Is cheerleading a sport?

[mchsballer]

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.

Ok, now look at other records. Most accidents (ie. Injuries) happen in the home, mainly the bathroom. I guess goin to take a bath is a sport! Well, I guess every hygenically maintained person is an athlete too....look at all those injuries- even death! Wow, now thats a sport. Sorry, but a sport is not based on how much you get hurt- if it were, then wed all wanna be clumsy.

[cheerem1]

Well i can run my mouth because i have played baseketball and softball and i know what skills they both require and cheerleading requires skills too. They are totally different skills but they are not easy and enough with saying all we do is yell we do a whole lot more then that. By the way middle school cheerleading is nothing compared to high school cheerleadin where im from and it is not even close to a competition squad. I am just as athletic as u think u are i just cheerleader instead of being a softball or basketball player, but have experienced both and think cheerleading takes just as much work!!! So don't judge me b/c I'm a cheerleader b/c i am that but im also a bball player, softball player, and golfer and i know what each sport takes to be good at it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JustWrestle]

2003-04 TSSAA Handbook

Page 1 July 1, 2003

CHEERLEADING

1. National Federation of State High School Associations? Guidelines for cheerleaders shall be

used for all cheerleading squads, pep squads, pom pom squads or any other similar school

sponsored performance groups.

2. All members of these squads, including mascots, must be enrolled in school and under the

supervision of the school principal. All participants for high school teams must be enrolled in

grades 8-12. All participants for junior high teams must be enrolled in grades 7-9.

3. These regulations shall apply to all regular season, play-off or tournament games. (These

regulations do not apply to competitive cheerleader competition outside of TSSAA.)

 

Okay, this was copied & pasted directly from the TSSAA handbook. As you can see, Cheerleading is mentioned as a "school sponsored performance group". Also, as I understand it, and I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong, but unlike an athlete who has to sit out a year if he/she transfers schools, I don't think a cheerleader has that same stipulation put upon her/him. Does anyone know the regulations on this, or if there are any? So, what I am saying is, I don't THINK it is recognized by the TSSAA as a SPORT. Sure, ya'll are athletes, but cheerleading is not recognized as a sport.

[CheerNbHappy]

you have admitted already that we are athletes. and it can be agreed that at the state and national level we compete in competitions. that makes us competative athletes. competetive athletes compete in sporting events. IF, as you contend, cheerleading is not a sport, then the following are also not sports: hunting/fishing , any sort of car race (NASCAR or the indy 500), track and field events (lets face it, anyone can run around in a circle or jump), horse racing (people don't do anything but sit on the back. the horse does all the work), archary and shooting (it's in the olympics) , figure skating, swimming, diving, bicycling (my 5 YO niece can ride a bike)

Edited September 4, 2003 by CheerNbHappy

[JustWrestle]

The ONLY time I would ever contend that cheerleading is a SPORT, is when there is actual competiton involved between cheering teams. Other than that, I think it is, as stated in the TSSAA Handbook, a performance group. Yes, when you guys go into competitions, you are participating in a SPORT, but during basketball/football season, nope, I sure don't think so. As far as those other "sports" you named, I think there is some form of competition involved.

[MaryvilleRebels]

Cheernbhappy, thats the most ridiculous thing I have EVER heard in my life! Go bike the Tour De France, then you can say bicycling is not a sport. Ohh by the way, incase you didn't know, the Tour De France is, I believe, 3 weeks long with only 2 days rest. I am a high jumper in track, and when you can high jump 5 foot 2 (which is good for a girl) then you can say track is not a sport. When you can run a 400 in under a minute, then you can say track is not a sport. When you can run a 4 minute mile, then you can say track is not a sport. I agree, racing cars and horses, figure skating, and a few of the others aren't sports. However; I think that Hunting and Fishing are sports in their own right, not sports as in athletic sports, but sports as in what a fun activity. Should they be classified as a sport? No, they should be a hobby or a competition. Cheerleading usually should be a competition or a performance, not a sport. Sure there are some sports in the Olympics that don't seem much like sports, but those "sports" were also means of survival in the original olympics. Running, hunting, throwing large objects, etc. All this was needed to survive, you can't run, you get eaten or shot. You can't hunt, you starve or die from lack of meat. You can't throw large stones or things like that then you can't defend yourself, because throwing stones was a form of self defense and attack. Ohh, and for the girl that said that you can teach someone to shoot in a day, WRONG!! Two really good friends of mine play Division 1 basketball, Drew Houser at the Northern Arizona University and Lee Humphrey at the University of Florida. Both of them are 18 years old and both of them are still learning how to correctly shoot the basketball. Sure you can't really learn to do a back handspring in a day, because you have to have the proper tools to do it, leg strength etc. But in basketball and baseball you don't really have to have the proper leg strength to throw or dribble, because those skills are automatic. However, you can't just teach someone to catch a ball in centerfield and throw it, in a line, to home plate with one or less bounces. They have to have the proper technique and proper arm strength. Also 90 percent of the people that can throw a baseball throw it wrong, they don't use their hips or their legs, they use their arm. Some people never learn to throw it right. So really those skills aren't as easy as they seem. I really doubt that you can throw a baseball properly, or high jump 5 foot 2, or shoot a basketball correctly. So everything you said is kinda ignorant. I don't disagree that you are athletic, I just don't think the should really classify it as a sport. I really don't think anything judged should be a sport. It should be your against your opponent, not you against someones opinion.

