Competitive cheerleading has never been called a sport. There has been an ongoing debate as to if cheerleading fits the definition of a sport which is “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature” (Dictionary.com n.d.). By that definition you could interpret it to mean cheerleading is a sport, but there is much more to being a sport than meeting a definition. Competitive cheerleading does require specialized training, extensive practices, and a dedicated team; but to become a sport there are several problems that must be addressed. There is not a consistent set of competitions, no standard set of rules, and no regulations for judging. There has also been many court debates on this subject with cheerleading always on the losing end. In order for cheerleading to become a sport these problems must be addressed. Competitive cheerleading teams can pick which competitions they attend. There are many different competitions each weekend and knowledgeable coaches can find out what teams are competing and choose if they want to compete against them or not. Unlike football where teams set a consistent schedule and play teams consistently from year to year cheerleading teams can attend any competition they desire. Additionally, if a competition is lacking teams they will …show more content…
While sideline cheerleading is most definitely not a sport, competitive cheerleading could become a true sport with some modifications. Consistent competitions, uniform rules, and professional judges would all need to be in place in order to make this become a reality. Competitive cheerleading is a very lucrative business. Most cheer competitions would be out of business if these regulations were in place. Therefore, competitive cheerleading will never become a sport until the people in charge decide that fair and consistent is how they would like cheerleading to