Cheerleading Is A Sport

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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.
Just like any other athlete cheerleaders are athletic and physically fit. Craig Peters the author of Chapter 3: Spirit or Sport? discusses that The Women Sports Foundation considers a sport to “Involve propelling a mass through air or overcoming the resistance of a mass” (Peters). Although cheerleading is not played with a certain type of ball, they do in fact propel a mass in the air and overcome the resistance of air. Cheerleaders are propelling a body into the air and catching it and they move their body through the air, tumbling, overcoming air resistance. Being on a cheer squad is physically demanding participants need to be fit and strong. Unlike any other sport cheerleading is tossing and catching a dead weight of at least one hundred pounds. In any other sport the ball weighs less than a pound. Shalimar Azine, captain of the Stamford High School cheerleading team states, “You need a lot of strength when you are throwing a girl up in the air. It’s not like throwing a football” (Ruden). Not only is c...

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...rticipants need to be physically fit and it fits the definition of a sport according to the WSF and IHSA.

Works Cited

Arndt, Sandy. “Is There Value in the Sport of Cheerleading?.” Edmonton Journal. 10 Aug 2011: E.6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2013. An article explaining why cheerleading should be a sport.
Gutgold, Emi. "Cheerleading Is a Competitive Sport, Too." Morning Call. 17 Aug 2012: A.13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Marrazzo, Amanda. "Cheerleading Caution Urged." Chicago Tribune. 12 Dec 2012: 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Peters, Craig. "Chapter 3: Spirit or Sport?" EBSCOHOST.com. N.p., 2003. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
"Sport." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Tanner, Lindsey. "Cheerleading Needs Sports Safety Rules, Docs Say." Sun-News. 22 Oct 2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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