Cheerleading Is a Sport Essay

Cheer preeminent started as a male endeavor in 1898, when a University of Minnesota football fan led the crowd in rhythm in support of their team. It was non until World War II, when men shipped turn out to war, that women took over. Then cheerleaders came to represent the the Statesn ideal of femininity wholesome orchard apple tree pie with washboard stomachs, perfect teeth, and flawless complexions. Stereotypes cast them as blond, petite, and impossibly perky. From its blue beginning cheerleading has blossomed into a competitive athletic bodily function with a terrible image problem (Forman 52).But todays post-feminist youth corroborate put a new, diverse face on cheerleading. Cheerleading in America is no extended a matter of waving pom-poms, a sly smile and being overly perky. Calling themselves athletes, non eye candy, cheerleaders are pushing harder for deferred payment as participants in an official sport. Today, cheerleading involves skills which require the pecu liarity of football, the grace of dance, and the agility of gymnastic exercise. Complex maneuvers are performed which challenge the limits of the body.Safety organizations such(prenominal) as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators were formed to develop safety rules to occur programs in the safe cognitive process of cheerleading gymnastics, which include jumps, partner stunts, pyramids and tumbling. With the run a risks gnarly today, cheerleading should generate statewide recognition as a sport. Opposition to making cheerleading a sport, continually say, cheerleaders are not athletes.Confirmation of this lies in the position report of Womens Sports Foundation, any physical activity in which relative performance can be judged or quantified can be developed into a competitive sport as long as (1) the physical activity includes the above defined elements and (2) the primary target is competition versus other teams or individuals within a competition structure comparable to other mutation activitiesCheerleading in its current format, does not meet the second criteria listed above.The primary purpose is not competition, but that of raising school unity through leading the crowd at athletic functions. (Forman 51) Yet, as sports like football, basketball, and wrestling plow more popular, so does the cheerleaders. Nay-Sayers of the movement are content to have cheerleaders safe be the back-up dancers. Not understanding that cheerleaders are just as plaintful as the sports teams they cheer for. Challengers say cheerleaders do not have the akin time commitments as other sports teams.While they as well as do not recognize the physical strain put on cheerleaders bodies and the increased risk for injuries. The long-held view of cheerleading as merely another school activity is also a concern. If the athleticism of cheerleading is not recognized, the supervision will continue to light up to teachers that are not qualified to adeq uately supervise. Additionally, existing advisors will not receive the training necessary to provide adequate supervision of an increasingly athletic activity. Cheerleading has all the elements of a sport competition, practice skills, teamwork, and training.It also has a year round commitment. An important movement in the world of cheerleading is the spit out to legitimate the activity in the eyes of the public, said Laura Grindstaff, assistant prof of sociology and cultural studies at the University of California-Davis(Coman Cheerleading is now risker). Cheerleaders are struggling to gain the recognition and love they deserve for their sport. Although some colleges offer cheerleading scholarships, cheerleaders still face contrariety in spunky school and college athletics.It is alarming considering all the new risks involved that it has yet to be mandated in all states as a sport. 20 six state athletic organizations have deemed cheerleading should be recognized as a sport, but what about the other twenty five? Cheerleading was excluded as a sport when Title IX was passed, which forbids sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding (Rondon 98). Title IX was mantic to be legislation that mandated that boys and girls receive equal sporting opportunities.But even certification just requires that coaches pass an online test theres no requirement for training in gymnastics or spotting techniques. (Ebersole Thrills and Spills). And only about a dozen states regulate cheer according to the rules adjust by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). For high school football, on the other hand, all states follow the NFHS rulebook except Texas, which uses the NCAA college-level rules. Soccer, hockey, basketball, and gymnastics cannot compete when it comes to serious back problems, fractures and, in grave cases paralysis(Forman 51). Cheerleading is not considered a sport, so none of the safeguards that other sp orts have developed applies(Forman 52). In the two states where cheerleading is classified as a sport, cheerleaders are subject to the alike(p) rules as athletes, regarding practice and travel restrictions, safety, camps, and coaching certification. Cheerleaders need the guarantee of puritanical training room, proper medical care, and proper checks and screenings for participants. If properly recognized teams would be provided better training facilities, coaches would be properly trained, injuries would decrease and funding for the programs would increase.With all aspect of cheerleading becoming increasingly difficult cheerleading deserves the state-wide recognition as a sport just as any other physical sporting activity. In the words of Kane of the Tucker Center, when the culture starts rewarding cheerleading in the very(prenominal) way in which it rewards women and men sports with economic parity and scholarships, not patently regulated to the sidelines, then I think were ont o something (Rondon 99). No longer content to just cheer on the sidelines, cheerleaders are now demanding the respect they so rightfully deserve.