How is throwing extremely difficult tumbling passes, gravity defying stunts, and hardcore jumps added into a whole routine that has to be completed in a matter of 2 minutes and 30 seconds not considered a sport? How is it not a sport when it meets the guidelines of a sport? How can you say that cheerleading isn’t a sport and doesn’t require talent if you’ve never been a cheerleader or witnessed a real cheerleading competition? You can’t.

In order for cheerleading to be a sport it must be a physical activity that involves forcing a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of mass. Check, cheerleaders tumble, flipping with no hands, stunt, throwing a 100+ pound girl in the air, and jump, lifting your whole body weight off the ground while performing an acrobatic move in the air, which clearly exceeds expectations. A sport must have some sort of competition or game; cheerleaders have weekend competitions at least twice a month all around the world, check. It is mandatory to have rules that include a maximum and minimum time limit, space, and purpose of the contest; cheerleading necessitates mat sizing, time limit of performance, and score sheets. Check, check, and check. The Women’s Sport Foundation states “Any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or qualified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as the psychical activity includes the above defined elements and the primary purpose is competition verses other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to any other “athletic” activities.” Check.

Cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for women being 65.2% of all catastrophic injuries. 37,000 cheerleaders are taken to the hospital every year, for catastrophic injuries that include skull fractures, closed-head injuries, and cervical spine injuries. The injuries mainly come from landing your tumbling pass incorrectly or getting kicked during tumbling, falling out of a stunt, or landing jumps in an excruciating, improper position. The amount of cheerleaders taken to the emergency room every year is up 60% sense 1998.

Most that argue that cheerleading isn’t a sport can’t seem to distinguish sideline cheerleading from competitive cheerleading. They only look at the girls that participate in sideline cheerleading rather than competitive, missing the stunts like, double downs, kick double basket tosses, express up tick tock needle bow and arrow, and paper dolls. They seem to miss the tumbling passes competitive cheerleaders complete such as, arabians, fulls, whip to double fulls, punch front through to layout full. Those that say cheerleading is easy haven’t tried jumps like, triple toe touch standing tuck, left front herkie to double toe touch right front herkie, and pike standing full. Cheerleaders have to complete a dance that constantly keeps them on their feet or off them for that matter. The dance is usually 6-8 eight counts long and is hip-hop based including kicks, mini stunts, and standing tumbling. If a cheerleader isn’t tight, sharp, smiling, cooperating, and harmonized with her team then she can kiss first place goodbye. Sideline cheerleading is meant to pump up the crowd, keep them involved, and when bored entertain them; all-star cheer competes against other teams to claim a title and win. The two types of cheerleading have major differences and aren’t easily comparable, meaning you can’t judge competitive cheerleading and say it isn’t a sport if you really haven’t seen it.

Stereotypes weigh a heavy factor in people’s opinions of cheerleaders, but that isn’t at all true. TV and pop culture seem to make cheerleaders out as nasty, popular, illiterate girls that only seem to care about clothes and dating the star football player. Could they be more wrong? Over 83% of cheerleaders maintain a B average or higher in school and 62% of those girls also participate in other sports. Cheerleaders try to avoid the nasty comments not only about their sport, but also about themselves because they love their sport and will do anything to prove the common naïve person wrong.

So why is cheerleading not considered a sport? Is it because it doesn’t involve throwing a ball, or is 4 quarters/periods long? If that were the case sports such as, swimming, track, cross country, diving, gymnastics, dance, and wrestling wouldn’t be considered sports either, but they are. What is it that people have against cheerleading? Is it the stereotypes, the lack of shoulder pads and addition of makeup and skirts maybe? I didn’t think so.

Cheerleading exceeds the ‘laws’ of a sport, is the most dangerous women’s sport, and do much more than sideline chants. Girl and boy cheerleaders work just as hard as any other athlete does and wants to win just as badly as the next athlete. Competitive cheer is a sport plain and simple.