Competitive Cheerleading
Name: Stephany Batista
Topic: Cheerleading
General Purpose: To inform
Specific Purpose: By the end of the speech, the audience will be educated on the sport of cheerleading.
Introduction
Attention Getter: The argument on whether or not cheerleading is a sport and what the final answer is.
Purpose: To inform my readers about cheerleading and what it consists of.
Importance to Audience: The audience will have a better understanding of what cheerleading really is.
Thesis Statement: Cheerleading is in fact a sport.
Body
1. First Main Point: Competitive vs. Sport
a. Both can consist of stunting, jumping and tumbling but they have major differences.
b. Competitive cheerleading’s main purpose is to compete against other teams and
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Stunting is the act of lifting and/or throwing a team member into the air.
b. Positions in stunting. (Flyer, Bases, Back Spot, Front Spots)
c. Types of stunts. (One mans, Partner Stunts, Pyramids)
3. Third Main Point: What is Tumbling?
a. Tumbling is known as a form of gymnastics that requires the act of flipping, twisting, rolling and jumping.
b. Standing tumbling and most popular standing tumbling skills.
c. Running tumbling and most popular running tumbling skills.
Conclusion
Summary Statement: Competitive cheer and sports cheer have similarities but are overall very different. Competitive cheer consists of a two minute and thirty second routine that involves a mixture of dancing, stunting and tumbling. Overall, competitive cheer is a fun sport.
Conclusion Remarks: Although I never did competitive cheer, I did sports cheerleading and I can say that cheerleading is an amazing sport. I have gone to several cheer competitions and can see the hard work these girls and boys take into completing their routines.
Bibliography “Competitive Cheerleading vs. School Cheerleading.: Cheerleading Zone. John Howard,
15 Oct. 2015. Web.
Competitive cheer is two minutes and thirty seconds of pure adrenaline rush and craziness. School cheer is all year round and happens once or twice a week and these cheerleaders are known as the "raw raw" cheerleaders. Both competitive cheer and school cheer have many things in common but they also have many things that are different. But, many people think that competitive cheer is more of a sport than school cheer is.
Unlike gymnastics, you must rely only on yourself to do what you need to do to win. Relying on the rest of your team, cheerleading is a much harder team sport. Gymnastics does have a team score but it only takes the top three scores form each event for the team score. Gymnast must perform wonderful but if they do not then they are the ones to blame. Cheerleading, the most team oriented team sport, relies on multiple people to get one job done.
Cheerleading is a big part of high school and community culture. For many young girls, and sometimes boys, cheer is a way of life. Often pursued as a profession, cheerleading is a very serious sport. Like most sports cheerleading has different types and divisions. Scholastic cheerleading and All-Star cheerleading have many similarities and differences. Cheerleading similarities and differences include what they do, coaches, and appearance.
“They’re snobs.” “They’re ditzy.” “They are just brats.” Cheerleaders. There are many problems with stereotyping, and cheerleaders are no strangers to it. Every cheerleader could probably tell you a time when someone stereotyped them, whether that be them as a person or an athlete. While on some occasions cheerleaders really do fit the stereotypical vision of a cheerleader off of a movie, most are not your typical “cheerleader”; intelligent, polite, and athletic are all characteristics of these individuals. Making judgements about a person based on what sport they played is not deserved. Most people in high school would say they knew, or thought they knew how cheerleaders were, but if taking the time to get to know the kind of people they are, then people’s opinion would change.
Cheerleading is fun! Of course we cheerlead because it’s fun! From cheer camp to laughing on the sidelines, cheerleading is always a good time, especially with your friends. The memories made my cheerleaders whether they be from practices, games, or spirit activities (like decorating for senior night or baking treats for football players) are memories that will be cherished for a cheerleaders lifetime. Cheering is such a positive and happy experience because we are always doing something fun or accomplishing something new, like learning our new pyramid or mastering our routine. I get to get dressed up in my uniform with my bow in my hair and my white, red-track stained cheer shoes and not only cheer on my favorite football team but run around and cheer and stunt with a team of fun-loving girls and bring my community
I know that cheerleading is a sport. Have you ever got asked if you think that cheerleading is a sport or not. That is what I am going to tell you today. Cheerleading is just like football and basketball it is a game where you compete and get points. But with cheerleading it is not about throwing the ball accost a field or making a basket. It is about how well it is performed. To do good they have to prates a lot and they also have to have a lot of upper body mussel.
