...English Comp. 2 March 15 2015 Is cheerleading a sport? Somehow everyone is still talking about is cheerleading a sport, I guess they aren’t convinced yet. Cheerleading is something that is active and just about any and everybody can participate in, others think it is not a sport because it is not as active as track, football, and basketball. This sport can give people courage and can bring out the best in you and it can make you feel great inside and make you want to work together with people and as a team just like any other sport. Teamwork is the dream work. Cheerleaders are commonly seen on the sidelines at football and basketball games supporting their teams. Fans just see them as other people supporting their team. However, the cheerleaders have to go through rigorous training and practice all the time to perfect the routines displayed at games. Along with cheering on the sidelines at games, most cheerleading squads participate in heated competitions to show their athleticism. Although it is not officially defined as a sport by the NCAA, it obviously should be for many different reasons. Dictionary.com defines a sport as "an athletic activity that requires physical prowess or skill and often a competitive nature. Cheerleading is defined as” the action and skill of a cheerleader.” So what is a cheerleader? A cheerleader is’ a person who leads spectators in traditional or formal cheering at a pep rally and athletic events. Cheerleading definitely fulfills this criteria...
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...We’ve Got Spirit, Yes We Do! When people hear the term “Cheerleading” they think of preppy girls from the movies, wearing short skirts and being somewhat unintelligent. Research shows that this is simply not the case. Cheerleaders have been around since the 1890s. Some of our most famous presidents have stood on the sidelines, cheering their teams to victory. Franklin D. Roosevelt cheered at Harvard. Ronald Regan cheered for the basketball team at Eureka Collage, and even both Bushes cheered at Yale and Andover (Graff 526). Through the years, the sport of cheerleading has evolved, yet the majority of people still do not consider cheerleading a real sport. In 2010 David Whitley published an article in aolnews.com stating that “Just because you work hard at something or just because there is a risk of injury involved does not make it [cheerleading] a sport.” Although schools and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) do not consider cheerleaders as athletes, they make them abide by the same rules and safety guidelines of all other recognized sports (historyofcheerleading.com). Cheerleaders have some of the same concepts of gymnastics, and gymnastics is considered a sport. The perceptions of Whitley and the NCAA as well as many others are reasonable to some; however, it is my belief that cheerleading is a real sport. Cheerleading like any other sport requires an enormous amount of strength and agility, grueling hours of practice, and extreme dedication. Cheerleaders...
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...Cheerleading is a Sport. Priscilla Scott Eng. /102 1/31/2013 Vicki Lynn Samson Imagine bright lights, screaming fans and the floor vibrating beneath your feet. It is neither a football game nor a basketball game- it is a National Cheerleading Championship. Thousands of competitive cheerleaders around the country practice all year round to compete in the Nationals. In a large arena, surrounded by ESPN cameras, their hundreds of hours of grueling practice come down to how well they perform their two-and-a-half minute routine. The slightest mistake by any member of the team and their dreams of awarded "Champions" vanish. Most people confuse the girls and boys who yell chants such as "Go, Team Go!", or "Rah, Rah, Rah" to the crowd at sporting events, with the true athletes of competitive cheerleading. Cheering at sporting events is an activity in most school curricula, which is not a sport. However, because many people have not been introduced to competitive cheerleading, a true sport, they are led to believe that this type of chanting encompasses all forms of cheerleading. Although, the NCAA has not formally recognized cheerleading as a sport, competitive cheerleading is and should be considered a sport. Many people confuse sideline cheerleading with competitive cheerleading. Sideline cheerleading is an activity in which an individual cheers for a team. Sideline cheerleading consists of simple cheers where the crowd can cheer along with. It is fun and non-...
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...Cheerleading has been around for years, whether it was to cheer for a sports team or to compete in competitions. People have argued for many years debating whether or not cheer is a sport. Most agree, but there will always be the group who disagree. Cheer is very competitive, so why would it not be. Cheerleading is a sport because of how physically demanding it is, the risk people take, and how much time is used for practice. Cheerleading is a physically demanding sport. First, cheerleading is a sport that needs a lot of muscle. Cheer is not just a sport where cheerleaders stand and chant. In cheer, the cheerleaders have to be capable of lifting girls of 90 lbs and up, without muscle, no one would be able to do that. Without correct physical training, cheerleaders would not be able to lift up the girls, so the show/performance would not look exciting....
