Is Cheerleading a Sport?

Cheerleading has come a long way since the saddle oxford shoes, pleated skirt- wearing days when the only criteria you had to meet to be a cheerleader was a flashy smile. Nowadays, there are many more requirements that must be met in order to make a competitive cheerleading team. Cheerleading routines can be broken down into four categories- stunting, tumbling, dancing, and cheering.
During stunting, one cheerleader, the flyer, is lifted by three other cheerleaders, the bases. The bases are lifting a lot of weight, which requires a lot of muscle strength. The bases are assigned the job of catching the flyer, even if they have to put themselves in danger. The flyers need to have balance and be flexible in order to perform skills in the air. Their skills range from scorpion double-downs, in which they are standing in one foot, holding their other foot behind their head and are then thrown into the air and spin twice before being caught; to a simple thigh-stand, in which the flyer stands on the thighs of the bases. Stunting requires skill, flexibility, strength, and courage, all of which are requirements for playing sports.
Tumbling is basically gymnastics skills. Gymnastics is considered a sport world-wide and is an event in the Olympics. Cheerleaders perform many of the same tumbling skills that gymnasts execute. On top of that, cheerleaders must throw multiple standing and running tumbling passes and also complete the rest of their routine without tiring. Tumbling and gymnastics have very few differences, yet some would not deem cheerleading a sport.
Many people consider dancing, whether it is hip-hop, jazz, or ballroom; to be a sport. During a cheerleading routine, cheerleaders are required to perform a synchronized dance, which is usually a combination of many different genres of dance. Cheerleaders are required to have flexibility in order to do certain dance moves. All cheerleading routines also include a cheer. During the cheer, cheerleaders must yell the cheer while performing different motions, and sometimes even tumbling and stunting. Cheerleaders must keep their muscles tight and hit every motion sharply in order for the cheer to look clean, and this requires muscle control and strength.
Most sports, including cheerleading have a set of rules and regulations. In high school cheerleading, The American association of cheerleading coaches and administrators (AACCA) constructs the rules, from general guidelines, for specific legal and illegal stunts. The cheerleaders are penalized if they violate any of the rules, usually in the form of point deductions. Competition is the one shot that cheerleaders have to show how much effort they have put into their routine, and in the two minutes that they have, they work extremely hard, and try to have a flawless performance without violating a single rule.
As in any sport, injuries occur during cheerleading. Cheerleading was recently given the title of the most dangerous female sport by People magazine. Over 16,000 cheerleaders are severely injured each year. Recent studies show that cheerleading is responsible for fifty percent of girls’ head and spine injuries.
High school and all-star cheerleading competitions are on ESPN, the entertainment and sports programming network. So, if ESPN considers it a sport, why do so many people insist that it is not? The definition of sport, according to dictionary.com, is an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition. Cheerleading does require physical exertion and is all about competition. Cheerleading should be considered a sport because, if abiding by the definition of a sport, it is.


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