Is Cheerleading A Sport

“If Cheerleading was easy they’d call it Football!” When I was younger, I LIVED off of this phrase. I posted it, I wrote it in my books, and I spoke it to everyone on the playground, that never got me far though. I was and currently am a Cheerleader and I stood very firm on the subject at hand, “Is Cheerleading a Sport?” Yes yes yes, is probably what I would’ve said about 3 months ago but after heavy research I would like to change my answer. But why as a young cheerleader did I want people to see cheerleading as a sport? The hours, the sweat, the bruises, and the near blindness of eye glitter on competition day and the fact that we cheerleaders put just as much work into our activity as the sports around us. We also get faced with the fact

Sizeable crowds stand in the student section watching and joining in with the Sideline Cheer Squad. When people are asked what cheerleading is most only see the examples of Cheerleading during Friday Night Lights. The form of Cheerleading featured in this scene is an outdated version. Cheerleading has updated in many ways. These updates have been essential for expansion in the sport and overall safety. Not even School competitive cheer can provide this new level of Cheerleading. The coaches are professionally trained in how to conduct these tasks in a safe environment and how to teach the cheerleaders how to maintain control during the whole time of action. Our updated form of cheerleading is a way of life to many people, it involves many hours of learning and perfecting. This is why society thinks we all just overreacting towards our sport because they never see the other

Like I described before, sideline is still the face of cheerleading and does not accurately display the “wow” factor of the more current version. The difference is just the raise in the overall risk factor and the amount of time dedicated into the tricks and flips.Think of it as Middle School Track Sprinters vs. High School Track Sprinters. Many popular cheerleading teams have ripped athletes involved in their program and this shows to prove how equal cheerleading is to any other athletic sports. “Cheerleading isn't just jumping around and waving pompoms” (The Associated Press) as noted in this article, there are many new tricks and flips that add to the difficulty of pursuing a career in cheerleading. Just like anysport, it takes hard work and dedication to perform these tricks and flips and to be able to be placed in higher college levels and inquire scholarships. I was watching the today show lately as the end of our summer comes too, I noticed a section on throwback cheerleading. The hostesses of the program talked about their old high school cheer experiences. They also reflected on the ways cheerleading has changed or “updated” as they told in the past twenty-thirty years. “Cheerleading is not easy at all anymore, they changed the safety, the tricks, and made an even bigger push for higher, more difficult tumbling these days” (TODAY SHOW) This is what more people need to hear about in public