Cheerleading, in all its many different forms, is a point of contention amongst sports fans. Some believe that all cheer includes is encouraging the actual sports teams from the sidelines, waving pom-poms about, and leading the crowd in chants. Others see the work and effort put into routines, as well as competition leagues throughout the country.
Cheer requires mastery at many different athletic skills like acrobatics, tumbling, jumps, and stunts. These skills are seen in gymnastics and dance, other competitive sports also contested as sports by the general public.
Competition cheerleading teams work year round conditioning their bodies to withstand the routines that are then practiced back-to-back for weeks on end before taking the show to competitions against other cheerleading teams.
Many people that support cheer throughout our community say that cheer is a very “exhilarating and physically demanding sport.”
In an interview with BBC, Tori Rubin, coach for Enlgand’s National Cheer Team, said, “It’s an incredibly exciting team sport and encompasses so many different disciplines… and it’s about time that everyone saw how incredible the sport of cheerleading is.”
Put plainly, ‘cheer’ is defined as “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” All the boxes listed, cheerleading easily meets, but contention still remains.
While cheerleading has a big support group, there is also a large number of people that think the sport is just entertainers or dancers.
Linsdey Newman, a former cheerleader, with Frostburg State University, released her own opinion article “Why Cheerleading is NOT a sport and you should never want it to be,” says, “Sports teams compete, they do not perform for the enjoyment of a crowd or the support of another competing team.”
When discussing sports, like football or basketball, perhaps Newman’s opinion stands that cheerleading is not a sport during those seasons. But with Olympic recognition, opinions like Newman’s do not stop these athletes from taking home winning trophies.
While the debate was once doubly contentious than today, Netflix’s release of “Cheer”, a docuseries following the Navarre Competition Cheerleading team through their practices and efforts to bring home the coveted national championship, shed light on the athleticism required. The peak behind the dances shifted attitudes towards the sport.
Despite personal opinions on whether cheerleading is a sport or not, there is no doubt about the athleticism and competitiveness required to pull off the stunts those teams do. There is a large competitive circuit that exists, and by all accounts, cheer does meet all requirements to be considered a sport.