What makes something a sport? What characteristics define a sport? Why do we feel that some sports are not considered sports when we have never played them? When you google the definition of a sport this is what you will find “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” So as long as there is physical activity and competing then whatever you are playing is considered a sport. When you think of a “sport” that should not be considered one what is the first that comes to mind; why? Why is it when googling “Sports that aren 't considered sports” Cheerleading comes up so often? Those were the many questions I had at the beginning of my search. I planned …show more content…
After all it is a whole lot more than waving poms, smiling, and doing simple skills like cartwheels. “As routines have gotten more difficult, cheerleading has become more dangerous. There were nearly 37,000 emergency room visits for cheerleading injuries in 2011, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Many injuries were serious, such as broken bones (S-P-O-R-T). Cheerleaders need skill along with athleticism now there is someone on the cheerleaders sides; Academy of Pediatrics fight for cheerleading to be considered a sport. “The goal is to reduce injuries among cheerleaders and to ensure the same attention to safety is paid to cheerleaders as to athletes in other sports” (S-P-O-R-T). “After all there are 3.7 Million cheerleaders reported at the age of 6 and up, why don 't they deserve the attention? Why don 't they deserve classification of a sport?” (S-P-O-R-T). Search …show more content…
I completely agree when people say that sideline cheerleading isnt a sport because you are just cheering on the football players, you are not competing for anything. But when anyone says that competitive cheerleading is not a sport I have absolutely no idea where they are coming from, doing research on why competitive cheerleading isn 't a sport I could not find one legitimate reason it shouldn 't be considered a sport. While using GRCC’s databases for this paper I found it extremely frustrating because I could not find anything I wanted at first, I actually ended up calling the library and got help on things to search and databases to use. If I would not have called the library for their help my sources probably would not have come from GRCC like they needed to because I was not good at using their site. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath, relax, and get help. This paper has taught me
Last year, during one of my high school’s football games, a couple of students approached my friend and I. “Why do we need cheerleaders?”, “Don’t you think you guys are sort of distracting the football players?”, were the questions directed towards us. Because of my timid freshman self, I was unable to answer their question at the time. Why exactly did Cheerleaders matter? As the year went on, I couldn’t help but notice the drastic effects the
There is two things in this world that you should be scared of. The first thing is spiders, and the second is a cheerleader who has just been told cheerleading is not a sport. There are approximately 400,000 individuals in the Unites States in this day and age that participate in high school cheerleading (www.varsity.com). If you ask, most of them would tell you that they work their butts off, and they would say that cheerleading is a sport. In some cases some cheerleaders are fighting for their right to be called athletes because their school districts tell them that they aren’t. By doing this the school districts are portraying the message that cheerleading is a joke, and that it isn’t a real sport. It sets stereotypes for cheerleaders, and they have to work to overcome those stereotypes everyday. The school districts all over US not classifying cheerleading as a sport are in the wrong. For several reasons, all school districts should recognize cheerleading
Because some cheerleading squads don’t compete, society thinks of it merely as a physical activity. Even though cheerleaders’ main purpose is to support other athletic activities, cheer squads whom compete, follow all physical criteria to be considered a sport. Cheerleaders put forth an incredible amount of determination. They practice tirelessly to show off their skills, with little or no recognition for their efforts. Cheerleading is a sport because it requires physical fitness, skill, dedication, and stamina. Cheerleading should be considered a sport globally.
The New York Times states that cheerleading is the fastest growing girls’ sport, yet more than half of Americans do not believe it is a sport. A sport is defined as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature” (dictionary.com). Cheerleading at a competitive level is physically demanding and requires team work to be the best. The misconception of cheerleaders being weak, nonathletic crowd entertainers makes people believe cheerleaders are not athletes and that cheerleading is just a hobby but cheerleaders that compete at a competitive level are in fact athletes because it meets the standards of what a sport is, which includes rules and regulations, and overcoming air resistance.
Every cheerleader gets upset when someone tries to dismiss cheerleading as a sport. “I know I did”, although cheerleading fits the definition of a sport as stated in the Oxford dictionary. According to the Oxford dictionary, a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or other for entertainment. Have you ever been to a cheerleading competition? Having you not noticed how physical each routine are? Does this not entertain you? If you can honestly answer yes to any of that question, I believe the truth is you understand some of the elements of cheerleading can qualify as a sport. Not to worry, I came up with some facts I feel will strengthen this argument for cheerleaders everywhere, because the elements of cheerleading posse some differences and similarities when compared to other sports.
