Is cheerleading a sport?
photo taken from fanster.com
This is a question I’ve heard all my life. Now it’s time to open it up for discussion.
Is cheerleading a sport?
photo taken from fanster.com
This is a question I’ve heard all my life. Now it’s time to open it up for discussion.
Is cheerleading a sport?
September 2, 2009 - 4:04 pm
I really don't consider it one.
November 10, 2009 - 1:31 am
Yes it is dude I know this is a little weird but I am a male cheerleader and I think It is a sport
November 10, 2009 - 5:05 am
It's not football or basketball.
November 14, 2009 - 6:24 pm
Its a sport. Its like weightlighting, except your lifting people your body size in the air
November 22, 2009 - 10:01 pm
The impact of a cheerleader falling out of a prep is harder than an NFL football tackle. of course its a sport. we dont lift weights. we lift people(:
November 25, 2009 - 5:07 pm
Haha, You honestly think falling on a gym floor is harder than an NFL tackle?… wow… really? too bad if you get tackled by a baller in the NFL, your getting tackled by a man who benches 450 lbs… daily…. now come on people. And you lift people?.. I play high schoool basketball and i bench 300.. do you have a flyer cheerleader who weigh 300 lbs?… plus, when your lifting a girl 7 other girls are helping.
January 15, 2010 - 6:36 pm
no but its still a sport!!!!!!!!
February 28, 2010 - 1:18 pm
it may not be, but its an all year sport working all of your body in ways you would never think possible…and its just as fun to watch
March 9, 2010 - 11:27 am
So r u saying that football and basketball are the only sports?
September 2, 2009 - 5:09 pm
Of course it is, they put just as much preparation into their routine and physical work just as many other "sports."
November 10, 2009 - 1:30 am
Thank You Sal I agree with you I'm also a cheerleader and you have to work REALLY hard though.So thank you to all those people who think cheerleading is a sport! =)
November 1, 2009 - 5:50 pm
yes it is, its hard, cheerleaders compete and people can get hurt in it.
November 10, 2009 - 1:27 am
Thank you Kallie I agree with you and I am a cheerleader so that really makes me happy and trust me you can get hurt doing it.I am a flyer and one time when i got thrown up in the air I came back down and I got dropped.But that didn't stop me though I am still a cheerleader and I am still a flyer so Thank You Kallie
November 27, 2009 - 6:29 am
Thanks Kallie and Amber, i'm also a flyer, and the same thing happened to me, but the two side spotters were new so i can't blame them =] haha, I've broken my heel from cheer leading once. it didn't tickle =[
February 28, 2010 - 1:20 pm
soo true its not even funny and i heard its proven to have more injuries yearly than any other sport
November 10, 2009 - 1:24 am
Yes Cheerleading Is A Sport Because I Am A Cheerleader And Trust Me You Have To Work Really HARD But It Is Fun Though You Get To Laugh And Have A Good Time And My Coach Is REALLY Nice I Love Cheerleading And We Get To Compete In Regionals And We Went To State So If You Want To Be A Cheerleader Just Ask Me For Tips
November 22, 2009 - 6:57 pm
I don’t know, saying cheerleading is a sport is like saying dancing or figure skating is a sport. As it is also tough, you can get hurt, you need to train etc. There is no strategy or seriousness to it. To be honest, I play two competitive sports that require being in ultimate condition as you must endure for hours. It requires great skill to play and practice that I have put in since I was 4. Cheerleading seems like it’s just a couple of minutes that you have to memorize of dance steps and flips.
November 23, 2009 - 12:52 am
I agree with you Pusty. Cheerleading isn't a "real" sport, but can be considered a sport.
January 5, 2010 - 11:53 pm
umm… excuse me? i have been in cheerleading since i was 3, and i am still working at it. competitions take months of training, and not only do you have to learn cheers and dances, you have to take training in gymnastics. do you consider gymnastics a sport? yes, it is. it requires agility, balance, performance, etc… same as basketball, football or any other sport you may be involved in.
