Cheerleading Is A Sport

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Cheerleading consists of men and women doing cool flips and tricks to support a team or to compete. It is an activity that numerous children spend years trying to perfect. Many debate whether cheerleading should be considered a sport. Despite common opinion and the NCAA, the athleticism and competiveness in cheerleading proves that it is a sport.
The NCAA, the National College Athletic Association, has certain standards an athletic activity must follow in order to be a collegiate sport. Their definition of a sport is “an institutional activity involving physical exertion with the purpose of competition versus other teams or individuals within a collegiate competition structure” (Johnson and Sailor 257). According to this definition, cheerleading …show more content…
Despite what others might think, cheerleading has a better chance of causing serious injuries than other sports. Bernstein wrote, “According to a 2012 report and policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics, cheerleading ‘accounted for 65 percent of all direct catastrophic injuries to girl athletes at the high school level and 70.8 percent at the college level’ between 1982 and 2009.” With this information, sports like soccer and lacrosse are not as dangerous as cheerleading but yet are still considered sports. Some of these devastating injuries include “closed-head injuries, skull fractures and cervical spine injuries” (Bernstein). These injuries can happen in any sport but are more likely to happen in cheer. A flyer is raised in the air about six feet by three people, the bases and backspot, or sometimes one person. Also, the flyer is thrown in the air about ten feet in the air with the hopes of being caught. If not, fall from ten feet can cause catastrophic injuries. I have witnessed a flyer fall from just six feet in the air, which hurt her back and gave her a concussion. In order to prevent these types of injuries, cheerleaders must work extra hard to polish their techniques. Therefore, if injuries label something a sport, then cheerleading definitely …show more content…
Cheer squads compete against other teams with a routine consisting of stunting, tumbling, and dancing (Grindstaff and West 505). Even though Johnson and Sailor think athleticism is not enough to qualify something as a sport (259), I believe that it is. Cheerleaders must have the endurance to push through a two minute and thirty second routine. In order to build endurance, most cheerleaders spend hours in the gym outside of practice, which typically is about two or three hours a day. The conditioning in these practices are similar to basketball and football. It involves running miles, working out, and improving strength. If a cheerleader becomes tired a routine, they risk the safety of others on the team. The flyer is trusting that the bases and backspot under her are stronger enough to hold her up. As a former backspot, I understand what kind of athleticism is required to get and keep a flyer in the air. Grindstaff and West think it is more demanding because you are risking other people’s life (506). Unlike other sports, you cannot substitute someone in for someone who is tired. If a cheerleader is tired, the rest of the routine will suffer, ruining a cheer teams chance of winning. I have been a cheerleader and soccer player, and I know the pain and struggle of conditioning. The conditioning in cheer was as bad or maybe even worse than soccer. Therefore, because of the
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