A cheerleader is a person who is a member of a group who shout out special songs or chants to encourage sports teams. (“Cheerleading”. World of SportsScience. Ed.K Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Vol 1. Detroit: Gale,2007.139-141 Gale Virtual Reference Library. 9 Nov. 2016). Cheerleading began in the late 1800s at the University of Princeton, in New Jersey. (“History of Cheerleading.” iSport Online.Cheerleading.iSport 9 Nov. 2016 cheerleading.isport.com/cheerleading-guides/history-of-cheerleading). Cheerleading was in fact created by men at this time. The men who started cheering were called “yell leaders.” Women did not start cheering until 1923, and since then women have dominated cheerleading. Cheerleading started to evolve …show more content…
Stunts play an important role in every cheerleading routine. In a basic stunt group there are four people which are known to be the top girl, main base, secondary base, and a back spot. The top girl is the one in the air executing everything and making sure that she is performing in the air. The main base is the base on the right of the top girl, and the main base’s job is to initiate everything. While doing a stunt Known as a “full-up,” it is the main base’s job to turn the foot and make sure that the top girl does a 360 degree spin in the stunt. The secondary base is the base to the left of the top girl, and secondary is support for the main base. The secondary base’s main job is to catch the foot on all of the stunts. The back spot is behind the top girl. The back spot’s main objective is to make sure the stunt does not fall. If the flyer falls in a stunt it is the back spot’s job to catch the top girl and make sure she does not hit the ground. The basic stunts that are used in a routine are “prep” or an “extension.” Flexibility is very important for the top girls when they are expected to execute body positions. Body positions are when the top girl puts their leg in a certain position to show off their flexibility. A liberty is a stunt which everyone is familiar with and it is called a liberty. A liberty is …show more content…
In order to be successful in cheerleading you have to have a strong body and mindset, because cheerleading takes physical and mental strength. Cheerleading is a yearlong sport so if an athlete survives for that long then that means the athlete is dedicated to his/her team. When the athletes finish the entire season they are acknowledged at a banquet. At the banquet the team talks about things in the past and they look back at everything that happened earlier in the season. The seniors of the team and everyone who is on that team for the last year get really emotional. Cheerleading is a tough sport to do but the experiences that they gain with their teammates make the it not so
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 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
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.
The competitive sport of cheerleading is not all about jumping up and down and yelling “Go team, go!”. It’s about using your strength to perform a variety of skills that form together to make a routine. These routines are performed by many teams to be judged during competitions. Practice is required to do well at competitions. In order to become a cheerleader, you need to have tumbling skills, endurance, and flexibility.
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.
Many have seen her. Many know her. But who is the American cheerleader? Is she a blond haired, blue eyed sex symbol? Is she a drug-addicted girl with no brains and even fewer moral values? Maybe she is just your average, pretty, girl-next-door with a loud voice and lots of spirit. What is clearly true is that cheerleading and cheerleaders have evolved greatly over a century-long history. What started as one bold college student has turned into an activity with over 3 million participants (Brady 1); one that is backed by a $150 million industry (Williams 2). Modern cheerleading has come a long way from its historic roots, but large differences still exist between the iconic cheerleader, the stereotypical cheerleader, and the truth.
When most people think of cheerleading, they think of the spirit squads that attempt to pump up the local crowd at high school basketball and football games. People are not aware of what these athletes are doing when they are not in front of these crowds. Strangers to cheerleaders who do not follow the sport extensively do not know the exact involvement of the athletes in this sport, at all ages. Cheerleading requires athleticism like all other sports as you must be in shape and at a great fitness level to be involved in most circumstances. Cheerleaders have to know what they’re doing at all times; while knowing what everyone else on the team is doing as well, which involves a high level of mental preparation. Cheerleading, high school or
Just like anything else, cheerleading has quite a history behind it. From the first chants at Princeton University to one of today’s most popular National pastimes, cheerleading has come a long way the past ten decades. In ancient times spectators cheered for runners in races held during the first ever Olympic Games in ancient Greece. In the 1860's students in Great Britain began cheering at competitive sporting events and soon the idea spread to the United States.
Being a cheerleader to me isn’t just about cheering on the football or basketball team. Cheerleading is more than that. Cheerleading is a group of girls who have the passion and the trust with each other to catch them and trust that they will do their part. Cheerleading are being a family and not being able to have your own space. Priorities of cheerleading are; making your toes pointed, having a good attitude, making great facial expressions, and having those little girls that look up to you, have a great role model. These are just some reasons why I love to
I have done both high school and All-Star cheerleading. I know first hand how each practice goes, and I have gone through the competitions, training, games, and practices. The first big difference between the two levels of cheerleading is the practice and training. At a high school cheerleading practice, every practice is usually the same. The practice starts out with the everyone circling up and stretching and laughing, it’s not taken very serious. After we stretch, we would usually train for twenty minutes. Training involved seeing how many push ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks we could do in a minute. Then, we would run a single lap around the football field, but most of the cheerleaders would walk. After training was over we most likely would practice cheers and chants for thirty minutes, dances for thirty minutes, and then stunt if we were lucky. We rarely stunted for the simple
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.
Cheerleading is a sport that many people don’t support in a way that they support the popular sports in most schools, like football and basketball. Cheering can open many doors and create an ample amount of job opportunities. By cheering you can also receive full ride athletic scholarships from many schools. A cute skirt and pompoms is not the only thing you have to work for when it comes to cheering. Just as any other sport you have to have a certain grade point average to try out for your cheerleading team and also you are held accountable for maintaining your grade point average with also being held accountable for remembering cheers, games day dates and events that you will have to attend with your team. Cheer teaches you many things other than being able to tumble and shout! As a cheerleader, you learn to encourage anyone that needs that boost of encouragement, we learn how to work together with other people. Your cheer team members will become your family!
Cheerleading is a time to represent your school spirit and pride. Ever since grade school I was a cheerleader. I continued to cheer in middle school and up to junior year in High School, for a total of six years. I started off with pop warner cheer then junior varsity cheer and ended with varsity cheer in high school. When you cheer you get to get the crowd involved in the game, you make new friends and you also get to compete in competitive cheer at competitions. Cheerleading was a great part of my life and it is an experience I will always treasure. It has taught me that practice builds stamina, competition proves your teams point and it builds the understanding of why teamwork is important.
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.
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.