Is Cheerleading a Sport? Let a Judge Decide.

Since kneecapping Berman won't shut him up (for that, we'd need a much more costly tracheotomy), I say we pay the judge.

 

most of the "competitive cheerleading" teams are already not allowed to cheer at other sports events (see above).

The boosters of competitive cheerleading go on and on and on about the great conditioning and tremendous body control and precision moves and outstanding athleticism involved in the activity. Unfortunately, there was already an established legitimate sport that had all that -- gymnastics -- which the rise of cheerleading has basically wiped out.

 

i should've read the 2nd page before i posted. agree about gymnastics. cheer and dance team seem like gymnastics trying to be more fashionable/sexy. what becomes a joke is when the uniforms start to look like stripper apparel but they complain about being taking seriously.

 

I work with the local JuCo cheer coach, and he'll tell you, for the most part, cheerleading is not a sport. If it were, they would not call it "Cheer"+"Leading".

IMO, to be a "sport" you must have a season and a championship. With the 73 different cheer "Nationals" competitions, who knows who wins.

 

Cheer expert: Cheerleading will be a sport when chess is.


http://nhregister.com/articles/2010/06/23/sports/qquinnipiac_title_ix062310062310.txt

But we work just as hard as the Chess Team!!

 

I've never questioned the amount of athletic ability and conditioning cheerleading requires.
I've also never questioned the athletic ability and conditioning required of pro wrestlers, ballet dancers or stuntmen. Those things aren't sports and the people who engage in those activities don't feel insulted if you tell them they're not sports.
Cheerleading, to me, is similar to those activities. It's a performance activity, not a sport. But cheerleading people (with the possible exception of Mr. Webb) feel insulted if you say that.

 

I think cheerleading is sport. I've always thought it is. However, since volleyball competes on a more regular basis I wouldn't dismantle the volleyball team in favor of a cheer squad.

 

You talk if that's a bad thing

 

I watched the Penn and Teller episode last night. I can understand why they want it to be called a sport, but I still don't understand why it needs to be considered a sport to improve its safety practices.
And I still think that not everything that requires athletic ability is necessarily a sport.

 

They want it to be called a sport to get their fingers into the athletic department's checkbook.

And to take money away from girls basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball etc etc yadda yadda.

 

It is more of a sport than soccer, at least the participants are tougher.....[\crossthread]

 

My older brother was in high school marching band in the mid-1990s and I never understood that with band then.

If things like marching band, dance team, JROTC competitions and cheer want to be taken seriously, here's a thought: If you keep score, ANNOUNCE THEM. Don't wait. Even other judged choreographed sports - figure skating and ice dancing - announce the competitors' scores within minutes of their performances.

My paper is a little screwy when it comes to cheerleading. If they participate in competition, we'll put a two-column black-and-white photo on page 2 (team photo only, not from competition). However, if Podunk Prep goes to a "national" competition with only five squads in its division (with no one west of the Mississippi River and no one north of the Ohio River), we'll look that up and make sure it is included in the cutline.

If they run a camp, we'll run a photo of the campers on our once-a-week youth-rec-outdoors page.

Other than that, maybe an occasional football/basketball sidelines photo package. In 10 years with the paper, I haven't had to write a single prep cheerleading article.

I'd like to keep that streak intact.

That being said, if Kentucky ever added gymnastics in the winter, we'd probably cover that. Because at least getting scores wouldn't be as difficult as it is in cheerleading.