To stay on the JMU cheer team or to quit was a very hard decision that I had to make this past month. Knowing I had leadership responsibilities as a third year veteran on the team made this decision extremely difficult for me. I had to consider all the parties involved which consisted of myself, my teammates, and my coaches. Several factors fell into play when deciding what was best not only myself but for my team as well. The first and most important factor I had to consider was my physical health as I have back problems that requires annual back procedures in order to be able to cheer. A relatively new factor in my decision making progress was the hiring of the new JMU cheer coach, which was extremely difficult for the upperclassmen to adjust to. My last few personal factors that played a role in my decision consisted of getting a job and focusing more on my school work. Next I had to consider what was best for the cheer team. I knew as an upperclassmen I needed to support the cheer program to help keep it strong and consistent during the coaching transition. This was hard to do when several other upper classmen were quitting the team due to this change. I also knew I had a responsibility to teach the incoming freshman new skills the same way the juniors and seniors taught me when I was a freshman. Not only did my team need me but I also took into consideration the contract I signed when making the team my freshman year. After taking everything into consideration
Movies portray cheerleaders as the popular girls that everyone likes and aspires to be. But when reality hits at Salem High School, it’s a completely different story. Cheerleading was taken as a joke by the other athletes and even students. It was considered a hobby, but to me it was a passion and something I worked hard to be. Being on the cheer squad in high school was difficult to deal with in school because we were constantly being snubbed by the other athletes and students in our school ever since we were kids in junior high which should not happen because everyone has the right to do what they love and they should not be judged for it being different than everyone else. It was always us versus them up until my junior year of high school when we finally earned the respect of our peers.
I believe that cheerleaders provide hope and gleam when it’s required the most. Cheerleaders are kind-hearted and continuously display it without hesitation. If you think about it, cheerleading is the only sport where it’s mandatory to smile; Whether it’s scorching hot or freezing cold. When on duty as a cheerleader, there is no time to slack off. The games would never be as enjoyable without the cheerleader executing their full
According to Brea Darnell, cheerleading is not a sport because of “the inability to compete against an opponent. One of the most important requirements of a sport [is] to compete against another opponent, not just cheer to support your team” (Daily Republic). Pom-poms and sideline chants are aspects of sideline cheerleading that lack in contributing to the definition of competitive cheerleading. Competitive cheerleading is a different side of cheerleading that consists of tumbling, jumping, and dancing, alongside a greater amount of contact activity in comparison to sideline cheerleading. Lori A. Selke, a writer for Livestrong.com, creates the argument that, “in order to gain and maintain those athletic qualities, a competitive cheerleader must train as hard as any other athlete… In addition to attending cheer practice to practice stunting, tumbling, and dancing, cheerleaders must also weight lift and work out several times a week” (Selke). The arrogation of cheerleading illuminates why it is a sport and not just an activity because of the overall devotion to the sport and time a cheerleader must generate to practicing, refining, and executing skills, similar to any other athlete in
“Cheerleading involves skills which require the strength of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastics” (“Sport”). Many categorize competitive cheerleading as just an activity without any skill needed: there is nothing further from the truth! Competitive cheerleading is a sport that is dedicated to competition, fits the definition of a sport, and possesses a goal.
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.
Gutgold, Emi. "Cheerleading Is a Competitive Sport, Too." Morning Call. 17 Aug 2012: A.13. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Every minute of the day we are doing something, whether we recognize it or not. How we spend our time can determine where we go. If I waste my time I will look back and wonder where it all went. Through all the practices, games, and extra events, it seems I am wasting my valuable time on something not worthy of my time or making a bad investment of my time. If you asked me if cheerleading was my life my answer would be no, but I spend a lot of time going to practices, games, and events that it is difficult to believe otherwise. Many people, including my sister, would say I should be spending my time doing something more productive than wearing short skirts and throwing girls in the air. However, I believe that I continue to cheer because it is worthwhile in my life.
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.