Is Cheerleading a Sport

I was a cheerleader in high school for 3 years. A common question discussed was, “Is cheerleading really a sport?” Usually, it was the guys who disagreed with cheerleading being a sport. Well, I was thinking about doing this topic for my paper. I looked up a couple of articles on this topic. I have always felt it was a sport. Cheerleaders for the most part are athletic. There are squads who do not do athletic things, as stunts and tumbling. Many of them do though. The question is what does the word “sport” mean? In a dictionary it is defined as “a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively." Cheerleaders compete against other teams in competitions. These are the athletic ones who stunt and tumble (gymnastics). The competitions are governed by rules which explicitly define a time, space and purpose of the contest and conditions under which a winner is declared. It is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants. It is a competition against another opponent. Well, cheerleading is a group of girls tumbling and stunting (lifting and throwing). They are teams. College and high school cheerleaders compete between several teams for national championships. They get and risk bad injuries. I tore the ligaments in my ankle from stunting. I came down from a stunt and landed on my ankle full force. They get recruited for college scholarships. At times, they put in more practice than foot ball teams. I bet most people wouldn’t be able to do what cheerleaders do. It is not just yelling and dancing, it is hard work.

April Buckley