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...Cheerleading has changed a lot over the years and is no longer what people think it is. It isn’t shaking pompoms around and yelling to the crowd anymore. What do you think of when you think of a sport? Many people begin to think of rigorous competition between two teams. As for cheerleading, it doesn’t often get considered a sport because a lot of people think just because they’re not scoring against other cheer teams, it can’t be considered a sport. Some people may be asking their selves, “What’s the big deal with cheerleading not being a sport?” Well since some schools don’t consider cheerleading being a sport, they don’t require a lot of equipment. More recognized sports get safer equipment, medical care, certified coaches, and longer practice times. At some schools, just because they think cheerleading doesn’t require physical activity, cheerleading doesn’t get much safety equipment, but cheerleading should be considered a sport because it’s physically demanding, requires teamwork, and involves rough competition. The main reason people think cheerleading isn’t a sport is because...
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...Is Cheerleading a Sport? While cheerleading conjures images of pompoms and skirts, it has relied on athletic accomplishments of agility and strength in recent years. As participants have perfected their basket tosses and pyramid routines, a complicated question has appeared: has cheerleading become a true sport? For many women, the answer for a long time was no. They feared that calling it a sport sent the wrong message to women- that cheerleading was a time when girls in tight-fitting outfits were expected to yell support for boys. But other women fumed at what felt like an insult. Why should cheerleading not be considered a sport when it requires a complex set of skills, physical fitness and real guts? Every cheerleader gets fired up when someone tries to argue with...
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...world many people see cheerleading as a squad of girls just prancing around with pom-poms and getting rowdy for a typical football team or a basketball game. Another way people portray cheerleaders is the visual of the The Top Cats, Charger Girls and The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders. This is where the hairspray, make up and cleavage rules the field rather than the hardworking athletes many cheerleaders fight with their blood, sweat in tears, to be. There are two very different types of cheerleading. I will explain to few different aspects of the activity. In my opinion leads these are the most important reasons that prove why cheerleading should be considered a sport. In this sport there is an outrageous level of athleticism. Cheerleading has many similarities that of other...
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...Cheerleading IS a Sport Many people that I have come across in the past and present have argued that cheerleading is in fact not a sport. I believe that people who make this argument are way out of line. The only crowd I know to believe this to be true are the ones who have never participated in it, and have no knowledge about cheerleading at all. I feel no one can make this argument valid to the ones who have been injured, had long hard practices, and put their heart and soul into this sport we call cheerleading. In my golden days cheerleading consumed my life. From the time I woke up, to the time I went to bed all I was thinking about was, “when do we have practice?”, “Can I remember this routine?”, and “How am I going to make myself the best I can be?”. I do not see how people can argue that this is not a sport and say that we are not athletes like every other football player or basketball player out there. Competition cheerleading is a sport all of its own. It requires dedication, hard work, and talent. Tell me if you can do an entire routine that consist of tumbling, stunting, and dancing while being energetic,...
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...Is Cheerleading a Sport? Cheerleading is like the planet Pluto. Many people believe that Pluto is no longer a planet, but others disagree. Just like cheerleading, many people think it is a sport, but others also disagree. When someone sees pluto as a dwarf planet, they don’t consider it to be an actual planet. Cheerleading is often mistaken as not a sport because it is not an olympic sport. Just because an object is missing an element, doesn’t mean it should be considered something different. Cheerleading is a sport; cheer teams compete in national competitions, cheer training is long and hard, and cheer has been considered a olympic sport. When someone brings up cheerleading, many people picture in their minds girls cheering at a basketball,...
