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Cheerleading is a Sport MAG
The New York Times states that cheerleading is the fastest growing girls’ sport, yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport. In addition, they fail to distinguish between sideline cheerleaders and competitive ones. Sideline cheerleaders’ main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. On the other hand, competitive cheerleading is a sport.
A sport, according to the Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors, is a “physical activity [competition] against/with an opponent, governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared, and primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants.” Because cheerleading follows these guidelines, it is a sport.
Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. Like gymnasts, cheerleaders must learn to tumble. They perform standing back flips, round flip flops, and full layout twists. Cheerleaders also perform lifts and tosses. This is where the “fliers” are thrown in the air, held by “bases” in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates.
Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play, so does competitive cheerleading. The whole routine has to be completed in less than three minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area.
Competitive cheerleaders’ goal is to be the best. Just like gymnasts, they are awarded points for difficulty, technique, creativity and sharpness. The more difficult a mount or a stunt, the sharper and more in-sync the motions, the better the score. Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation and synchronization, first place is out of reach.
According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, cheerleading is the number-one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because they do not wear protective gear. While many athletes are equipped with hip pads, knee pads, shin guards or helmets, smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates. The fliers must remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely. Also, because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools, neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety. Instead, the girls use whatever space is available. More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries.
So why do many Americans not think cheerleading is a sport? It cannot be because cheerleaders do not use balls or manipulate objects (if you do not count megaphones, pompoms and signs as objects). Wrestling, swimming, diving, track, cross-country, gymnastics, ice-skating and boxing are recognized sports that do not use balls. Some people argue that cheerleaders are just “flirts in skirts” with their only job to entertain the crowd, but cheerleaders today compete against other squads and work just as hard as other athletes.
Competitive cheerleading is a sport. It is a physical activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared and its primary purpose is to compare the skills of participants. Hopefully, cheerleading will become as well-known a sport as football and basketball, and even appear in the Olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports.
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This article has 497 comments.
I'll admit it, cheerleaders probably work hard. They probably do work all season for one routine. But I don't think it's right to say it's the most difficult sport or anything that a lot of others have commented. How difficult a sport is depends on how much effort you put in. Cross country might be tough for some, but for others it might be easy. Do I make sense? If something's 'easy' you might just not be putting enough effort in. So I will give in to you, cheerleading is a sport. Timing and precision are everything, but then so it is in every sport. I'm just saying you shouldn't have to get your point across by making false assumptions and slamming others.
(And not to make any assumptions of my own, but I know a LOT of cheerleaders who are "flirts in skirts". Any other modest person would be embarrassed to wave their butt around like that. Why can't you wear clothes that covers you? Adding another inch of coverage with flexibility could never hinder you.)
I really agree with you here. I'm a cheerleader myself (both sideline and competitive) and I get a ton of people always saying that it isn't a sport. I always seem to make them thing otherwise though... (:
P.S. The proper term isn't back flip, it's a back tuck. Also, I think you mean't a round off back hand spring instead of a round flip flop? Awesome Article!!(:
Ok i don’t think school cheer is a sport even if they compete. They just get a routine together with a bunch of backhand springs and will compete once maybe twice. In competitive cheer we work are butts of all year to do the hardest 2:30 second routine that might look easy but you don’t know how hard and breath taking it is to be on that mat and have a few hundred people plus judges waiting for you to fail. When you fail you have to get back up and keep going like it never happened. To be a competitive cheerleader you have to have strength, discipline, and passion. If that’s not a sport I don’t know was is...
I enjoyed reading this article, but I did want to clarify something. Because sideline cheerleading is not competitive, under the definition that you provided it cannot be considered a "sport". But please consider my story.
I am a senior at a small (just over 100 students) high school. The year before I was a freshman a small sideline cheerleading team was formed by a student who had formerly been a competitive cheerleader. Because our area does not have any opportunities for over 100 miles for competitions our team is a sideline team.
However, our year round bi-weekly four to six hour workouts/practices, physical activity logs, weekly gymnastics classes, dance workshops, dance clinics and bonding activities exceed the ones from the competitive team.
We do many different stunts, tumbling, pyramids and routines. We spend weekly hours on community service projects and spirit projects (two different things). We perform at community events that have nothing to do with school. We appear in at least four parades every year. We plan and run the pep rallys, make speeches, and advocate for school causes.
We work as a team to improve our skills and to support teammates through difficult life situations. We are not the "popular girls" or the "preppy girls" or the "slutty girls". Very few of us come from the same social groups. We champion diversity and encourage team members from all backgrounds to participate, as long as they are ready to put in the work and shine.
Our cheer team serves as the advocates, support structure, and foundation for our school, supporting the students no matter what they say about us. We are committed to making high school a memorable experience for everyone. Although under your definition we can't be considered a "sport", our team is still valuable to our school and community. I don't believe that the removal from the category of "sport" detracts from the value of sideline cheerleading. We may not be a "sport" but we do put in a great value, and deserve credit as what we are: community leaders.
I totally agree! I am a cheerleader so I what goes into it and how hard it is and I love it but the thing I hate is that most people don't think it is a sport! If those people would go to a practice and see the stunts we do and the tumbling that is put into a thing such as competion I think it would make them finally believe it's a sport! I also think that it's crazy the name that the cheeleaders have at my school and I just really want to change that and make people see that what we do is important and it matters to some people!
<3CHEER FOR LIFE<3
Your right, cheer isnt a sport. It is WAY to amazing yo be a sport.<3 <3 <3
CHEER IS A LIFE STYLE.
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