Why Cheerleading Should Be Considered a Sport

Cheerleading is in fact a sport, and claimed to be the hardest womens sport out there as they face many challenges. It pushes you to the limits and trains you everyday. Many people out there say that cheerleading is not a sport, well the definition of a sport is physical activity, plus competing; You do that will cheer. So, is cheerleading a sport? Yes, because every team/squad has to do physical work to do their routines. It is very tough training compared to other sports. In addition, you have to have a certain amount of abilities to tumble on squads nowadays. 

To start things off, I want to inform you of how cheerleading is a real sport and how it is one of the most difficult ones out there. Cheerleading is very competitive, you have to get the timing right, hit your jumps and throws at the right time, and not fall! When teams compete they come up with a strategic dance/ stunting performance to impress the judges and audience, and get the highest score. These competition performances take a lot of practice and time to get right and being able to pull them off perfectly when competing. When people say that cheerleading is not a sport and doesn't have athleticism involved in it, yes, it gets cheerleaders mad as they are constantly doing physical activity such as tumbling, stunting, dancing, acrobatics, etc. You have to look at it from a cheerleaders perspective, when doing flips in the air you have to hit correctly and land correctly for someone to not get hurt. And lifting a girl that is heavier than everyday objects that we pick up, who may even be twice your weight, has to be held correctly and thrown in the air without any mistake, or she could be dropped and hurt. So think about it that way, imagine if you were them doing those stunt, you wouldn't be able to without lots of practice. 

Furthermore, Cheerleading is one of the hardest sports out there. You have to train and give up a bunch or your time. Here are some reasons why: For mostly all cheer squads, you need to have tumbling experience and need to be able to do back handsprings and more simple tumbling. It is the sport with most of the reported injuries than the other sports, it was in the “Journal of Pediatrics,” that for females it is the most dangerous sport because of high risk for concussions, paralyzation, broken bones, and other injuries. These injuries normally happen when stunting and can hurt the bases and flyers involved. Many girls quit after they get hurt because they realize it's very dangerous. Also the time commitment in this sport is intense. If you are on an all star or competitive team, or even some high school teams, you can say bye to your social life. 

Most teams practice all week, then have games and competitions on weekends, taking up most of your time. Next, the stunts take a lot of skill to be able to do without any injuries. It takes time, skill, and teamwork to make stunts work properly, the group even makes it look easy but it actually takes a lot of strength and endurance to be able to do them, that is why coaches want men to do the sport so they can lift girls easier. The flyer has to be able to stay tight and balanced for the stunts so that they don't fall. And the men must be able to have the upper body strength to be able to lift and throw these girls individually. If you aren't tight or a knee gets bent in these stunts, the flyer will be on the ground in seconds. A cheerleader from Cu Boulder said, ​'I initially joined cheer as a joke. I had wrestled all my life and I can honestly say that cheerleading is by far the hardest sport that I have ever done. It is incredible how much upper body strength some of the stunts really do need. I now have cheered for over 7 years and I will never go back to anything else.​' ​So that proves how people originally can think cheer is not a sport then have that opinion changed when joining or actually watching it. 

In addition, the physics in cheerleading is a must. You have to make sure you have good weight distribution between every stunt group, such as pyramids. The stronger and normally heavier group members are on the bottom so that there is great support for the top which is normally lighter smaller members. Some of the stunts that are more advanced would involve the bases tossing the flyer in the air and them doing flips and twists while up there, then coming down smoothly in the bases arms in a cradle position with knees bent to absorb most of the impact. You always have to make sure the weight is even, and that everyone is stable for the stunts to workout without injury. 

The history of cheerleading is actually quite interesting! It started in Britain in the 1860’s then eventually came to the US in where it is actually more common. Even though women dominate in this sport, it actually was originated by men and then women finally came into the picture around the 1920’s because their wasnt many unisex sports back then but didn't get to compete until the 1970’s, one of the rules was, ​'​No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...'​. The female cheerleaders brought gymnastics, dance, and other stunts into routines and eventually by the 1930’s got paper pom poms to do their routines with. Then in 1948 Lawerence Herkimer (the grandfather of cheerleading) founded the NCA to do cheerleading workshops, it started with only about 50 members but in years to come grew to 350 members. 

In conclusion, cheerleading is indeed a sport and one of the hardest there is because every team/squad has to do physical work to do their routines. It is very tough training compared to other sports. In addition, you have to have a certain amount of abilities to tumble on squads nowadays. It is important because it's not only a sport itself but it also helps other sports members to their best. Also it is very fun and helps girls/boys with teamwork on all aspects.