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...What NCAA Sport requires its participants to have the skills of so many different athletes? What athletes need to have the ability to flip his or her own weight, be super flexible, and even be able to pick up another human being at least 20 feet off the ground. Cheerleaders are these athletes who have to do all of things, but do not get recognized as an actual sport. In a huge arena filled with thousands of screaming fans, hundreds of anxious athletes, and thousands of some overly involved parents; and a huge national title at stake describes the weekly scenario for a competitive cheerleader. Many people like to say that cheerleading could never be a sport because all they do is cheer on other male-dominated sports right? Yet, this is not...
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...There isn't criterion cheerleading doesn't meet, so is it really a sport. While 29 U.S. states recognize cheerleading as a sport, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) does not recognize it as a sport. Although cheer might not be recognized as a sport, but it really is. Cheerleading meets all the standards for a “sport”, cheer is one of the hardest sports in all the U.S, and the time commitment is no joke. Cheerleading meets all the standards for being a “sport”. A sport is physical exertion which an individual or team competes against one another. Cheer acknowledges the primary purpose of comparing skills of the participations. NCAA acknowledges competitive cheerleading as a intercollegiate sport will open the door to counting...
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...Many people argue that cheerleading is not a sport. It has been a very controversial topic for quite some time now. According to Dictionary.com, “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical progress and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling,boxing, hunting, fishing, etc.” Cheerleading fulfills that definition easily and I will tell you how. If you want to compare it to another sport, you can with gymnastics. Gymnastics consist of gymnast tumbling, cheerleaders tumble as well along with doing other things. Dancing is also considered a sport, cheerleading routines have a dance portion in them. Both gymnastics and dancing are involved in cheerleading but they are considered sports and cheering...
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...Cheerleading Is A Sport She is tumbling down the court finishing her roundoff back handspring as she lands on her ankle. We all hear a crack as she starts to cry out in pain. Risks are involved in this activity and pushing yourself to become the best that you can be. Sports do that with every player or teammate. Cheerleading drives you to go above and beyond;therefore, it is indeed a sport. Camaraderie and teamwork are essential to sports all over the world, including cheer. A comment from m.mic.com says, “Whether your talking about high school or college cheerleading, there needs to be this level of trust, especially when you’re doing stunts.” Every sport, such as baseball or basketball, needs energetic cohesion, which top cheer teams have. Cohesion plays an important role in sports because once your team has strong cohesion or bond, the team will advance in skill level. With sports teams there needs to be a superior level of bonding to increase accomplishment and there is more camaraderie in cheer than what meets the eye, which is why cheerleading is a sport. With every sport, including cheerleading, you’re constantly at risk of getting hurt. Renee R said, “Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number, then for any other sport, partially because they do not wear protective gear.”...
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...Did you know that many of our Presidents were Cheerleaders? Including Franklin Roosevelt, George W. Bush, and Dwight Eisenhower. Another I interesting fact is that there are 4 million cheerleaders in the world. Cheer should be considered a sport. One reason cheerleading is a sport is because it has a purpose and a set of rules. The purpose of cheerleading is to win first place at all your competitions, get payed bids, and make it to worlds or state to be crowned the champions. In the 1980's more stunts were added to competitive cheerleading. Another reason cheer can be a sport is because it must have a set of rules. For example one of the rules are you can't pass/step on the white tape on the mat or that will be a deduction according to IRCA....
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...Benefits of Cheerleading Cheer is a sport that brings to mind young girls and women wearing outfits, waving poms, performing intricate dance routines and leading crowd cheers. Cheerleading can actually be a very beneficial sport to consider. It requires a lot of skill put together. Cheerleading becomes a legitimate sport when it comes to competitive cheer. There are a few different benefits girls or boys can gain from competitive cheerleading. One main benefit to cheerleading is having the scholarship opportunity. The article “Scholarships and Benefits” states, “At the University of Mississippi, in addition to a $1,000-a-year scholarship for all cheerleading squads, Ole Miss pays all cheerleading expenses, including summer camp fees” (Valliant). This shows that going to a big school like Ole Miss benefits scholarship wise and helps to get through some payments. Also written in this article Valliant says “Most cheerleading scholarships range between $500 and $600 a semester, or $1,000 to $1,200 a year” (Valliant). This proves that people will benefit from some more even if it is not a whole lot but when it comes to college it better than nothing. It doesn’t really matter how much is...
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