Should Cheerleading Be Considered A Sport?

Cheerleading officially became a sport in July of 2021, but why was it not considered a sport long before that? Like with any other sport, there is a lot of dedication and practice. It is also important to be mentally focused to prevent injuries. Cheer requires one to be flexible, strong, a team worker, a tumbler, and much more. I understand that people may not view cheerleading as a sport, because they see us on the sideline cheering at other sporting events. However, there is more than just sideline cheer. There is competition cheer and all-star cheer that requires a lot of commitment and travel. For these reasons, cheerleading should be considered a sport. Cheerleading should be considered a sport, because cheerleaders put in the same amount

anything that has a high risk of injury. I would say cheers are up there with those sports. It does require a high level of endurance, like most sports. It does require a high level of strength, like most sports”. We practice for hours after school and some cheerleaders practice every day of the week; some cheerleaders train and have practices all year long. We practice like any other team and not just as a club. Another reason cheer should be considered a sport is because it has all the requirements to be a sport. The article states, “A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another. Competitive cheer checks all these boxes”. We condition, exercise, stunt, tumble, and jump. We also compete against other teams and have many comps throughout the year. Overall, if cheer checks all the requirements of what a sport is, then it should definitely be considered a sport. There are so many dangers and ways to get hurt at cheers and competitions. In the article it says, “Cheer is no longer just standing on the sidelines, waving pom-poms and

The International Olympic Committee even announced that eSports may be welcomed to the Olympics as a “competitive sport.” Video games don’t require athletic ability and do not have a high risk of physical injury. If video games are being considered an Olympic sport then cheer should be considered a sport too! Some people might disagree that cheer is a sport. In my article it mentions, “High school and college cheerleading should not be considered a sport. Though cheering can involve exercise and athletic skill, it is primarily an activity.” This is false, because cheering is not just a sport you do for fun. It requires strength, coordination, teamwork, mental ability, endurance and you also have competitions in cheer. Another example is that people may think cheer is not a sport, because we don’t have regular competitions throughout the season. The text states, “For cheerleading to be considered a sport, squads would have to go to regular competitions throughout the season. All sports have matches nearly every week. Most cheerleaders do not compete against rival schools or teams.” This is inaccurate and besides recreational teams all other teams do