Going Team ! : The Debate Over Cheerleading

Cheerleading started as a male endeavor in 1898, when a University of Minnesota football fan led the crowd in verse in support of their team. It was not until World War II, when men shipped out to war, that women took over. Then cheerleaders came to represent the American ideal of femininity: wholesome apple pie with washboard stomachs, perfect teeth, and flawless complexions. Stereotypes cast them as blond, petite, and impossibly perky. “From its humble beginning cheerleading has blossomed into a competitive athletic activity with a serious image problem” (Forman 52). But today’s post-feminist youth have put a new, diverse face on cheerleading. Cheerleading in America is no longer a matter of waving pom-poms, a cute smile and being overly

Being able jump in the air, kick up your leg, or even having a strong voice is what most people assume is needed to make the cheer squad in today’s society. These beliefs and depictions of today’s cheerleaders are strongly influenced by today’s media. For example, the hit television show “Glee” depicts one of its main characters, a cheerleader named Brittney, as an airhead. This blond hair, blue-eyed girl is reflected as the “typical cheerleader”, with statements that include the following, ' 'I was pretty sure Dr. Pepper was a dentist ' ' (Murphy). The show also depicts the other cheerleaders as stuck up, promiscuous, irresponsible and cliquey. From wearing the cheerleading outfits everyday to sleeping around with the football team,

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.

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

The Time magazine is a credible source for this article that aims right at people who are outside of the cheerleading community. This article is all about the athleticism in the sport and the technique of cheerleading. The article gives a lot of statistics about the growth of injuries in cheerleading. One of the famous cheerleading teams was mentioned in this article and they were the World Cup Shooting Stars, which is an organization in New Jersey. The article talks about high school cheerleading today and how many colleges accept cheer as a sport and how you can get a scholarship. In the article the author talks about hoe schools canceled their

Have you ever been so happy and excited, To soon find out you’ve been lied to? after doing such hard work to get to where you are. For over decades cheerleading hasn’t been counted as a sport. When will people realize that they compete and practice hard like any other sport team? Cheerleading hasn’t been counted as a sport by schools, Sometimes schools lie and say that they will give scholarships.

Cheerleading meets all the criteria of being a sport, is sponsored by ESPN, and cheerleaders are basically risking their lives and the lives of their other teammates. Meeting the criteria of being a Sport. On Varsity.com, it states that cheerleading meets all the criteria in The Office of Civil Rights. It states “It must be a physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of mass” Cheerleaders stunt, where girls are being thrown in the air depending on the girls under them to catch them. Criteria number 2 states “Contesting” or competing against/with an opponent is required.

A contact sport is a sport in which the athlete’s bodies come in contact with each other. An article written by David Ziemer, “Wisconsin Supreme Court: Cheerleading Is a Contact Sport,” brings to light that cheerleading should be considered a contact sport. However, if cheerleading were to be considered a contact sport and not just a regular sport, schools would have a higher level of liability when it comes to the injuries of the cheerleaders. Within recent years the cheerleading related injuries have increased significantly. The most common injuries in cheerleading are concussions, wrist and ankle sprains, and lower back injuries (orthopedics.childrenscolorado.org).

You are at a game for your least favorite sport to watch. You wouldn’t have come, but you had to because a relative is in the game. You are prepared for two hours of boredom when you hear sudden applause. You turn and see that a cheerleader just did an amazing series of flips. Later you reflect on that afternoon - it was fun. More fun than you expected. All because of the cheerleaders. However, something is not right. Cheerleading is not a sport, but it should be. It should be a sport because it takes all the effort as other sports. It not being a sport is actually dangerous for the cheerleaders. It also unifies the school instead of tearing down teams as the result of losing competitions.

Unlike football players we go out onto to the mat without any padding or protection. Football players use shoulders pads, knee pads, helmets, and much more safety equipment. Every time a cheerleader goes out to perform their mind is not only focused on hitting the routine but, also wondering what might happen to them. They know that within the next 2 minutes and 30 seconds they can walk off the mat with a smile on their face or with an injury. Football players do also get hurt but, when they do, they have protection, unlike cheerleaders. The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at the University of North Carolina reports that 65.2% of all catastrophic injuries in youth sports occur in competitive cheerleading. Football players lift a 15 ounce ball, whereas we cheerleaders lift human beings. We throw, catch, and lift mortals. Not only do we work just as hard or even more than football players but, we also aim for the same objective. In all sports, you clearly want to win. Winning makes everyone feel confident and makes them work harder to accomplish this. Not only does cheerleading require physical skill and talent but, it also requires dedication and

“When someone tells you to think of a sport I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is football, or basketball, or maybe baseball. But what about cheerleading? When you think of cheerleading do you just think of it as an activity that consists of chants on the sidelines with big pom-poms, or do you think of it as a sport with extreme stunting such as tumbling, mounting, and tossing? The question of whether or not cheerleading is or should be recognized as an official sport has been debated since 1997 and still makes its way to court every few years. Throughout this research paper I will explore the question of what defines a sport and whether or not cheerleading should be considered one.”

Cheerleading: “a sport involving the performance of organized cheering, chanting, and dancing in support of a sports team at games.”- Merriam Webster Dictionary What you just read is the exact definition of cheerleading, cheerleading is barely recognized as a sport, and even when it is mentioned, it is usually shot down and ignored The topic of if cheerleading is a sport has generated a lot of argument for both the viewpoint of reasons cheerleading is a sport and the reasons for why it is not. The viewpoint of why cheerleading is a sport is stronger because cheerleading requires a lot of physical athletic ability and it will be an Olympic sport in less than 3 years. While there are many other main ideas to support the viewpoint of why cheerleading

The Oxford dictionary defines the term sport as, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment,” cheerleading fails to own up to this expectation. The debate between if cheerleading is a sport or not has been relatively debated throughout the last half-century. Usually you'll hear girls (maybe even some males) arguing with other athletes, that their, “sport,” is an actual sport, but it's not. Cheerleaders across the country like to say that cheerleading is a sport, while the other side agree that this is in fact not the truth. This debate has probably been going on since cheerleading had first started in 1898, though

Cheerleading has two qualifications that are not met for it to be considered a sport. It states, “The Women’s Sports Foundation makes it clear that “any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or qualified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as: The physical activity includes the above defined elements (got them!) and… The primary purpose is competition verses other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other ‘athletic’ activities.” Technically cheer meets all the physical athletic requirements but because of the fact cheerleaders primary purpose is to cheer on athletic teams on the sidelines, they do not think of competitive

The definition of a sport according to oxforddictionaries.com is “An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Cheerleaders both compete and participate in athletic activity requiring skills. So many people see cheerleading as the sideline of girls doing simple chants and cheers; but, cheerleading has evolved into dangerous stunts, tumbling and more exciting performances. The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches Administration (AACCA) in their Cheerleading As a Sport paper states “Today, cheerleading involves skills which require the strength of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastics.” This sport is not what it once was, they do much more today than they once