It has been the question that has been argued back and forth in high schools and colleges everywhere, Is cheerleading a sport or is it just an activity? In the past it has been the understanding that cheerleading is just an activity. However this is 2008 and times have changed! More and more people are starting to classify cheerleading as a sport.
Now the fact is cheerleaders don’t shoot free throws, and we don’t tackle other people for balls but we do tumble, stunt, and compete. Now normally the argument could be ended at that simple fact. WE COMPETE! We are not scored like normal sport teams, but we are scored. Starting out with points and every mistake that is made points get taken off. Perfection is expected. We have two minutes and thirty seconds to impress the judges, and if that is not done, we will not win. To get to where we need to be when we compete we have to practice.
A cheerleaders practice is just as hard as any other sport teams practice. A normal practice is more than two hours long. We have to stretch and pull our legs to our head. We defy gravity and flip upside down while doing full twists. And the obvious, we hold girls in the air (or be held) while the flyers contort their body into tear drop shapes while being ten feet in the air. It is strenuous work that requires a lot of physical and mental strength. Not to mention it is very dangerous.
Cheerleading has become the sport with the most injuries. This includes football, basketball, and hockey. We break our noses and our arms. We tear our ACL’s and ligaments in our ankles. We go into recovery, push through it and go back to our team as fast as we can. We put our hearts and souls into everything we do. Emotionally investing everything we have into that two minute and thirty second routine, just because WE LOVE OUR SPORT!!!!!
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