What do you think of when someone asks you, what is a cheerleader? The way many people across the globe view cheerleading is merely a stereotype. This stereotype consists of the idea that all cheerleaders are pretty, overly enthusiastic girls that lack intelligence and athletic abilities. Many people have decided on these grounds that cheerleading cannot be considered a sport, but what exactly constitutes a sport? Generally, any activity that requires physical demand, risk, skill, and commitment to succeed is a sport. The technical definition of a sport, defined by the Oxford Dictionary is, “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment” (“Sport”). Cheerleading requires these key characteristics that determine a sport.
Is cheerleading a sport? Yes, cheerleading is a sport. Many people may argue that cheerleading doesn 't take any real skill, although it actually requires a lot . Cheerleading is very dangerous, takes high amounts of dedication, also fits all the aspects of being a sport, including competition.
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.
Cheerleading should be a sport because of the requirements, definitions, and the dangers. You could go from point flyer to having to communicate by blinking an eye.
The vast majority think about cheerleading as a feeble action that requires young ladies sprucing up in charming garbs and waving around tufts. On the other hand, cheerleading is an exceptional game that requires practice, devotion, and learning of abilities. Much the same as some other game, material science is included in cheerleading 100%. Material science is found in each and every movement and trick. Cheerleading depends on tricks, tumbling, and bounced and since material science is so included in this game it makes this game really exist.
Cheerleaders throw people 5-20 feet in the air and have to catch them in the same place. On December 3, 2013, cheer was considered one of the most dangerous sport and people still don’t think cheer as a hard sport. People who say cheer isn’t a sport have never experienced it and how hard it is. Cheer takes up more or the same amount of hours as any other athletes put in. In cheer you have to perfect a plan and work on it every practice to only perform for 3 ½ minutes. People think that cheer is on the sidelines, but they don’t know about the part about NCA, WORLDS, and SUMMIT. Cheer is as much a sport like any other sport.
On March 11, 2017 the world’s best all-star cheerleading teams will be at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in DisneyWorld for the most prestigious cheer competition of the year. The teams there have qualified by getting bids from regional and national competitions, similar to how gymnasts qualify for large meets by competing well in smaller meets. Throughout the competition hundreds of teams will perform their routine filled with the most elite tumbling and stunting sequences ever performed. The tosses and baskets will be so high that if they were performed in a smaller building the flyers, or girls in the air, would hit the ceiling. The tumbling will be so fast and so powerful that if someone was to radar gun the pass, they would be going over
I have been cheering for five years now. I can not remember the times when I was not a cheerleader, it is hard to imagine myself doing anything other than cheer or simply not cheering at all. I fell in love with the sport and within time, my passion towards it grew even more. Cheerleading consumed my life, it was my only focus. I was fortunate enough to grow up with coaches that pushed me to reach limits I did not even know I had, as well as teammates whom I shared the same passion towards the sport with.
The word sport is defined as "An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. Cheerleading isnt a sport but people are working really hard for other people to accept it as a sport. Cheerleading is an activity where you make a routine and perform it for points, and even win awards at competitions. When you perform you are against many teams in your division. Cheerleaders take a lot of time to train and prepare for the competition, also cheerleading is more physically demanding than other sports, lastly cheerleading meets all the requirements to be a sport. Overall cheerleading should be considered a sport.
What is Cheerleading? Many may think it’s a sport that you dress up, apply makeup, slick your hair with a bow, and simply put on a smile, and yell as loud as you can to keep the crowd pumped. Cheerleading includes all those easy and pretty factors, but it is also a sport that you stunt, tumble, and jump. Jumps and tumbling may seem really easy to many people, but there’s more work done than most might think is possible. Stunting is also a major element in cheer, and that’s what really pleases the crowd, but stunting takes tons of work. What is really the secret to perfecting all these major components in cheerleading? The straightforward answer is PHYSICS! Nothing could be done in cheerleading without the use of physics. This year I was honored to be the captain of the cheerleading team in Zapata High School. We started since June in the summer to try to perfect the simple stunts needed to know before we got to the more challenging and difficult ones. This was not easy for us, we failed and failed until the 100th time, we would finally stick the stunt. I would blame this entirely on the fact that not all the cheerleaders have taken physics in high school with Mrs. Pangi. If all of the team would’ve known at least the basics of physics, we wouldn’t struggle as much in the stunting area of cheerleading. Same thing went to play as we tried to jump and tumble, it was all so hard for us. For today’s presentation and research, we all needed to know the concepts of physics dealing
I have been cheerleading for the past 7 years, and truly love it. Ever since a young girl, I have admired the Perrysburg High School cheerleaders. Cheerleading helps me express myself, and define who I am as a person. Cheerleading has been my passion since a young girl, and I have a true love for it. Cheerleading has helped me grow as a person, and has helped me become more confident in myself. I could never imagine my life without the sport of cheerleading. Cheer has taught me not only determination, but how to balance everything, from school to managing high grades.
Basketball players are known for their height. Football players for their strength. Lacrosse players for their speed and agility. Baseball and softball players for their coordination. Cheerleaders,they aren’t known for doing much. They are known for being on the sidelines and showing off their bodies. That’s it.
“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.
In every sports game, people root for the teams they like; their ways of rooting can range from yelling to professional one called cheerleading. Cheerleading has a long history just as other sports. Cheerleading does not exist to simply motivate the team, but also makes audience and the game itself interesting. That is the reason why it should be considered as one of the sports. Although many do not see cheerleading as a sport, it is definitely considered as sport, as it requires intense physical activity, entertains people, and unites players.
Cheerleading could easily become a recognized sport. There will need to be clear definitions, standard rules, safety regulations, competition rules, and judging regulations. When cheerleading becomes a sport then the athletes that compete would achieve higher recognition that they do now and become entitled to full college scholarships. The benefits to making cheerleading a standard sport outweigh the costs. Competitive cheerleaders are required to acquire many skills before they can get chosen for a squad and compete. It is a team sport because all of the cheerleaders must perform in unison and work together to achieve complicated stunt sequences. With just some easy changes cheerleading will become a sport.