Is Cheerleading a Sport?

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.

I am a cheerleader, and was taken away from what I love due to an injury. When you think of cheerleading you imagine the make-up, the pom-poms, and the groups of people throwing cheerleaders high in the air, but cheerleading is more. Cheer is the performance of athletic skills, jumps, dancing, and chanting to get feedback from crowds at events, games, etc. Cheerleaders can be featured at games in support of sports teams, or at cheerleading competitions to earn points. According to varsity.com, which is a foundation that makes articles, social media, and supplies cheer groups with equipment/clothing, frequent drama that speculates when we tell people we cheer they say “cheerleading is not a sport”. Cheerleading fits all the criteria to be considered

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.

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.

Cheerleading might be considered to be an extracurricular activity to the average individual, but have you tried it? Even though four years ago, a federal judge ruled that competitive cheerleading is not an official sport, this physical activity includes all of the elements and more of a defined coed sport.

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

The physical activity must have five elements, some include overcoming the resistance of a mass, competition against an opponent, and the rules must define time, space, the purpose of the activity, and the conditions under which a winner is declared. In addition to, acknowledgement that the competition is an evaluation of the skills of the participants and the key purpose of the activity is for competition. Competitive cheerleading fits into all five of these categories through stunts, tumbling, competitions, score sheets, time limits, and mat size. Cheerleading also fits into these categories through the Entertainment and Sports Programming Networks (ESPN) comparing cheerleading routines and a competitive cheerleader’s sole purpose is to compete. Most people in the world do not think cheerleading is a sport for several reasons. Some they think cheerleading does not have a strategy, while others think cheerleaders do not have enough physical ability. However, cheerleading fits into all of the categories of what must take place in order to deem it as a sport (Cheer

One of the main reasons why the NCAA hasn’t picked up cheerleading as a sport is because it “doesn’t meet all the criteria of a sport”. That is true in some aspects of cheerleading, but for competition cheerleading it meets all of the needs of a sport. What actually is a sport though? According to Webster’s Dictionary, a sport is “ an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.” But according to the NCAA a sport has to meet all the following criteria to be considered a

Many people say cheerleading isn't a sport. They feel that if you don't have a ball in your hand then you are not an athlete.Also people feel that cheer isn't a sport because they think cheer does"t compete against other teams and having a goal.There is many reasons to why cheer is a sport .

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.

The controversy over whether cheerleading is a sport has been spreading and many people actually do not know if it is. At the moment, cheerleading it is not a sport which was originally my opinion in this situation. Although,cheerleading is being considered for classification as a sport, it really isn`t a sport. The society, in general, has not accepted cheerleading as a sport as it was voted on in 2014. For it to be a sport it needs to be legally voted on to be a real sport by law.

They would classify college cheerleading as a sport but they wouldn’t high school cheerleading. They say that cheerleading should be a sport but it doesn’t fit all the criteria. Cheerleaders must have a set of rules. The second one is that they They must have daily practices and coaches that attend those practices. The third criteria is that cheerleaders must have physical exertion. Then cheerleaders must have physical contact with the other opponent. The last criteria that cheerleaders need to have to be considered a sport is that competition should be the primarily goal. Cheerleading doesn’t classify as a sport because they don’t fit under the fourth criteria. In cheerleading you don’t have physical contact with the other opponent (Darnell). Since they don’t fit the fourth criteria that don’t consider cheerleading a

“The argument of whether or not cheerleading should be granted sport status is one that has escalated into a fierce debate over the past year,” Wayne Drehs, a staff writer for ESPN, confirms. While giving a purpose to many young athletes as many other known sports do, cheerleading has lost any sport recognition somewhere along the way. The sport has grown miraculously into something that is nothing short of amazing. However while cheerleading’s difficulty has grown, many people’s support for the acceptation of being a sport has not. Many cheerleaders would agree in a heartbeat that Cheerleading is in fact a sport, and should be known as one. Every person needs to understand what cheerleading really is, everything the athletes do daily, and