Is Cheerleading A Sport?
... (Redd D11). Some people will not consider cheerleading a sport because they claim it is way too dangerous. Reilly writes this to show that cheerleaders are not always necessary and can be a distraction at times. “A buddy of mine has twin daughters, both cheerleaders. At the end of last school year one needed plastic surgery on her cheek after another girl’s teeth went through it during a pyramid collapse; the other broke her hand and finger. They’re not cheering anymore”(116). Being a cheerleader for many years, I am well aware of the risks. I have had stitches and broken bones, as well as seen a girl fall on her head from a stunt gone wrong, and another taken to the hospital by ambulance. I also watched my boyfriend and his teammates acquire the same injuries by playing football. There is a chance of getting injured in every sport, but that does not mean that they should not be considered sports. In the Encarta dictionary a sport is defined as “physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively" (“Athletics”). Webster's Oxford Collegiate Dictionary defines "sport" as “an activity requiring more or less vigorous body exertion and carried on according to some traditional form or set of rules whether outdoors or indoors" (“Sport”). Cheerleading meets all these requirements. When cheerleading began there was no stunting and tumbling like that seen at all types of sporting events now. There were simply a few girls with megaphones coaxing the crowd to chant along with them. Over the past few decades cheerleading has evolved from leading audiences in cheers with simple arm movements to dangerous human towers and intricate dances that are used to show the athleticism of cheerleaders. Cheerleading is a sport that requires strength, endurance, flexibility and coordination. Competitive cheerleading uses skills very similar to gymnastics, particularly in the floor exercises. Its season is long, beginning in the summer before football, extending through basketball season and ending in the spring after the cheerleading competition season. The countless hours spent on practice, games and competitions, and the strength, skills and endurance by these young athletes needs to be recognized as a true sport. According to Mary Ellen Whitford, cheerleading should be considered a sport because “Most athletic associations do not ...