Cheerleading has not always been a feminine sport. In the 1880’s, Princeton University created an all-male pep club to the football game against the University of Minnesota. Since then cheerleading has evolved profoundly. In the late 80’s Cheerleading competitions began with the help of the Universal Cheer Association. Cheerleading Competitions require a vast majority of time dedicated to practices and teammates. The process of creating a routine no longer than two-minutes and thirty-seconds, with at least one cheer, and a segment of music is very time consuming and stressful on the squad. With the help of choreographers and leaders the squad is able to produce a routine that represents their school and exhibits all their hard work in a matter
Cheerleading began as a male-only activity to cheer on their schools sports teams. Today it is a world-wide co-ed sport that incorporates leadership, athleticism, and entertainment. Cheerleading focuses on teamwork, dedication, and skills preparing participants for future challenges in life. It helps cheerleaders practice communication skills, confidence, and crowd management. Cheerleading has come a long way since the 1800s and is now a very popular sport in the US and a few parts of other countries around the world.
Cheerleading is more than pom-poms, short skirts, and bows. Bill Pennington, an award-winning journalist, sportswriter, and author, articulates the need for aggressive training and a strengthening of regulations to minimize the number student-athletes injured subsequently to cheer activities. Pennington’s article, “As Cheerleaders Soar Higher, So does the Danger”, first published on March 31, 2007, in The New York Times. Incorporated in the article he describes cheer in this way, “For decades, they stood by safe and smiling, a fixture on America’s sidelines” (Pennington). This article appeared in the sports section of The New York Times and the distribution to readers included print as well as the internet. Although this newspaper targets the
I am a competitive cheerleader and as well as all the other cheerleaders in the world, I want to prove to the world that what I do best, love with all my heart, and can’t live without is most definitely a sport. Trying to clarify this long debate on how cheerleading is a sport and how it is not is my biggest intention in this paper. Polls say that 60% of the voters think cheerleading is a sport and 35% think it is not (Varnavas). So the polls are already on my side. Cheerleading should be accepted as a sport and it is all up to the voters, depending on whether the voters are into competitive cheerleading or non-competitive cheerleading.
Sherman, Elisabeth. "Why Don't More People Consider Competitive Cheerleading A Sport?." The Atlantic. N. p., 2017. Web. 14 Nov. 2017.
What is a sport? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a sport is a "physical activity engaged in for pleasure"(www.merriam-webster.com). Does Cheerleading not fit that definition? Cheerleading is a physically demanding sport, that deserves to be recognized as such. People generally do not realize the difficulty of cheerleading, and how much effort and dedication actually goes into it. Cheerleaders practice as hard, if not harder than other sports to better themselves as athletes and a team as a whole. Not only is cheer a sport, it is a dangerous sport, just like any other athletic program. As a varsity athlete, and assistant cheer coach, I see every day the reasons why cheer should be considered
In conclusion if cheerleading was to be classified as a sport they would get school funding for things they might need or even to help someone who cannot afford everything you need to be a cheerleader. Also cheerleaders would get the respect they deserve because they do not just dance around and get people hype for a football game. But lastly classifying cheerleading would help the injury rate decline greatly, but also considering that the most injuries happen at practice. This would mean
... just scored or who won. It is up to the subjective opinion of others on who succeeds in a competition instead of objectively scoring a touchdown or home run (Morrissey 2004). According to the Women’s Sport Foundation, a sport requires physical activity, governance by rules and regulations, and purpose of competition. One can consider cheerleading as a sport because it fits these requirements. In fact, recently, New York declared competitive cheerleading a winter sport adding to a total of 35 states who declare the activity a sport (Heyman 2014). However, sideline cheer should still be considered an extracurricular activity because it does not involve a focus on competition but rather a focus on support. Therefore, competitive cheerleading should continue to become a sport throughout the country while sideline cheerleading should stay an activity for all to enjoy.
From an outsiders perspective one may see brainless and beautiful robots, which scream and perform neat tricks. This is not the case from the inside; cheerleading is so much more than that. Many people are under the impression that cheerleading is not a sport. I am the voice of reasoning that will let you in, and I will show you that cheerleading, in fact, is a sport. Cheerleading requires much physical demand from the body just as any other sport would. Cheerleading, in general, is a team effort. There are many sides to cheerleading, which make it a versatile sport. When it comes to cheerleading there’s more to it than what meets the eye.
Cheerleading is a sport that involves short routines that combine dance, gymnastics, and stunting. “Cheerleading’s roots are closely tied to American football’s” (Varsity). The sport started out as a way to boost school spirit, which helped improve team performance. Over time cheerleading has become an All-Star sport of its own (EpicSports).