Cheerleading Research Paper

Although it is true that cheerleading does not fall under the category of a “sport” by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies or the NCCA, this does not mean cheerleaders are not athletes. An athlete is a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina. Cheerleaders definitely fall under the category of an athlete because cheerleading is not just smiling and shouting cheers as most people assume. Cheerleaders are trained in some of the most difficult skills such as tumbling and stunting. Cheerleading has become one of the most dangerous school activities, making doctors push schools and organizations to treat cheerleaders as athletes and that cheer is in fact a sport. Nelson feels very strongly about this topic and stresses that, “ It is disappointing how underestimated we are as cheerleaders because as a competitive cheerleader, we practice hard at least three hours a day, not only mastering the skills, but looking good while completing them…we work just as hard as any other sport but we did not get the appropriate

When most people hear the word cheerleading,they think of girlls in shorts skirts. But in fact, the sport was started by men, for men. In 1903, the University of Minnesota created a " Yell Squad" composed of six men, which in turn led to a male cheer fraternity call Gamma Sigma. Texas A&M joined the band wagon in 1905 when they created " The Cheerleading state," a group of males who led the crowd at football and basketball games. The sport remained dominated by men until the 1920's some famous figures like Dwight Eisenhower and Franklin Roosevelt were member of cheer squads in their

Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.

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

Competitive cheerleading requires an immense amount of physical activity in tumbling, lifting and dancing. Stunts include standing backflips, tumbling sequences and lifts, requiring the athletes to be physically fit, strong and balanced. In cheerleading, a “base” is responsible for being the bottom supporter for the person being lifted, or the “flyer.” The base is often seen assisting, lifting and catching the flyer which can be demanding on the cheerleader’s body, and lead to injury. Although the statistics are short history, cheerleading has become the most dangerous female sports (Mueller).

Nearly three million girls and boys in the U.S participate in the sport of cheerleading. Three million people are straining their body and moving themselves in a bunch of different ways for their 2 ½ minute routine that they will compete, and some cheerleaders are more straining their voices rather than their body’s to shout different cheers at their school’s sporting events and are also moving their arms and legs in different positions for the cheers they perform. (Brady,2002) There are two different types of cheerleading in the industry. One part of cheerleading is the school level cheerleading, where girls and boys go their school football and or basketball games and do sideline cheers and sometimes a

The absence of guidelines regarding the practice of cheerleading has led to a major increase in the amount of catastrophic injuries, which can be prevented by labeling cheerleading a sport. In fact, “of 104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college students from 1982 to 2005… more than half resulted from cheerleading” (Pennington

A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team compere against another. Some of cheerleading use skill and compete against other teams. They even risk their lives to do a risky routine. According to US News "Over the past few decades, cheerleading has evolved from leading the crowd in cheers at sporting events to a competitive, year-round activity featuring complex acrobatic stunts performed by a growing number of athletes," said Dr. Cynthia LaBella,

Fans do not often watch the cheerleaders when they attend a football game, and that's okay because they are there to see the football players anyways. There aren’t many fans of competition cheer either, unless you are a younger cheerleader of course. In general there isn’t much love for the sport that is cheerleading, I say sport because that is what it is. While it would be a stretch to call sideline cheer a sport, competition cheer most definitely is, and here is why.

The sport cheerleading engages in cardiovascular strengthening and can help to increase the abilities of your heart and lungs. Correct conditioning to perform above excellence, training on the perfect way to throw stunts and tumbling passes, stretching for intense and flawless jumps, and safety prerequisites help avoid damages to the body. Exercise let alone during this activity has proved to help in weight loss, the building of strong muscles, flexibility, and being able to have the right mentality, hypothetically speaking engaged in using communication skills and being able to build a team support system. What this research fails to demonstrate is almost every option on how cheerleading can be an injuring sport. Although cheerleading is a great source of exercise, there are more injuries in cheerleading than any other contact sport, but can be a result in a trainer and/or authority while activity is being engaged

From an outsiders perspective one may see brainless and beautiful robots, which scream and perform neat tricks. This is not the case from the inside; cheerleading is so much more than that. Many people are under the impression that cheerleading is not a sport. I am the voice of reasoning that will let you in, and I will show you that cheerleading, in fact, is a sport. Cheerleading requires much physical demand from the body just as any other sport would. Cheerleading, in general, is a team effort. There are many sides to cheerleading, which make it a versatile sport. When it comes to cheerleading there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

Cheerleaders stand out for their exuberant confidence; It takes someone special to be able to stand in front of a school and a community. The most important attribute to being a leader is confidence. Personally, I have struggled with anxiety for years, which does not exactly scream “cheerleader material”. Cheerleading has taught me how to be in front of crowds, be comfortable and be a leader, which will be necessary for my future as I head into a career in Sports Broadcasting. Anxiety has stopped me from joining clubs, going out in public and even from hanging out with friends.

Cheerleading is a very dangerous sport. If the body is not well-conditioned, the athlete can severely injure themselves. Cheerleaders represent the teams they cheer for, which in most cases are football and basketball. Cheerleaders are not just about being “beautiful” or “popular,” but are more often known for being role models. With concussions being extremely high risk in cheerleading, it’s important for cheerleaders to be dedicated, and have proper strength and knowledge to make them successful in cheerleading.

The article said it must be a sport if flyers get thrown up in the air, "overcoming the resistance of the mass." There has actually been girls that have died from the cheerleading according to Fox News. The news channel stated that a fourteen year old girl got tossed in the air and when she came down, she started to complain of abdominal pain and she later died at the hospital.I have my own personal experiences with cheer, I am actually a cheerleader at my school right now. I have cheered my whole life and never once thought it was easy or not a sport. I and a lot of other cheerleaders on my team are able to tumble. If I thought cheer was easy I would not do it because I am all about being competitive. Cheer is my favorite sport and I have cheered since I was three. I hope people start to realize that it really is a sport. Also when we are tumbling we are always putting ourselves in dangerous situations, because when we flip we could easily hit our head. Do to the dangerous stunts and tumblings they have now made it a

The article said it must be a sport if flyers get thrown up in the air, "overcoming the resistance of the mass." There has actually been girls that have died from the cheerleading according to Fox News. The news channel stated that a fourteen year old girl got tossed in the air and when she came down, she started to complain of abdominal pain and she later died at the hospital.I have my own personal experiences with cheer, I am actually a cheerleader at my school right now. I have cheered my whole life and never once thought it was easy or not a sport.  I and a lot of other cheerleaders on my team are able to tumble. If I thought cheer was easy I would not do it because I am all about being competitive. Cheer is my favorite sport and I have cheered since I was three. I hope people start to realize that it really is a sport. Also when we are tumbling we are always putting ourselves in dangerous situations, because when we flip we could easily hit our heads. Do to the dangerous stunts and tumblings they have now made it a