Cheerleading Is A Sport Essay

Varsity spirit, a worldwide leader in all things spirit, once said, “It’s not about being the best. It is about being better than you were yesterday.” The world of cheerleading is a sport in which both boys and girls come together to perform a routine on a stage competing against another cheer team. There are many people who do not believe cheerleading is a sport, thinking that it is something others do for the fun of it. Sport by definition is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or teamm competes against another or others for entertainment. If people would look at the facts at hand those who do not believe cheerleading is a sport will soon believe that it is one of the more difficult sports known. To say

Crowd cheers are the first known organized cheers that began what we know as cheerleading all started at Ivy League college sporting events in the 1860s The first “cheer” in the US was shouted from the crowd at Princeton University in the year 1884. The first cheerleader, Johnny Campbell, came from the University of Minnesota when he got up from the seats and took the field in order to lead peers in a chant. Later in the years more and more students joined Johnny on the field, and as soon as the opposing fans saw the effectiveness of Johnny and his friends firing up the crowd, they wanted it. Those who started the chants were soon called “Yell Leaders,” they also started to different things that we still have today; including megaphones, arm motions, signs, poms, and even some basic jumps, tumbling, and lifts (also known as “stunts” today.) Females were permitted to be on the cheerleading teams, however, yell leaders were still predominantly male up until World War II. With the men going off to work the women filled the role on the sidelines, and once the war was over cheerleading remained overwhelmingly a female activity. In the next few years, the National Cheerleaders Association was built and began teaching basic things across the

Cheerleading in almost every aspect of it includes either throwing, spinning, catching, or flipping which involves some sort of physical exertion. Cheerleaders from all over the nation compete in competitions including national, where they go against each other to fight for the top spot in their division. This is the competition that most cheerleaders look forward to all year. The college team competes in mid-January, while High School Nationals are at the beginning of February. Additionally, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is funding the International Cheer Union about $25,000 a year to help put cheerleading in the running for inclusion in the 2024 or 2028