Competitive Cheerleading

What exactly determines whether or not an activity is a sport? The term sport is defined by The Free Dictionary as: A physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively, an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of

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.

You have been training all summer. You have been in the weight room almost every day and wake up so sore you can barely walk. You give encouraging words to your teammates and pump them up right before a game. You are tough and fearless when you take the field. You strive to do your best and want to win. How would you feel if every time you took that field your peers didn’t believe in you and did not respect your sport? Cheerleaders go to the gym and work just as hard as other athletes do, and are not receiving any credit. This makes us frustrated and let down. There are many aspects of cheer that people are unaware of. Being a cheerleader, you have to be able to tumble, stunt, be competitive, have teamwork, and most of all dedication. Cheerleading is a sport because it is physically demanding, requires teamwork, and is very competitive.

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.

Training for cheer is not just a one time or a once a week thing it is a constant practice to maintain those abilities (Selke). Abilities that are needed for cheerleading are stunting, tumbling, and dancing so cheerleaders need to weight lift and work out multiple times a week. They work just as hard as any other athletes. Cheerleaders must be able to work together to create pyramids, basket tosses, and stunts in a routine. All of these require timing, teamwork, balance, strength, and stamina which are all clear athlete standards needed to perform in sports(Selke). Most people do not see inside the practices and competitions they just see the cheerleaders on the sideline at a game who entertain the crowd (Bonesteel). Initially they think that it is not a sport because of how easy that looks. Sideline cheering is

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

If one were to walk into a national cheerleading competition they would immediately be overwhelmed by the smell of hairspray, and the sight of: glitter everywhere, bright lipstick, girls chanting amongst their teams, and huge hair bows. When it comes time to perform, all of the cheerleaders hit the mat with huge smiles and crazy facial expressions to make the crowd excited. Cheerleaders, exhibiting confidence and grace, are allover the United States, and they dedicate their lives to the sport. Sometimes though, competition cheerleaders are not seen as extreme athletes, but stereotyped as “sideline cheerleaders”. To summarize the Webster definition of a sport, it is an activity involving physical effort and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment purposes. Although the NCAA, does not recognize cheerleading as a sport; the aspects of competition cheerleading’s “All-Star Cheerleader” truly

The definition of a sport is ¨an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of competitive nature¨ (Dictionary.com). Cheerleading meets the requirements of a sport because they need skills like tumbling, balance, and strength, and they are very physical with stunts and tumbling. Cheer is also competitive because you have to have a perfect routine in order to win the trophy. Cheerleading meets all the athletic specifications which are: must involve physical activity, has to be competition, have to be rules, and skills have to be involved (Cheer Debate: Is Cheerleading a Sport?). Cheerleaders work hard and they don't get the recognition that they deserve because they work very hard and get very strong in order to do what they love doing.

All in all cheer is a very competitive sport, just as competitive as football or

The Women's sport foundation even wrote that, “any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or quantified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as (1) the physical activity contains certain defined elements and (2) the primary purpose is competition versus other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other athletics’ activities.” If that is truly what defines a sport, then cheerleading is not a sport because of the lack of competition. But isn’t the school working together and having school spirit more important than some contest? Contests can put the losing team or player down and make the winning people stuck up. The AACCA said, “The primary purpose (of cheerleading) is not competition but that of raising school unity through athletic functions.” School unity is one of the ways students can prepare for adult life. It raises the want to work together with other people. Being a competition should not be a requirement to be called a

The difference between cheer and every other sport is that they do not move objects across a field, they throw people into the air. The athletes push their bodies to the absolute limit

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,

To start off, If you look up the definition of a sport in the dictionary, it will tell you that a sport is a “physical activity that is governed

“Today however the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as an offering varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.” (Alysia Roenigk from www.ESPN.com news) The debate weather cheer is or is not a sport is a long and heated subject. Many believe that sideline cheerleading (cheering for sports teams) is not a sport, because it lacks competition. However I do understand that competitive cheering does meet most of the sport requirements, but around 60% of high-schools have students participate in sideline cheering and do not offer competitive.

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.