I gotta ask ...

[Jims242]

Hello SportsJournalists.comers,

Overall opinions on covering "competitive cheer."

We're in the meat of our district and regional volleyball with football right around the corner. I've gotten only two phone complaints via the phone, but was wondering what the rest of you guys and gals think about this.

 

[imjustagirl2]

Cheerleading is not a sport.

Period.

 

[Chi City 81]

No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

 

[GB-Hack]

I second Doc.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

How many phone complaints did you get via the microwave?

 

[Jims242]

Glad to see it's an agreement.
A lady called me today and told me to read our competition (10 miles away) to learn how a real sports section covers competitive cheer.

I told her I didn't think real sports sections covered competitive cheer (not a knock on the "other" paper, of course).

She was not amused and will, no doubt, call my ME later.

 

[Jims242]

Good one, Mystery Meat. (I guess a newbie such as I should expect a good smart-ass answer every now and again.)

 

[Mystery_Meat]

I don't think all that much of competitive cheer personally, but if it's sanctioned as a sport by your state's high school athletic association and district/conference, region and state titles are awarded, then it's a sport. I wouldn't go nuts covering it, but that's the standard I'd go by.

Of course, the parents of said cheerleaders are more likely to lodge non-sports complaints about your coverage. Case in point: one time I had a freelancer shoot the teams I had in the region meet, and one of the mothers was upset because the action photo that represented her team didn't have faces visible. I explained to her that no other sports parent ever made that comment to me before, but a sideline cheering parent did.

And sideline cheering has no place in sports at all unless it's unusually good wild art, a part of a photo page or ... well, that's it.

 

[dooley_womack1]

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Lugnuts is wondering why she just pounded a wall with her fist.

 

[ondeadline]

Gimme an N! Gimme a O!

Band is as much of a sport as cheerleading. Neither should be in the sports section.

 

[playthrough]

I don't think all that much of competitive cheer personally, but if it's sanctioned as a sport by your state's high school athletic association and district/conference, region and state titles are awarded, then it's a sport. I wouldn't go nuts covering it, but that's the standard I'd go by.

Do any states sanction it and award state titles? Gawd I hope not.

 

[slappy4428]

It's an activity, not a sport...

Tell mom to put the tinfoil hat back on and go away

 

[playthrough]

I don't think all that much of competitive cheer personally, but if it's sanctioned as a sport by your state's high school athletic association and district/conference, region and state titles are awarded, then it's a sport. I wouldn't go nuts covering it, but that's the standard I'd go by.

Do any states sanction it and award state titles? Gawd I hope not.

I think most do, actually. I know Georgia does: http://www.ghsa.net/cheerleading.

Wow. Things have changed since I went to high school in Ga. way back when.

Yeah, if it's state-sanctioned a paper might have a tougher time completely ignoring it. Just hope your local schools suck.

 

[Chi City 81]

I don't think all that much of competitive cheer personally, but if it's sanctioned as a sport by your state's high school athletic association and district/conference, region and state titles are awarded, then it's a sport. I wouldn't go nuts covering it, but that's the standard I'd go by.

Do any states sanction it and award state titles? Gawd I hope not.

I think most do, actually. I know Georgia does: http://www.ghsa.net/cheerleading.

Wow. Things have changed since I went to high school in Ga. way back when.

Yeah, if it's state-sanctioned a paper might have a tougher time completely ignoring it. Just hope your local schools suck.

Academic Decathlon is state-sanctioned, too.

 

[slappy4428]

The GHSA is the Georgia High School Association... note the lack of the word "athletic" in the title

 

[slappy4428]

The GHSA is the Georgia High School Association... note the lack of the word "athletic" in the title

However:

The GHSA sanctions certain championships under "athletics" and certain championships under "activities." Cheerleading is under "athletics," like it or not.

Am thinking more along the lines of it sanctioning non-athletic events; more of an overall extra-curricular association...

 

[spnited]

I don't think all that much of competitive cheer personally, but if it's sanctioned as a sport by your state's high school athletic association and district/conference, region and state titles are awarded, then it's a sport. I wouldn't go nuts covering it, but that's the standard I'd go by.

Do any states sanction it and award state titles? Gawd I hope not.

I think most do, actually. I know Georgia does: http://www.ghsa.net/cheerleading.

Wow. Things have changed since I went to high school in Ga. way back when.

Yeah, if it's state-sanctioned a paper might have a tougher time completely ignoring it. Just hope your local schools suck.

Academic Decathlon is state-sanctioned, too.

My niece is in her second year of Academic Decathlon competiton ... the "Geek Olympics" as she calls it.
She works just as hard as the football team does, except she has to learn more than pass patterns and blitzes and whatever other **** is in a high school playbook these days. And a whole lot more than airhead cheerleaders will ever learn.

The states can sanction cheering competition all they want. It is not and never will be covered in my sports section.

 

[spnited]

Not in NJ, Buck.

 

[Oz]

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What he said.

 

[Colton]

Hello. No. Not. Ever.