Michayla
Berthiaume
ENGL
102-023
Definition
Essay
11
September 2013
Should Cheerleading be Considered a Sport?
Many people think cheerleading
is nothing but girls throwing their
hands in the air making up rhymes to cheer on a team. What most do not
understand is how much cheerleading has evolved since the first organized team
in 1898 . Cheering
on the sidelines of a football or basketball game is an activity, however
competitive cheerleading, such as all stars and competition teams, should be considered a sport based on how challenging and physically
demanding it is to accomplish. A
sport is defined as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill that is
governed by a set of rules or customs and is often undertaken competitively”
(The free dictionary.com). Under these very broad terms cheerleading fits
perfectly.
The most common argument is
that a real sport involves playing a
game and having
physical contact
with their opponents.
Whether on a field or on a mat the best team always wins. In
football, unexpected things happen, but there are four quarters to score and
win. With cheerleading there is only 2 minutes and 30 seconds to do your
absolute best, with no mistakes. There are no second chances, which
makes
cheerleading more
of a challenge and creates more pressure than any type of game. An
article written by Bill Pennington in the
New York Times on
cheerleading injuries, states, “For decades, they stood by safe and smiling, a
fixture on America’s sporting sidelines. But today’s young cheerleaders, who
perform tricks once reserved for trapeze artists, may be in more peril than any
female athletes in the country” (“As
cheerleaders Soar”). This statement acknowledges
the level of difficulty it takes to perform such tasks, and gives insight on
why cheerleaders should be given the respect they deserve.
From 1982-2005 there have been
104 catastrophic injuries sustained by female high school and college athletes,
that range from head to spinal injuries that sometimes result in death. The
National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injuries research reported that more
than half of these injuries were from cheerleading, and all the other sports
combined did not surpass cheerleading’s numbers (Pennington, 2007). This
statistic proved
how physically demanding the sport actually is. Considering
how cheerleading in a no contact sport these are very high numbers. To be able
to throw catch and properly execute stunts, it takes a lot of focus, time and
power; none of which comes overnight. Blood sweat and tears are put into
cheerleading just as much as football players put into their game. Not everyone
is meant to be a cheerleader and there are some very demanding qualifications.
In Cheerleading, there is no
individual score sheet and winner, unlike wrestling;
a wrestler can win for himself but lose the meet. One cheerleader cannot win
or lose the champion title; it is solely dependent on the team to work together to be the very best in the allotted two
minutes and thirty seconds. Without one person it directly effects the entire
team. In cheerleading, every
teammate must depend on each other more than in any other sport because
people’s lives can be at risk. Being throw ten feet into the air takes a lot of
trust that the top girl will not hit the ground. In order to perform the very
best and be able to lift, jump and dance for a rigorous two and a half minutes,
you must be physically fit. Today, cheerleading involves skills that require
the strength of football, the grace of dance and the agility of gymnastics.
Complex maneuvers are preformed that challenge the limits of the body (AACCA).
All hope for cheerleading
came to a halt in 2009, when a judge in Connecticut declared cheerleading is
not a sport when Quinnipiac University took out woman’s volleyball and replaced
it with competitive cheerleading. Angry members of the volleyball team took the
matter to court, and the judge ruled under the conditions of Title IX that
cheerleading did not qualify (TitleIX, History). Without knowing anything about
cheerleading he made an assumption that cheerleading was still to disorganized
and messy to be a part of the organization of Title IX. Because of this one
incident cheerleading is not recognized in the legal world as a sport. Since
then, coaches have been preforming trickery to bend to the rules of Title IX
such as putting down names of males that arn’t even on the team, but it is
showing “fairness” that is it is not just a woman’s sport. Sean Gregory of Time
states, “In fact, there’s a much
easier way for colleges to comply with Title IX without resorting to such
absurd mischief. The adults who run college sports need to show some common
sense and recognize a fast-growing, legitimate women’s sport right in front of
their eyes” (“One Cure for Title IX Woes: Make Cheerleading a
Sport”).
This statement is very true in a
sense that, if cheerleading was recognized and had a set of rules to follow
with consequences it might make for it to be a safer, more organized sport.
The
definition of a sport according to The Women’s
Sports Foundation is: It must be a physical activity which involves propelling
a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of mass, “Contesting” or
competing against/with an opponent is required, It must be governed by rules that
explicitly define the time, space, and purpose of the contest and the
conditions under which a winner is declared, and Acknowledgement that the
primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of
the participants. Cheerleading fits all of these rules except the last
qualification that states, the primary reason is competition verses other teams
or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other ‘athletic’
activities. Cheerleading’s primary purpose is to cheer on other sports teams
and provide school unity, and competition comes second (Lauchaire,
Varsity). All-star cheerleading however, is the
only branch that is a sport because there is no cheering on of other sports,
strictly competition teams.
Since the first organized team in 1898, teams all over
the country have come a long way in appearance, difficulty, and being primarily
female dominated opposed to all male teams (Wikipedia, History). Cheerleading
is no longer known just as cheering on football and sports teams, but as a
dangerous and rigorous sport. Because cheerleading was created and still has
the reputation of its primary purpose being to unite people on a particular
sport, it cannot be identified and recognized as a sport such as soccer or
baseball. It is an ongoing argument and organizations are working towards changing
the qualifications and having exceptions for different types of cheerleading in
order to receive the respect and recognition cheerleaders deserve.
Works Cited
"Cheerleading
as a Sport." AACCA.org. The American Association of Cheerleading
Coaches and Administrators, n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2013.
<https://www.aacca.org/content.aspx?item=Resources/Test.xml>.
"Cheerleading."
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 09 Oct. 2013. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading>.
Gregory,
Sean. "Sports." Sports One Cure for Title IX Woes Make Cheerleading a Sport
Comments. Time Sports, 29
Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Sept. 2013.
"History of
Title IX." TitleIX.info. Northridge Interactions, n.d. Web. 17
Sept. 2013. <http://www.titleix.info/History/History-Overview.aspx>.
Lauchaire, Nicole.
"Being a Cheerleader - Is Cheerleading a Sport?" Varsity.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2013.
<http://www.varsity.com/event/1262/being-a-cheerleader-sport>.
Pennington, Bill.
"As Cheerleaders Soar Higher, So Do the Risks." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 31 Mar. 2007. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.
