Cheerleading is a Sport | Teen Ink

Cheerleading is a Sport MAG

By Anonymous

     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.


on Aug. 24 2011 at 3:27 pm
marissa87 BRONZE, Glenmoore, Pennsylvania
4 articles 3 photos 80 comments

Favorite Quote:
what is popular is not always right and what is right is not always popular

i must say i am not a cheerleader, but inm some cases i belive tht it is a sport and other wise i dont. when you go to competetions i believe it is a sport but school cheerleading and sports team cheerleading is not a sport. yes you guys do put out a lot of physical activity but i dont think tht it is a sport at all cause you guys are just yelling about goooo teeaammm and failing your legs in the air showing everyone how flexible you are. Sorry if this bothers anyone but that is just my opionion. sorry for all the misspellings and stuff didnt feel like correcting them.

kara (: said...
on Aug. 18 2011 at 3:48 pm
cheerleading is a sport! im an all- atar cheerleader and im tired of people telling me that my sport isnt even a sport. cheerleading IS the most dangerous sport ( my docter even says so) 

on Aug. 6 2011 at 4:13 pm
Yeah, competitive cheerleading  is definitely a sport. but i'd actually prefer that it not be recognized, because if it is then we can't do an all-star team and a school team. which many girls do.

Catiestar GOLD said...
on Aug. 6 2011 at 1:01 am
Catiestar GOLD, Clayton, New Jersey
17 articles 0 photos 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
You be the anchor that keeps my feet on the ground, I'll be the wings that keep your heart in the clouds <3

I know it's only your oppinion, and I'm not trying to be disrespectful, but I wouldn't say cheerleading is geared toward self-obsorbed girls. My best friend cheers competitively and she is the most shy girl I've ever met, and the least self-obsorbed person around. Careful with your generalizations. She'd really be hurt by something like that.

on Aug. 3 2011 at 10:22 pm
Wolf_Warriorz SILVER, Belgrade, Montana
5 articles 0 photos 15 comments
I'd have to say... Cheerleading is kind of a sport. All these cheerleaders are posting crap along the lines of 'I'd like to see you throw a girl up in the air and do a handspring" etc etc... And I'd like them to put together a full eight minute case with virtually no evidence while flowing and having no idea what the other team is about to throw at you. That's Policy debate-speak. My point here is, every sport will in some way be considered "Not Really a Sport" by some people, and that will never change. As if people consider debate a sport, even though the hours of research and other preparation outstrips football practice by double. For the average meet, not even Divisionals or State competition.  (Literally. We figured it out.) But while I think cheerleading is a bit unsportly simply because the girls most of the time fail to cover up their bum and or lady parts. That's far from professional. And that doesn't just happen in sideline cheerleading -.-  Sports are supposed to be professional, about excelling in a skill.... Not about looking like you'r working the street corner. I understand that physically, cheerleading is greuling and just as tough as other sports, most of the time, but it's just not professional. Sports shouldn't have to have participants half naked just to succeed.

rashima said...
on Aug. 3 2011 at 12:20 pm
Cheerleading is a kind of dance, sport and acrobatic art as well. 

on Aug. 3 2011 at 9:37 am
Alex_Durham GOLD, Vineland, New Jersey
14 articles 1 photo 234 comments

Favorite Quote:
Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

They probably knew the proper terms, but lots of people who read the aryicle wouldnt have known what that meant (and they would have had to unnesasarily explain what back tuck and others meant and that might have taken away from the flow of the article)

on Aug. 3 2011 at 9:32 am
And why can't you wear some protective gear, huh? Not wearing anything doesn't make you brave and admirable. Injuries don't make a sport. You said it yourself, it gets the most injuries. But does that mean anything other than that you're frequently injured?

on Aug. 3 2011 at 9:24 am

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.)


on Aug. 3 2011 at 12:27 am
ButterflyWings21 BRONZE, Sherwood, Oregon
3 articles 0 photos 8 comments

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!!(:


on Aug. 3 2011 at 12:21 am
ButterflyWings21 BRONZE, Sherwood, Oregon
3 articles 0 photos 8 comments
Cheerleading is a sport. Sideline Cheer might not be, but competitive cheer is.

JimmyPage13 said...
on Aug. 2 2011 at 8:48 pm
Cheerleading is not a sport, just like danceing, music, and painting are not sports. these are arts, not sports. they can still be competetive, but they do not have specific objectives.

BalletGirl98 said...
on Aug. 2 2011 at 5:44 pm
BalletGirl98, Idabel, Oklahoma
0 articles 0 photos 14 comments

Favorite Quote:
The heart of the dance is the heart of the dancer.
~ Ghazallah al-Badriyyah

I can relate. Many people in my town do not believe ballet-or dance in general- is not a sport. I can feel your frustration at trying to explain to people that it is not just pretty girls in skirts:)

Ally_H. GOLD said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 12:04 pm
Ally_H. GOLD, Bridgeport, West Virginia
18 articles 26 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don\'t matter and those who matter don\'t mind.

I agree with this article completely and I can relate to it as well. I used to dance competitively on a team, and even though year after year we would continue to place first in every competition we participated in, we would constantly be told not only by students but also by teachers that what we did was not a sport, even though we worked much harder than the basketball and football teams. People need to start realizing that the world of competitive sports is rapidly changing, and they should be open to accepting new and different sports that don't just involve a bunch of sweaty guys chasing a ball around for two hours. Great article, continue with your writing.

Ally_H. GOLD said...
on Jul. 13 2011 at 11:55 am
Ally_H. GOLD, Bridgeport, West Virginia
18 articles 26 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don\'t matter and those who matter don\'t mind.

Seriously? Did you not even read the article? I guess I'll have to fill you in. It said sideline cheer is not a sport. Multiple times. Though you were probably too busy trying to look up girls' skirts to take the time to read an article...

KylieG said...
on Jul. 12 2011 at 2:44 pm

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...


on Jul. 11 2011 at 10:19 pm
Katsmile2012 SILVER, Independence, California
6 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Stand up straight: People will think you know what you're doing, and soon you will too!"-A close Friend

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.


Titancheer<3 said...
on Jun. 28 2011 at 1:45 am
OK ok, so maybe sideline cheering isnt a sport. i totally agree. imma cheerleader and we work our butts off. but Im on a High school team where we have to do sideline but we also do competitions. we got 8th in our state. if we did better we wuda went on to Nationals. our sideline stuff is like an easy practice. but we do both. so School Cheer is also considered a sport

on Jun. 19 2011 at 12:52 pm
Cheerleader97 SILVER, Cherry Tree, Pennsylvania
6 articles 1 photo 4 comments

   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

 


on Jun. 13 2011 at 8:37 pm
Z_Wendland BRONZE, Olathe, Kansas
4 articles 0 photos 5 comments
I enjoyed reading your article, as I gymnast, I can relate to the frustration you feel. Its funny though, because you clearly state in your writing that you do not believe that school cheerleading is a sport. Yet I have seen about 5 comments saying "YAY SCHOOL CHEER... SCHOOL CHEER..." I find it amusing that some people read a title and then comment on the work without fully reading and/or understanding.