Dodgeball: Is Cheerleading A Good 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.

Youth shouldn’t be banned from participating in sports such as Dodgeball, cheerleading , and football. One reason dodgeball should not be banned , because it teaches physical and mental skills. According to NADA founder Rick Heatheo he says, “It allows kids who are not athletes participate in a team sport. This shows that the kids who don't play on team sports get the opportunity to play a sport a be on a team.This sport is also teaching kids eye hand coordination and the ability to think and draw quick conclusions, plus kids say it’s a fun sport If properly supervised. Cheerleading is one sport that definitely shouldn’t banned. A reason Cheerleading shouldn’t be banned because most coaches are trained and certified. According to Cheerleading

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.

Many states have already begun banning dodgeball in their physical education curriculums. As of now 9,137 schools have taken dodgeball out of their programs, and all the time new schools are considering it. The reason for this is that they think our country should not have any games with human targets. Officials believe these are the first signs of how the stronger people can pick on the weaker, and they also don’t want children competing with each other. On the contrary, dodgeball is a fun way to receive exercise. It is also not an everyday activity that children should look forward to. There is no reason for it to be taken out of gym programs. In fact, it should not be banned because it’s one of

Whether cheerleading is considered a sport has become a very controversial topic over the past few years. Due to lack of education of the sport, it is very frowned upon by other athletes. Other athletes seem to feel that cheerleading isn't difficult and requires minimum to no effort. These accusations can be very hurtful when coming from a cheerleader’s perspective. Based on their strength and skill, the amount of practicing and maintaining health, the number of injuries, and its competitive aspect, cheerleading should be considered a sport. The talent that these young men and women have is phenomenal. The performance of their skills looks extremely flawless but no one truly knows what goes on behind the pretty stunts and synchronized

Dodgeball helps teach students around the world that it is OK to lose at a game every now and then, it happens to everyone. Rick Reilly, the author of the article Weak Shall Inherit the Gym stated that “Then those kids’ parents will send them out into the world to realise that, Yes there are winners and losers.” Bringing this statement into the argument helps show that if adults do not show those noncompetitive children that it is possible to lose, they will not act like an adult when they do lose they will never learn. Kids just have to learn to deal with it and learn from their mistakes so they will not lose next time. Children have to deal with losing like a Mature adult or they will have a rough life later on.

Many parents fear their children playing football because of possible concussions or later being diagnosed with CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy). Although there could be slight changes in football young children should absolutely be allowed to play because football is a part of the American culture and could benefit the young players in many ways. Football can help a child become physically fit as well as teaching the player(s) life time skills that can help them in their bright futures such as leadership, sportsmanship, ambition etc.

High school sports such as football, should be banned because it causes continuous concussions that result in brain damage. A concussion is a brain injury caused by a hit to the head or a rough shaking of the head and body. Concussions in high school sports especially football are very common and the impact injures the brain. The article, High school Concussions, conducted a

Did you know 66% of boys between the ages of 5-18 years old play an organized sport? Over 550,000 boys participate in basketball for a school sponsored team in the U.S, ranked in the top 5 most played sports in the U.S. by youth is baseball/ teeball and last but not least football is played among young boys with more than 1 million interscholastic participants. If I were asked if I were to allow my son to play football I will say yes, because it promotes teamwork, keeps children busy (out of trouble) and it is a safe sport.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Could you imagine not having the option of playing sports when you were a kid? Although some people believe concussions would be lowered if children under the age of 16 did not play sports, the school district shouldn't ban sports because children's mental, physical, and social health are improved.