Is cheerleading a sport? | Teen Ink

Is cheerleading a sport?

December 9, 2011
By Alexis98 BRONZE, Indianapolis, Indiana
Alexis98 BRONZE, Indianapolis, Indiana
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The girl you claim that just dances around in a cheer uniform, has to tape her wrist when she gets home because they hurt so much, and you say what she’s doing isn’t a sport. Any cheerleader gets fired up when someone claims that it’s not a sport. Wouldn’t you get mad if someone said you where just a girl dancing around in a skirt when truly you spend weeks perfecting stunts and complex cheers. There isn’t any real definition of what a “sport” is, but there are some things that make a sport. First, it has to be contesting or competitive. Stunting and competitive cheer match that. Second, it needs to be a physical activity, when you don’t do something, you bet your coach is going to make you run so I don’t see how it wouldn’t be physical activity , adding to that we do as much conditioning as the football players do. Third, it needs to have governed rules just like any other sport. For example, in the middle school level, a full down from extension is illegal and in competitive cheer there are plenty more rules. Cheerleading meets all of the specifications of what make a sport. Why wouldn’t it? Even though to every cheerleader it’s clearly a sport, because of most common high schools a lot of people don’t think it is.


Why do cheerleaders get so mad when you claim cheer is a sport?

Cheerleading is the number one cause of sports related injuries. It’s the number one dangerous sport in the top ten, with scuba diving, Bull riding and high mountain climbing. Your probably thinking, how is cheerleading dangerous? Imagine falling from a triple pyramid almost the height of a second story window with no mats of padding there to catch you. Through the years cheerleading has gone from a few chants and cheers to complex stunts and long dances. It isn’t the same as it was before. It is now considered more of a group of gymnast, not cheerleaders. One girl, Lisa at the age of 19 became quadriplegic<paralyzed from the neck down> for the rest of her life. She began cheering at the age of nine and had to stop at 21. She had fallen off the top of the pyramid during a football game in high school. Although she is married, her life will never be the same. This could have happened to anyone in any sport. Cheerleading is just as dangerous as any other sport out there. It’s estimated that there are over 20,000 injuries reported a year from cheerleading. Cheerleading has also been named the most dangerous sports in the world for women in addition to being the number one dangerous sport. And on top of the risks, dangers and countless hours practicing, cheerleading isn’t the cheapest sport ever.

In conclusion, cheerleading is a sport. And I hope this article helped you agree with me.


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