Is cheerleading a sport?

[MililaniBuckeye]

Up until my oldest became an all-state high school cheerleader and her high school squad went to nationals in 1996 (?), I had also felt that cheerleading wasn't anything near a sport. After seeing some of their practices and how cheerleading meets are scored, I feel that cheerleading has as much claim to being a sport as does gymnastics. Now, when cheerleaders are on the sidelines doing routines and cheering on their team during the game are they in their own sporting event? Of course not. However, when cheerleading competitions are held, they can definitely be considered a sporting event. If anyone should be asking the question, "Is this really a sport?", they should be asking it about that "World Championship Poker" bullshit that ESPN plays. A sport, by definition, is an organized athletic activity taken part in by individuals or teams of individuals in competition with each other in order to achieve the best score or result as laid out within the guidelines/rules of that activity.

 

[OSUMBuckeye]

Having had the opportunity to converse with some of the OSU cheerleaders, I would certainly consider competitive cheerleading a sport. They oftentimes look at games as a chance to practice some of their stunts. Most of the guys come from athletic backgrounds and find it to be a challenging eye-opening experience. They have mandatory lifting sessions in addition to practice as some of those stunts require a lot of upper body strenth.

That said, why the hell do we have a cheerleading thread without any photos?

 

[ArtesiaBuckDog]

Okay, I broke down and attended the stupidass rehearsal tonight, and I'm just sorry, but NO WAY IS THAT A SPORT. I heard the sponsor tell the crowd before the chicks started the routine that the judges last year told them if they exhibited "more energy and perkiness in the dance number" they'd get better marks. What more proof do I need?

The ONLY portion of what I saw tonight that I might concede required more than just an average amount of athletic ability was when they tossed each other up in the air. There's a brief moment of uncertainty and the possibility of a sports-related injury there. But they caught them. The tumbling I don't buy as proof that they're true athletes. It means their parents enrolled them in gymnastics as children while other parents enrolled their daughters in ballet class or something else.

That routine tonight lasted about two minutes altogether. They've had all year long to work on that. That being the case (and it being the case with all the other squads that will be at this competition), the chances of them screwing it up are slim to none, unless they're just headcases under pressure. To me, that says that the deciding factor in this competition, then, is going to be whose sponsor was a better choreographer than everybody else's.

I know some people think I should just bite the bullet and let the cheerleaders think they're a sport for a day, but I'm having nightmares here. I put them on the sports pages and next week I've got instructors from little-kid gymnastics, tumbling, trampoline jumping, etc., in my office demanding their right to go on the sports pages because they work just as hard as the cheerleaders, while the cheerleaders, meanwhile, are still trying to convince me they work just as hard as the football team. Therefore, I'm going to do the manly thing and beg the editor to put this crap on the front page Friday or Sunday and get me off the hook.

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

cheerleading pic coming right up since you asked...