Is cheerleading a sport?

[MaryvilleRebels]

If you look back to my very fist post in this thread I clearly state that cheerleading as a competition is a sport. I went on to say that cheerleading on the sidelines is not, and it should not be considered a practice either. Now personally I think cheerleading in high school needs to be stopped, and I mean the cheerleading for other teams. During games the cheerleaders are really just another obstacale to block the view of the game. They don't pump up the crowd anymore than normal, and they make more noise than they're worth. I think they should stick to competitng and forget traditional cheerleading. Also, lifting weights usually makes you slower, plyometrics and sprinting makes you faster and makes you jump higher. Also, I know that, from playing basketball, the cheerleaders don't do squat compared to what the basketball team goes through. I bet I could take any cheerleader in the state at the high school level and put her in the plyometrics program for basketball at Maryville and she wouldn't be able to finish the entire thing. If she did, she definetely wouldn't come to basketball practice the next day! We used to have cheerleaders laugh at us because we couldn't walk right after plyometrics, our legs would be like jello. To the point where they would buckle when we walked. This was during our water break, we'd still have another hour and a half worth of sprinting. No cheerleader at Maryville, or even in Tn, can do that, I am willing to bank on that!

[CheerNbHappy]

Well you are entitled to your opinion on the "in game cheering" thing, but at least you are conceding that it is a sports at some level. thank you.

[MaryvilleRebels]

Well I think the mixture of athletisism and competition forces it to be a sport. However; I still think cheerleading competitions should be the only type of cheerleading.

[lchscheerleader04]

For all of you people on this forum saying that cheerleading is not a sport, all I have to say is that you have no idea. This is one of the most difficult and demanding sports there is. You have to be just as strong in cheerleading as you do in any other sport. Although we don't put on pads and helmets and hit each other it does take strength to tumble, stunt, and do the conditioning that we have to do to be a part of a cheerleading squad. Basketball players, football players, and baseball players throw balls.... cheerleaders throw people. This past summer, my squad was ready and dressed at my high school gym at 7 am every morning ready to run, lift weights, do aerobics, and ab workouts to be ready for our three day camp at UT where we walked a mile and a half, six times a day for three days. Then on the final day all that conditioning payed off, because we brought home the title of camp champs. Most people look at us on the sidelines and say oh they're just pretty girls in little skirts and they're doing nothing but jumping up and down and screaming for their team, all I have to say about that is be behind the scenes when we're practicing. We may just be jumping up and down but have you ever tried doing some of the jumps and tumbling passes we do? If not then don't say it's not hard or that it's not a sport until you've tried it. Look at hospital records and inury stats, the number one sport with the most injuries was CHEERLEADING. To wrap this all up, if you've never cheered before don't stereotype the sport and say that it's not hard... BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW.

[JustWrestle]

I think the cheerleaders are athletic, no doubt, but it seems a lot of people don't consider it a sport during the school year when there is no competition going on. Some folks just look at the times during basketball/football as practice for your competitions. If there is no competition, is it a sport? Is a person participating in a "sport" if he/she does not compete? Just wondering. Not trying to put you down, just trying to explain some of the reasonings behind people's idea of cheerleading.

 

Also, is it considered a sport by TSSAA? NCAA? Why?

Edited September 2, 2003 by JustWrestle

[MaryvilleRebels]

Cheerleading is not a hard sport. I am sorry, but its not, with the proper training anyone can do what they do. Can a cheerleader come play baseball for the summer and work on their game and then by baseball season be good enough to compete? NO!! There were 3 cheerleaders that came out for our team this year, none of them had been a cheerleader for atleast 4 years. One had never done it before, but now they do they same things as the others. You're throwing people, yea, but you're doing it as a group. You can get a girl discus thrower and a cheerleader to compete in a discus throw and a girl toss and the discus thrower would win. Also you said you WALKED a mile and a half...whoopty do! Most girls walk that far when they go shopping. Try RUNNING 4 miles, or try sprinting 12 400's in under 60 seconds see how that goes (oh and by the way, the fastest guy in the state runs the 400 in about 49 seconds or so)! Cheerleading has a lot of injuries, but injuries don't make it a sport. Dentists have the highest rate of suicide, they don't consider their profession a sport because it has a high risk of injury or death. Sure its difficult, but not anymore difficult than any other sport. Don't go preaching that your sport is almighty cause its not!

[Baseballerfb13]

maryvillerebels, you are a man among boys(and girls) on this thread. i completely agree with all you have said and i would just like to thank ichscheerleader for reigniting this subject. im still standing firm in what i said earlier, which maryville reiterated. id ont have really anything else to say...i think you covered it all

[MaryvilleRebels]

Haha, well thank you baseballer, If I did miss something it was because I was up kinda late writing that and doing homework, so I wasn't on the top of my game! I am going to be a lawyer when I graduate college, and then law school, and I am very opionated and I love to argue. So I am sorry if I offend anyone, and if I have offended anyone please speak up, but I can't guarantee I won't argue with you when you do, haha

[CheerNbHappy]

maryvillerebels, you are a man among boys(and girls) on this thread. i completely agree with all you have said and i would just like to thank ichscheerleader for reigniting this subject. im still standing firm in what i said earlier, which maryville reiterated. id ont have really anything else to say...i think you covered it all

i dare you to try it for a while and see if you still think that way

[MaryvilleRebels]

Who is to say I haven't tried it? I have played numerous sports and I have hurt myself in more ways than you can imagine. I've had my nose broken 3 times, in 3 different sports. I have gone over this and I think you need to re-read what I have said, I respect your athletisim, but don't put your "sport" above others when you can't even compete in those sports.

[cheerem1]

Well I disagree with MaryvilleRebels......you CAN teach someone to throw a baseball, swing a bat, shoot a baskeball, or dribble a basketball..... but you can NOT teach just anyone to tumble. I'm sure that some people you taught wouldn't be the best hitter, dribbler, of shooter... but they could learn how to do it in a day. It takes months to years to take someone and teach them how to tumble.... I'm not meaning a cartwheel (the easy stuff) I mean a backhandspring or a backtuck! I am sure you could probably not even do a cartwheel!! In tumbling you will have some that are better than others just like any other sport but it is a harder technique to learn than others. All I am saying is DON'T run your mouth until you step out onto a mat or a hardwood floor and throw a round off backhandspring back tuck, layout, o full, or a standing backhandspring, or tuck. You can think whatever you want but cheerleaders are athletes and YES we are sanctioned in TSSAA!!!!

GO CATS!!!!!

[mchsballer]

You CANNOT teach someone to throw a baseball, swing a bat or dribble a basketball in one day. Yeah, you could say- ok heres how you do it, but there are fundamentals to these things. No, you cant teach just anyone to tumble- but not just anyone can do these things either. The game of basketball is not just about dribbling, neither is softball or baseball only about swinging a bat or throwing a ball, but what other than tumbling in cheerleading does it take any shred of talent to do???? Anyone can yell- sheesh I can do that. I did cheer in middle school- Hated it, but it was the only thing to do until softball or basketball season. So dont run your mouth until you step on the hardwood, or the feild- and put in a 3 hour practice and run 3 miles a day- then maybe, just maybe you can talk. So the tssaa sanctioned it- and your point is??? Well if I got my head chewed off and whined too by a bunch of girls all day- Id do anything to get them off my backs too. So go ahead and call your little event a "sport" If youll go to several college web sites, youll see they have Womens sports, mens sports and spirit groups listed, which does cheerleading fall under???