My new boss

Exactly

 

We're lucky around here, I guess. Only the larger schools have dance teams, and they are all an adjunct of the band, not the cheerleading squads.

 

Tell the parent you'll be pleased to cover the members of the dance team when they graduate and move on to working the poles at the local strip joint!

 

for a while at my old rag the dance/drill team was regularly on the front page, not just front of sports. of course that was because of feuding moms and accusations that eventually involved the police and the local justice of the peace. best accusation was when one group of girls was accused of trying to run another off the road.

good times.

 

Which is almost verbatim of what I used to tell the odd cheerleader mom who would call.

Some took it better than others.

 

The folks in features are going to be pretty cranky. It probably took a couple of years for them to convince mom that it was a sport.

 

That's because they work just as hard as the golfers you are always writing about.

 

One thing with cheerleading that's especially a pain, is that they must have dozens of national championships every year. We have a handful of local colleges and high schools that win national championships every year and want coverage.

 

The best way is "No." Then hang up.

 

Dance team doesn't belong on the sports page. Even though there are state tournaments, many teams have their own nicknames instead of going by the school mascot, which IMHO makes it silly to be put in sports.

 

Ask yourself this: Does the state high school athletic association conduct a dance team (or cheerleading) championship?

I'm not talking about a competition involving a few state schools - is there a state dance team (or cheerleading) champion crowned by the high school association every year?

If the answer is no, it's not a sport and should be relegated to the Features section.

 

While I agree with where you're going with this, there is a small issue.

In states such as PA, the PIAA, the state high school athletic association, does not include hockey or lacrosse as state sanctioned sports, and therefore they conduct their own local and states championships. I know what your point was, just pointing out little things like that pop up from time to time.