Cheerleading is Not a Sport

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Cheerleading is Not a Sport

According to Joe Hatton, the author of the article, “Sports Beat - The sport of cheerleading: It’s more than just pompoms and smiles,” cheerleading is a sport because it requires strength, balance, and coordination. The major claim of the article is “cheerleading is a sport - plain and simple - and cheerleaders are true athletes” (Hatton C-04). The article offers the following arguments in support of the claim. Hatton claims because cheerleaders are athletes, cheerleading is a sport. Hatton also says cheerleading is a sport because of the competitive aspects. We believe cheerleading is not a sport, because not all cheerleaders compete. Most cheerleaders rarely, if ever, show athleticism. Cheerleading is an activity based on confidence and school spirit. Activities in schools such as debate clubs revolve around the trust, confidence and competition of the team members yet most people do not consider debate club a sport.

In Hatton’s article, he acknowledges many people and organization do not identify cheerleading as a sport. The premier collegiate sports organization in the country, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”), does not recognize cheerleading as a sport (“Equal Opportunity”). Also, according to the National Federation of High School Athletic Associations, fewer than half the states in country recognize cheerleading as a sport (“NFHS”). The fact that a respected national athletic organization and a majority of states do not recognize cheerleading as a sport implies that it is viewed primarily as entertainment.

We believe the arguments in the article to be unfounded and therefore view the claim that cheerleading is a sport to be untrue. There is more supp...

... middle of paper ...

...leading should not be considered a sport because it is not typically undertaken in a competitive environment and its primary purpose is to lead “cheering of spectators as at a sports contest” (Dictionary.com).

Works Cited

Dictionary.com. Lexico Publishing Group, LLC. 2003. 9 October 2003.

http://dictionary.reference.com/.

“Equal Opportunity In Intercollegiate Athletics: Requirements Under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972.” U.S. Department of Education. 27 August 1997. 9 October 2003. http://classweb.gmu.edu/jkozlows/460tixa.html.

Hatton, Joe. “Sports Beat - The Sport of Cheerleading: It’s a lot More than Just

Pompoms and Smiles.” Providence Journal Bulletin 9 May 2003: C-04

LexisNexis CD-ROM. 13 May 2003.

“NFHS.” National Federation of State High School Associations. 2003. 9 October 2003. http://www.nfhs.org/.

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