varsity when she didn’t put in the effort, simply because her older sister was also on the team . I didn’t find it fair that we were placed on the lowest team and we tried as hard as them if not harder, we were as good as them, if not better, and we came to every single conditioning, practice, and meeting. Yes, I know I was given the option to leave if I felt this way, but I was determined to show them that I deserved to be right along with everyone else. Through tears, practices, games, extra workout sessions, additional batting cage time , and many arguments with my mom over the stress softball was causing me I was moved to freshman. I felt so accomplished, yet still unamused by the fact there were fifth graders dressing varsity. I don’t care to admit if someone is better than me but, they weren’t. Simply because they had siblings on the team or knew a coach personally they were placed on varsity. Fifth graders who came to about one week of conditioning moved up because of unfair circumstances, and in the end it created an unpleasant environment and negative energy over the