[CheerNbHappy]

Cheernbhappy, thats the most ridiculous thing I have EVER heard in my life!  Go bike the Tour De France, then you can say bicycling is not a sport.  Ohh by the way, incase you didn't know, the Tour De France is, I believe, 3 weeks long with only 2 days rest.  I am a high jumper in track, and when you can high jump 5 foot 2 (which is good for a girl) then you can say track is not a sport.  When you can run a 400 in under a minute, then you can say track is not a sport.  When you can run a 4 minute mile, then you can say track is not a sport.  I agree, racing cars and horses, figure skating, and a few of the others aren't sports.  However; I think that Hunting and Fishing are sports in their own right, not sports as in athletic sports, but sports as in what a fun activity.  Should they be classified as a sport?  No, they should be a hobby or a competition.  Cheerleading usually should be a competition or a performance, not a sport.  Sure there are some sports in the Olympics that don't seem much like sports, but those "sports" were also means of survival in the original olympics.  Running, hunting, throwing large objects, etc.  All this was needed to survive, you can't run, you get eaten or shot.  You can't hunt, you starve or die from lack of meat.  You can't throw large stones or things like that then you can't defend yourself, because throwing stones was a form of self defense and attack.  Ohh, and for the girl that said that you can teach someone to shoot in a day, WRONG!!  Two really good friends of mine play Division 1 basketball, Drew Houser at the Northern Arizona University and Lee Humphrey at the University of Florida.  Both of them are 18 years old and both of them are still learning how to correctly shoot the basketball.  Sure you can't really learn to do a back handspring in a day, because you have to have the proper tools to do it, leg strength etc.  But in basketball and baseball you don't really have to have the proper leg strength to throw or dribble, because those skills are automatic.  However, you can't just teach someone to catch a ball in centerfield and throw it, in a line, to home plate with one or less bounces.  They have to have the proper technique and proper arm strength.  Also 90 percent of the people that can throw a baseball throw it wrong, they don't use their hips or their legs, they use their arm.  Some people never learn to throw it right.  So really those skills aren't as easy as they seem.  I really doubt that you can throw a baseball properly, or high jump 5 foot 2, or shoot a basketball correctly.  So everything you said is kinda ignorant.  I don't disagree that you are athletic, I just don't think the should really classify it as a sport.  I really don't think anything judged should be a sport.  It should be your against your opponent, not you against someones opinion.

thanks for proving my point, i never said they weren't sports. I think they are. I only said IF YOU didn't consider cheering a sport then the others weren't. i agree it takes a lot to do the other things, and they can't be learned in a day, neither can cheerleading. it takes time to learn how to hold people up and keep balance while the are moving around then throw and catch them.

Edited September 11, 2003 by CheerNbHappy

[MaryvilleRebels]

So why is cheering so much better and harder than the other sports? The others take just as long to learn, they are just as competitive, and probably more painful. Not in the sense of broken limbs, but in the sense of muscle aches. I don't think cheering is a sport, its a competition and a performance. So is figure skating and ball room dancing, they both take time and commitment, but they aren't really sports. Gymnastics is close, but I consider anything judged to be a performance, not a sport. A sport should be a team or one person against an opponent. Whether the opponent be the clock or another team or person is up to the sport.

[CheerNbHappy]

So why is cheering so much better and harder than the other sports? The others take just as long to learn, they are just as competitive, and probably more painful. Not in the sense of broken limbs, but in the sense of muscle aches. I don't think cheering is a sport, its a competition and a performance. So is figure skating and ball room dancing, they both take time and commitment, but they aren't really sports. Gymnastics is close, but I consider anything judged to be a performance, not a sport. A sport should be a team or one person against an opponent. Whether the opponent be the clock or another team or person is up to the sport.

i never said they were better or harder. that is left to those who try them all to decide. i was simply saying that just as those people train hard to compete in their sports, cheerleader train hard to compete in theirs. And they deserve the same respect

[mchscheer33]

maryville, all i can say is that i am a cheerleader AND i run track also and i high jump and no offense to ANY track person I admire long distance runners for their endurance but i have to admit that for high jump, 100s,and 200s, (i work just as hard for them as i do cheering) i dont have to do as much as i have to do for my cheerleading squad. and yes, to reply to your question of can any cheerleader say they train during the summer i do train during the summer. for BOTH SPORTS. i completely agree with cheernbhappy. if you consider racing, hunting, fishing, etc a sport, why cant you consider cheering a sport? and to everyone thats saying we think our sport (whatever you call it although i call it a sport) is superior, we dont think that. we just believe we should get a little more recognition for the things we do than everyone gives us. i have pulled my acheeles (?) tendon cheerleading. i couldnt do ANYTHING for 6 weeks, so in my opinion, we should get a lot more recognition than the stereotypes everyone puts on us.

[MaryvilleRebels]

Apparently your track program didn't care a whole lot about what they do. Our track program was always doing tons, we ran 12 400's, all in under 60 seconds. 4 miles on Wednesdays. This was for the jumpers. I don't see any cheerleaders doing this. I never see a cheerleader at the track on the weekend, or running in the park. I never really see them exert any effort. I go to the gym during the summer several times a week, just to shoot basketball with my best friend. I have never seen the cheerleaders there, and the earliest I've gone is 7:00 in the morning, the latest was 9:00 at night, and I've gone at all different times in between. Unless the cheerleaders practice for 1 hour, they don't do anything. I don't consider racing, fishing, etc. a sport and I don't really consider cheerleading a sport. Everyone gets injured, People walk down the street and get hurt, so thats not a good excuse for being a sport.

[mchsballer]

Maryville- I agree completly. Im rather sick of hearing "i tore this....I pulled this....I sprained this- so that makes it a sport" Just because you break your ankle or tear a ligament or tendon or anything else does not make what your doing a sport. Like Ive said before, if that was the case, falling down the stairs would be an olympic event. Yes- cheerleaders do act like their "sport" is superior. We have a pep club here, and do the exact same things the cheerleaders do. Yep- weve got guys who can tumble and build just like you "Atheletes" but we dont try and pass pep club off as a sport.