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.

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 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 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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

In cheer there is training, its a very important part of cheer, it helps build the shape you need to perform the skills you need for cheer and gets you in shape. During training, you put together a 2:30 min routine that has stunts, tumbling, and Jumps. On popular teams such as the great white sharks, girls who make the team practice every day for about 6 hours. That's 42 hours a week. Cheerleaders work just as hard as any other athlete. I tumbling you put together a variety of insane tumbling skills. In stunting, you Throw flyers as high as 30 feet in the air while they twist and turn, and catch them. Not to mention how dangerous it is, if you don't catch your flyer she can get seriously injured and be in critical condition. University of Kentucky cheerleader Maurice Grant, who also played football and ran track in high school, said "I think cheerleading is definitely a sport. You work just as hard as anyone else." Therefore there is no question that cheer meets the physical expectations of being a sport and should be

Workouts every day, sweating and chanting during games, and never getting the recognition that cheerleading is a sport is highly frustrating. Just as any other sport, girls and guys alike work hard every day to showcase their talents and to know that the sport isn’t considered an actual “sport” is highly controversial.