Persuasive Essay: Why Cheerleading Is 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.

There are qualifications to be a cheerleader; flexibility, tumbling, and where to be put in a stunt group (Varsity.com, 2018). You can’t just develop these qualities without working towards them because it takes a lot of time and practice. To become flexible you have to be stretching daily (www.stretching-exercises-guide.com). Which shows that cheerleaders put in a lot of time and commitment. Therefore there is no reason to argue that cheerleaders don’t work and train as hard as other

In cheerleading athleticism is not required and competitions are not held. Cheerleaders participate in athletics as bystanders. They are there to support and entertain their school.

Right before a game, football players huddle up as a team and they get “hyped-up” to win. The coach of the team gives them a game plan and they follow it. This same thing applies for the cheerleaders right before they take the mat. Their “game plan” is the routine that a choreographer made for them. Coaches change the routine to make them win. Cheerleaders have to act as a team. (you build a bond with your teammates practicing so much together.) At competitions, all the cheerleaders match from bow to toe. Cheerleaders always encourage their teammates when they are discouraged or feel failure in not being able to complete a stunt.(they

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.

Tumbling skills, endurance, and flexibility are important in order to become a competitive cheerleader. The world of cheerleading is often underestimated by the school jocks, nerds, and fellow classmates. However, what they don’t know is that cheer takes lots of time and training to refine. These skills will help improve your physical health and give you strength. Cheerleading can be a very competitive sport that everyone can appreciate, even if it means you have to put a bow in your

One component cheerleaders also must have is flexibility. “Flexibility is the range of motion in a joint or group of joints or the ability to move joints effectively through a complete range of motion. Flexibility training includes stretching exercises to lengthen the muscles” (VeryWell). Flexibility must be present in order for flyers (the girls that are lifted into the air) to pull positions in midair, for the whole team to perform various jumps, and also helps in tumbling, which is a very important skill to have when participating in competitive cheerleading. “Tumbling is a form of gymnastics that requires athletes to use their bodies to flip, twist, roll and jump” (OmniCheer). Tumbling can take years to develop and isn’t an easy skill at all. Some girls work their whole life to just master simpler areas of tumbling and only the best of the best can do some of the hardest tumbling, which incorporates twists while flipping in midair. The last skill that cheerleaders must have is coordination. There is a lot of dancing whenever it comes to cheerleading. Dancing can be considered easy but not when it must be sharp and synchronized with all of the other teammates, along with adding in facial expressions, which appeal to the judges. These aspects take loads of time to perfect and some of these skills take years to even begin learning how to do.

One reason cheerleading is a sport because it is a physical activity.This web helps explain my reasoning about physical activity .You can find this web on https://cheerleading.about.comod/skillandabilities/a/031002.antm.Some cheer teams put in more hours and effort in the gym than teams such as football and basketball.Cheerleading not only shows you and teaches coordination it helps condition competitors,but it also helps you with sportsmanship ,leadership communication skills,organizational skills,productivity and much more.

The base, the catcher, and the flyer all must be in good overall shape in order to perform such a stunt. All good cheerleaders are good gymnasts. Gymnastics involve tumbling, which is a form of flipping. In order for this to be done the cheerleader must have more than great muscle power. Cheerleading involves much strength just as any gymnastics or basketball team does.

People usually see cheerleaders at football and basketball games. They see them shake their pom-poms and yell chants to get the team and crowd excited and involved. But there is much more to cheerleading than that.

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

Cheer is intense and the ¨cheer teams workout, run and have to deal with all team players just like any other sport¨ (Webb). Cheerleaders do everything that people do in any other sport and they work very hard. Cheerleaders do everything that people do in any other sport and they work very hard while doing

Cheerleaders have to stay fit and active so when their running around, tumbling, stunting, and jumping you need to stay fit and active so it wont get hard to do those things. Being able to tumble takes a lot of energy and patience. So cheerleaders need to stay fit to keep their bodies up and keep their arms straight so nothing gets broken. If cheerleaders arms aren't able to keep their bodies up that's bad because if cheerleaders fall down during a tumbling pass points will get deducted and lots of girls/guys can get seriously hurt because of one tiny mistake. Cheerleading requires a lot of upper body strength to stunt other girls and tumble.

Cheerleaders are now recognized for their talents and athleticism, not popularity. Because modern cheerleading requires prowess (skill), they must stay conditioned. They train as hard as any athlete. Modern cheer is, in many ways, similar to gymnastics (which is considered a sport) and dance. According to aacca.org, groups like 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.