Competitive Cheer Research Paper

A sport is an organized association that provides regulated activities to individuals. In most cases these individuals are composed into teams with an identity, mission statement, and goal. Competitive cheerleading is association, and just like the definition of a sport, competitive cheerleading is organized and acknowledge under specific associations, (ISHAA,NCCA,etc.). Those associations regulates the activities of each participant. Every participant is classified by their team name and mascot. With pride each participant and team identify themselves and motivate themselves through their mission statement and goal. Considering, these relative factors, it is evident that competitive cheerleading is a sport. Competitive cheerleading is being

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.

Many people are also not aware of the fact that there are two different types of cheerleading. One type is called sideline cheerleading. “According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, a primary purpose of sideline spirit groups (dance, pom, drill or cheer) is to serve as support groups for the interscholastic athletic programs within the school” (National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research). Another form of cheerleading is competitive cheer. This is when a mixture of school and All-Star squads compete against each other with a 2 and a half minute routine. In these routines, the cheerleaders do different tricks and stunting including tumbling, mounting, and tossing others for higher scores. The routines also include dancing and movements that helps the team stand out to a panel of judges that will score the routine. The team in each division that has the highest average score wins the competition. In competitive cheerleading, cheerleaders are not standing on the sideline cheering for others, but they are actually cheering for themselves. These athletic competitions are often viewed on ESPN and FOX sports. This also proves that the standards of cheerleading have changed from long ago.

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 is a sport that many people don’t support in a way that they support the popular sports in most schools, like football and basketball. Cheering can open many doors and create an ample amount of job opportunities. By cheering you can also receive full ride athletic scholarships from many schools. A cute skirt and pompoms is not the only thing you have to work for when it comes to cheering. Just as any other sport you have to have a certain grade point average to try out for your cheerleading team and also you are held accountable for maintaining your grade point average with also being held accountable for remembering cheers, games day dates and events that you will have to attend with your team. Cheer teaches you many things other than being able to tumble and shout! As a cheerleader, you learn to encourage anyone that needs that boost of encouragement, we learn how to work together with other people. Your cheer team members will become your family!

When someone asks you to think of sports most people think of football or basketball, but do they ever think of cheer? Most people think of cheer as the snobby girls on the sidelines screaming for the real athletes. Most people don’t realize that there’s more to cheer than how movies portray it. Competitive cheer is a very big commitment, it’s long hours and very hard work. It takes a very headstrong person to become a cheerleader and continue with it through the years. Competition cheer should be considered a sport, not just in the books but also in the eyes of others.

A lot of people do not consider cheerleading to be a sport. When most people think of cheerleading, they think of pretty girls in skirts, waving pompons, cheering for their school’s football or basketball team. Although that can be true, that is not all cheerleading is. There are two types of cheerleading. There is sideline cheerleading, and there is competitive cheerleading. Sideline cheerleading is what goes on at a football or basketball games. Competitive cheerleading is what is shown on television stations like ESPN where a team of guys and girls preform a routine. Although sideline cheerleading is not considered a sport, competitive cheerleading is.

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.

What is a Cheerleader? A cheerleader is a confident, positive, and a helpful individual when it comes to community service. Being a cheerleader has taught me leadership qualities and that has not only helped me in the sport but also in school, work, and my self-esteem. They typical STEREOTYPE of a cheerleader is that they are mean, unfriendly, and stupid. When it came to my senior year I was given the name if Captain of the cheer team. I have set a level of BUREAUCRACY within the team and set rules and goals for the team to achieve and follow. At this time in my life I was help to a higher STATUS and given more responsibility. These girls started out as a SECONDARY GROUP when we first started out on the team together, but after years of being with one another everyday three hours a day- we quickly became like family. This transition from SECONDARY GROUP to a PRIMARY GROUP was the best thing to happen to me, I had a team of sisters. Our COALITION had a common goal, which was to bring excitement to our fans at footballs games, and bring championships home to our school at competitions. (TCO 4, 6, 8)

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.

Cheerleading has competition, just for them. A competition is where all the cheer teams in the county go. They compete for a trophy. The judge rate there cheers 1-10, ten the highest, and one the lowest. Cheerleaders have competition daily.

Cheerleading is a time to represent your school spirit and pride. Ever since grade school I was a cheerleader. I continued to cheer in middle school and up to junior year in High School, for a total of six years. I started off with pop warner cheer then junior varsity cheer and ended with varsity cheer in high school. When you cheer you get to get the crowd involved in the game, you make new friends and you also get to compete in competitive cheer at competitions. Cheerleading was a great part of my life and it is an experience I will always treasure. It has taught me that practice builds stamina, competition proves your teams point and it builds the understanding of why teamwork is important.

Cheerleading is more than cheering on the sidelines at a football game or bringing the crowd to their feet. Cheerleaders do not have to run around three bases or skate their way to a puck, but they do, however, lift their teammates, jump, dance, tumble, and perform. There was a point in my life where I would eat, sleep, and breathe cheerleading. It is debated whether cheerleading would be considered a sport. Nevertheless, cheerleading has been a passion of mine for most of my childhood, and these experiences made me the person I am today. Before cheerleading, I was incredibly shy, be bullied in school, and did not have many friends.

Dictionary.com defines a sport as "an athletic activity that requires physical prowess or skill and often a competitive nature." Live healthy.com says although cheerleading is not a sanctioned sport by the NCAA or an Olympic sport, it still carries risks. Cheerleading incorporates human pyramid building, gymnastics and participants flying through the air. While the

Cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports in the game. Besides throwing people in the air and launching themselves into tumbling passes, cheerleaders take hits like a champ and fall down to jump right back up. Being a cheerleader myself, I attribute this perseverance to one of the many lessons learned from being involved in the sport. Cheerleading is not only a way to better oneself physically but also as a person. Through cheerleading, people learn the importance of teamwork, dedication, and responsibility.