3 sources cited length: 899 words 2.6 double spaced pages 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. 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. Equal opportunity in intercollegiate athletics: requirements under title ix of the education amendments of 1972.

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Sports beat the sport of cheerleading: it’s a lot more than just pompoms and smiles. Westport, ma the new york times states that cheerleading is the fastest growing girls rsquo sport, yet more than half of americans do not believe it is a sport. In addition, they fail to distinguish between sideline cheerleaders and competitive ones. Sideline cheerleaders rsquo main goal is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport.

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A sport, according to the association of cheerleading coaches and advisors, is a ldquo physical activity competition against/with an opponent, governed by rules and conditions under which a winner is declared, and primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants. This is where the ldquo fliers rdquo are thrown in the air, held by ldquo bases rdquo in different positions that require strength and cooperation with other teammates. Just as basketball and football have guidelines for competitive play, so does competitive cheerleading. The whole routine has to be completed in less than three minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are required to stay within a certain area. Just like gymnasts, they are awarded points for difficulty, technique, creativity and sharpness.

The more difficult a mount or a stunt, the sharper and more in sync the motions, the better the score. Cheerleading is a team sport so without cooperation and synchronization, first place is out of reach. According to the national center for catastrophic sport injury research, cheerleading is the number one cause of serious sports injuries to women. Emergency room visits for cheerleading are five times the number than for any other sport, partially because they do not wear protective gear. While many athletes are equipped with hip pads, knee pads, shin guards or helmets, smiling cheerleaders are tossed into the air and spiral down into the arms of trusted teammates. The fliers must remain tight at all times so that their bases can catch them safely.

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Also, because cheerleading is not yet recognized as a sport by many schools, neither proper matting nor high enough ceilings are provided to ensure safety. More recognition of competitive cheerleading as a sport would decrease the number of injuries. So why do many americans not think cheerleading is a sport? it cannot be because cheerleaders do not use balls or manipulate objects if you do not count megaphones, pompoms and signs as objects. Wrestling, swimming, diving, track, cross country, gymnastics, ice skating and boxing are recognized sports that do not use balls. Some people argue that cheerleaders are just ldquo flirts in skirts rdquo with their only job to entertain the crowd, but cheerleaders today compete against other squads and work just as hard as other athletes.

It is a physical activity that is governed by rules under which a winner can be declared and its primary purpose is to compare the skills of participants. Hopefully, cheerleading will become as well known a sport as football and basketball, and even appear in the olympics since cheerleaders are just as athletic and physically fit as those involved in the more accepted sports. Sport: an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others. And if you've been to even one cheerleading practice, you know it's hard core, very unlike a golf or bowling practice, which are both considered sports. At junior high cheerleading competitions, i have seen many full twists, an extremely hard gymnastics skill. Furthermore, it makes no sense at the junior high level to consider scholastic bowl, where you answer questions, a sport over cheerleading, with much physical exertion. There is a saying athletes lift weights, cheerleaders lift people, that should speak a lot about cheerleading.

Lifting people up, or mounting, is very difficult, especially the advanced mounts. I doubt anyone but the cheerleaders, who are arguably the best athletes, could do this. I hope people will open their minds to the competitive side of the sport of cheerleading. Espn cameras all around, hundreds of screaming fans, pride and a big trophy at stake no, the described scene is not that of a football championship.

The excitement buzzing in the air escalates as the next team steps up to put all they have into a two minute and thirty second sprint to the finish. As a competitive mix of various other sports, cheerleading is a new sport on an international rise in popularity. Some may argue cheerleading should not and cannot be considered a sport, but according to the merriam webster dictionary cheerleading follows the definition of a sport and therefore should be widely considered one because of its high level of physical activity, competition, and set of rules and conventions. Cheerleading requires an especially high level of physical exertion with an equally high risk of injury. In order to even make a team, cheerleaders must participate in an extensive tryout process often taking more than a week. Athletes must also meet a series of physical requirements concerning skills and fitness. Members of the north allegheny varsity cheerleading squad first had to run a mile in under 8 minutes and demonstrate their ability to meet the requirements for stunting, cheering, dancing, and tumbling.

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Cheerleaders also keep busy practice schedules in order to maintain their physical condition. The nationally ranked villanova university cheerleading squad holds various practices at least five days a week to work on strength and skills. In addition to the high physical precedent, cheerleaders risk their lives for their sport at every practice and competition and even continue to work through their injuries. According to an msnbc.com report from june of 2009, cheerleading accounts for 65.2% of high school and 70.5% of college fatal or serious injuries among all female athletes. Cheerleaders do not give up their time to practice for nothing most teams participate in multiple competitions throughout their yearlong season. Both high school and all star cheerleading teams are given the chance to compete.

Every year high school squads can participate in one of numerous national championships while all star squads compete against teams from all around the globe at the cheerleading worlds. For worlds , teams come from everywhere including china, chile, britain, canada, australia, and france. Attending the worlds or nationals is a privilege, and teams must qualify at smaller local and regional competitions first. Along with field hockey, figure skating, and soccer, high school cheerleaders in pennsylvania also receive the chance to compete in the keystone state games at pennsylvania state university. Teammates work together and practice hard to perform their best at every competition they attend. Although the set up of their contests may seem different, many of the same principles as other sports guide cheerleading as well.

Just like any other competitive sport, cheerleading has a strict set of rules that can result in penalties if broken. Last year at the national high school cheerleading championship north allegheny went only a few seconds over the time limit, which resulted in a deduction of points moving them from a meritorious fifth place to a substandard eighteenth. Judges also disqualified many other teams completely for performing illegal stunts. As well as following a set of rules, cheerleaders compete in divisions according to size and develop rivals, as do most other high school sports. Each year, penn state university awards textbook and apparel scholarships to their cheerleaders, and returning cheerleaders acquire the opportunity to receive the $1500 dr. Cheerleading consists of a competitive mix of gymnastics and dance as well as many other strength and cardiovascular components.