Is Cheerleading a Sport?
For a very long time allstar cheerleading has not been categorized as a real sport, and more as a hobby or activity done as a way to kill time.
Cheerleading is usually not considered a sport due to inability to compete against one another individually, but they compete with a whole team.
I believe that cheerleading is a sport, and a very dangerous and time committing sport that deserves the kind of recognition that football does.
As an Allstar cheerleader I know our worth, I experience it firsthand and therefore know how much commitment it takes for this sport.
Cheerleading is an internationally recognized sport where we push through our injuries and commit hours a week practicing just for 2.5 minutes of glory. We don’t work that hard to be passed off as a ‘hobby’.
Cheer isn’t only about the stunting, it’s also about throwing gymnastic like passes and tumbling across the floor, that take years of practice to perfect
In 2018 around 41,000 cheerleaders injured themselves during the sport. Unlike any other sports, cheerleaders still go onto the mat and compete with concussions, broken collarbones, and twisted ankles with a smile and compete with the utmost energy.
During cheer we overcome the resistance of mass through stunting, I don’t care what people say but throwing a girl in the air as she pulls impossible looking positions and grabbing her by the ankles has to be the hardest thing ever.
ESPN is the most well known sport broadcaster in the United States, which televises competitive sport, such as cheerleading nationals, such as NCA, UCA, Worlds and more.
There is no actual solution to making cheerleading a sport other than finally earning the respect we deserve from people who don’t believe cheerleading is a sport. People need to be properly educated about cheer and how we do not lack athleticism.
Cheerleading should be added to the NCAA list of sports since Allstar cheer passes every requirement to be named an official sport.
As I do now and will forever believe that cheerleading a sport, and the hardest one I have ever been apart of or even watched.
Soon people will realize the time, effort, blood, sweat and tears that go into cheerleading and finally accept it as a sport. But for now I will contribute to the debate and say, yes cheerleading is a sport.
