Cheerleading Is A Sport Essay

“Cheerleading isn’t even a sport,” “cheerleading is easy,” and “cheerleading is stupid” are a few remarks cheerleaders hear often. Cheerleading consists of hard work, dedication, pain, injuries and team work. So why doesn’t society view cheerleading as a sport? A sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Sounds like cheerleading to me. The problem is that cheerleaders are not getting the credit they deserve because cheerleading isn’t socially viewed as a sport. I have been a cheerleader for seven years and a cheerleading coach for four years. This activity is not easy or degrading to women like most people assume. I practiced four

It wasn’t until 1923 when women were allowed to cheer for the first time at the University of Minnesota. Cheerleading became a typical activity in high schools and towns by the 1960’s. Today, cheerleading isn’t just yelling chants and having school spirit; it is its own activity that can be performed at competitions. Cheerleading can not be an official sport because it doesn’t meet one of the requirements which states, “the primary purpose is competition verses other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other ‘athletic’ activities.” One type of cheerleading that meets all the requirements is all-star cheerleading because its primary purpose is

Nicolette Tiana has been a cheerleader for nine years and started off cheering with me on our town team. Now, at age fourteen, Nicolette commutes two hours to New Jersey, four days a week, to compete on the World Cup Shooting Stars. This team won the world championship last year in the large, level five, all girl division. I asked Nicolette how she feels when people say cheerleading isn’t a real sport. She responded by saying, “I think it’s ridiculous. People don’t understand the sacrifices I have to make to be on this team. I have to leave school early just to get to practice on time and I have to do all of my homework in the car to and from practice. When I get to practice, I have to do an hour of conditioning and then two hours of working on the routine. It’s not fair to us cheerleaders because we don’t get the credit we deserve.” I then asked a male, non-cheerleader how he felt about cheerleading as a sport. He said, “The only thing cheerleaders do is dance around and wave their pom-poms in the air.” People are just not aware of the sport itself which is the root of the