The Importance Of Cheerleading

It is often said that cheerleaders are just “flirts in skirts”, and that cheerleading should not be considered an official sport. Some people do not take into account all the time, hard work, and risks that go into cheering. Many people assume that cheering at a football or basketball game is easy, but they have no idea the amount of effort it takes to memorize over a dozen cheers with specific hand motions and footwork. Sideline cheering at games is not the only kind of cheering. There is also competitive cheering. Competitive cheerleaders get judged in many different categories including tumbling, stunting, dance, cheering, jump, precision, originality and overall difficulty. Judges are extremely strict when it comes to judging. Cheerleaders

Traditionally, cheerleaders have not always competed, and many people do not consider routines to be a “sport” like basketball or football. Mariah Burton Nelson, author of “The Stronger Women Get, The More Men Love Football: Sexism and the American Culture of Sports.” believes that cheerleading should not be considered a sport. Nelson states “Cheerleaders are not athletes as long as their primary position is along the sidelines.” (Is Cheerleading a Sport? par. 7). Many people fail to realize that cheerleaders do much more than just cheer on the sidelines. Many high school and college cheerleaders compete in addition to sideline cheering. The article “Is Cheerleading a Sport?” states “Unlike traditional cheerleading, competitive cheerleading featured acrobatic stunts that often required intense practice and considerable athletic ability. Furthermore, competitive cheering teams did not simply ‘root’ for football and basketball teams, but rather battled other cheer teams in national tournaments.” (Is Cheerleading a Sport? par. 4) As a former competitive cheerleader, I have experienced first hand just how hard competitive cheering can be. All of the rigours routines and long practices would leave me aching and exhausted just like any other sport