Alex Kropkowski
Mrs. Zurkowski
English 9 Greens
21 September 2012
Cheerleading:
A
Sport or an Activity?
How
would you feel if someone told you that your favorite sport shouldn’t be
considered a sport? A few years ago, the NCAA decided that cheerleading
was no longer going to be considered a sport.
They believe that cheerleading requires no athletic ability and only
involves standing on the sidelines leading cheers. They refuse to look at how it has evolved
through the years. According to Dictionary.com,
the word sport is defined as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical
prowess and often of a competitive nature”
(Sport). Cheerleading fits this definition. Cheerleading is a co-ed, competitive,
athletic activity that requires skill and physical expertise and should be
considered by the NCAA as a college sport.
There was a time when cheerleading did not require the athletic ability
that it does today. Cheerleading began
when a medical student at the University of Minnesota picked up a megaphone in
1898 and led his school’s football team to victory. "Historically, cheerleading has been
about supporting athletes, not about being an athlete,” states Barbara
Osborne. Over the years, cheerleading
has evolved into a sport with rigorous competitions and requirements. In the 1920's, women started adding flips and jumps to their routines
(Thomas). Today, competitive cheer teams
often acquire many of their motions from traditional sideline cheerleading (Pom-pom
shake-up). However, they have taken
these basic motions and applied them to complicated routines that require cheerleaders to bend
and twist their bodies while flipping in the air (Smith).
Like other
sports, cheerleading is a complicated activity that requires dedication, commitment,
and skill (Arndt). Cheerleaders practice
almost every night, and they are always running the routine over and over in
their heads; only a very dedicated person can handle the conditioning and
rigorous training that these athletes must endure. Unlike
other sports, cheerleading does not a have specific season in which it
occurs. Cheerleaders are committed
year-round. They have no offseason. They dedicate six to twenty hours every week
to practicing or conditioning. In
addition, cheerleading requires ample amounts of athletic ability. “While cheerleading evokes images of pompoms
and pleated skirts, it has relied on increasingly athletic feats of grace and
strength” (Thomas). A typical cheer
routine will include several different parts that all require specific athletic
talents. A cheerleader must be able to
dance, stunt, jump and tumble all during a two minute and thirty second time
period. C.J. Ryan said "There are very few sports where you need to be
strong in the plethora of ways that are needed to be a successful cheerleader.
We regularly lift people over our heads and throw and twist our bodies all over
the place in ways people couldn't imagine” (Smith).
Typically, a sport allows males and females to participate. This applies to cheerleading too. 50% of the cheerleading community is made up
of males (Torgovnick). The female
cheerleaders need the male cheerleaders’ strength to throw them high enough in
the air so that they can twist and flip (Smith). There are some guys, like C.J. Ryan who take
real pride in their sport, "If someone was trying to tell me that cheer
was a game for girls, I'd ask them what's more amazing - a bunch of guys
chasing each other around a field after a little ball, or a group of 36 people
(with 24 boys) putting on a visual spectacular with nothing but the human body,
imagination and a 2-minute, 30-second piece of music?” (Smith). Ryan’s comparison of a game with a ball to
cheerleading clearly proves that it is just as much of a sport as any other
game out there.
Many people say that cheerleading is not a sport because it requires no
athletic ability. These people believe
that cheerleading is simply jumping around with a set of pompoms. As Leanne Livingston said, "Anybody can
try out for the cheer squad" (Arndt).
This is not true. Cheerleading
requires a technical set of skill, guts, and fitness (Thomas). In order to perform the spectacular stunts
and tumbling needed to compete, these athletes must be in incredible physical
condition. One wrong move could cause
serious injury. Every time a cheerleader
steps on the mat, he/she is putting his/her life at risk. Just like soldiers talk about their battle
scars, cheerleaders talk about their injuries as symbol of resilience
(Torgovnick). Just as other athletes,
they compete for the love of the sport.
Because the NCAA does not consider cheerleading a sport, students
across the country are not entitled to the funding that is given to other college
sports. This includes funding not only
for the existence of a cheerleading team, but also for scholarships and funding
for travel to competitions. Currently,
the NCAA is considering two applications for cheerleading to become an emerging
sport. This could be the solution
cheerleaders have been waiting for. By
recognizing cheerleading as a sport at the college level, it would open the
doors for colleges to provide sports funding to cheerleading squads. This would allow for scholarships to be set
up and for teams to be able to attend national competitions (Commentarista).
It is clear that cheerleaders are incredible athletes. They are a combination of the strength of
football players and the agility of dancers and gymnasts. Male and female compete together as a team. As Leanne Livingston said, "The teamwork
involved is unlike any other sport. In cheer, every athlete is important at
every moment. Everyone has a role and nobody is the star. All of your team
members are depending on you” (Arndt).
Cheerleading is no longer just standing on the side leading cheers. Today, there is no doubt that cheerleading is
a sport that requires both skill and athletic ability. It is time for the NCAA to recognize
cheerleading as an official sport so that these athletes can compete with the
same support as other sports have.
Cheerleaders practice, train, compete, and sacrifice themselves for
their sport just like any other athlete does.
Why shouldn’t cheerleading be a sport?
Works Cited
Arndt,
Sandy. "Is There Value in the Sport of Cheerleading?." Edmonton
Journal. 10 Aug 2011: E.6. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Sep 2012.
"Commentarista."
Can Cheerleading Become a Sport? N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Sept. 2012.
"Pom-pom
shake-up: a judge rules that competitive cheerleading isn't a sport." Current
Events, a Weekly Reader publication
6 Sept. 2010: 7+. Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 13 Sep. 2012.
Smith,
Jennifer Ren?e. "Myth-Busters." American Cheerleader. Apr
2011: 43. SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 13 Sep 2012.
"Sport."
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.
Thomas,
Katie. "Born on Sideline, Cheering Clamors to Be Sport." New York
Times. 23 May 2011: n.p. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 05 Sep 2012.
Torgovnick,
Kate. "Pom-poms and Circumstance." Sports Illustrated 31 Mar.
2008: 18. Student Edition. Web.
13 Sep. 2012.
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