February 3, 2010 - 10:25 am
There is very much a strategy to cheerleading. I am a cheerleading coach, cheered in college and still do clinics. When you do a routine you have to know when to place certain stunts and skills so that they can be executed well and allow for enough energy to finish the routine strong. This being said I also played varsity softball, and was on a travel team. Just as much work.
February 3, 2010 - 9:35 pm
But isn’t that choreography more than strategy?
I like to think that the preperation itself does not make it a sport. Actually playing the sport makes it a sport. I can train like a madman for a game of chess.
February 28, 2010 - 1:28 pm
okay i can see where your coming from Putsy but could you cheer, dance, stunt, jump, and tumble in two and a half minutes??? without “strategy”??? cheerleading is a year round sport with NO off season. i dont know about others, but i practice like a madman just for tumbling!!! not considering stunting and jumps and the dance!!! i’ve been cheering for 7 years and i only have my roundoff-double handspring tuck!!!! compared to others who have layouts and have only been cheering for 4 years!!! i work just as hard as my guy friends who play football, but i do it all year round.
February 21, 2010 - 9:42 pm
okay, think about it do you think you could do half the things we do?
in michigan there is different cheerleading then anyother state.
do you think you can lift the girls up and do the sweet stunts and pyramids we do?
and tumble like we can, i bet you try a full annd brek your necck.
because we work hard for this, not just for one season like football, but all year round. yes, the routine might be only a couple of minutes long per round, but the things we do, half of you people saying its not a sport couldn’t do it.
CHEERLEADING IS A SPORT
November 25, 2009 - 5:03 pm
Absolutely not! You cheerleaders say " we lift people you lift weights "…. yeahh! well, you lift an anorexic girl with seven other people.. real sports players lift weights that are much heavier than cheerleaders.. and Kallie.. you can get hurt walking down steps.. is that considered a sport?
December 3, 2009 - 9:33 pm
i would really like to see you do it. and on y cheer team only two people lift us and sometimes only one. go on youtube all the pro male cheerleaders could kick your ass in two seconds cause they are more fit then you will ever be!!!
December 31, 2009 - 8:14 pm
HA!!! Flyers aren’t anorexic! Are you joking?! and there are only three people lifting someone in the air and let me tell you, from an extension it’s a long way down! It takes alot to do what we do, throw people 15 feet in the air (basket toss). You have no idea!
January 1, 2010 - 2:16 pm
No we are not joking. Most flyers are very skinny and possibly anorexic.
January 5, 2010 - 11:57 pm
umm… anorexic? you don’t have to be anorexic to be skinny, and many cheerleaders are in the best shape, and better than any other sports players out there. as a base, i can say that lifting people above your head, moving with it, and then throwing them while helping them turn is sooo much more complicated than you would ever know.
January 6, 2010 - 10:29 pm
I didn’t say that they were anorexic, I said that they were skinny. Pay attention! Being in shape means nothing, the actual activity is what we are discussing, I would not argue if we were discussing, “Are cheerleaders less in shape compared to those in sports?”. Maybe it is complicated, but it seems pretty starightforward to me.
January 7, 2010 - 2:06 am
umm… you said “possibly anorexic.” at my school, we are populated with people who are very skinny… they eat more than the big people do… and i understand that this isn’t part of the debate, i was just trying to show a point. i hope you understand what anorexia is… someone that starves themselves to be skinny… you don’t have to starve yourself to be skinny. you can eat all you want if you work it off.
January 7, 2010 - 8:03 pm
Yes I understand this, I hope you realize that bulimic girls eat a lot and then force themselves to throw it up later. I know that some girls just have a high metabolism rate.
Honestly, from what I have seen and read working out does very little for losing weight. If you starve yourself you will shed the pounds,even though this VERY unhealthy.
January 8, 2010 - 6:02 pm
yes, i understand this, but this also has nothing to do with bulimic girls either. and hopefully people have a better idea for getting skinny than to be anorexic or skinny. but most of the time in order to be in sports you have to eat, so that you will have energy to do whatever sport you are doing.
February 3, 2010 - 10:27 am
Also there are never 7 girls helping to lift one girl. Most often 2, sometimes 3. When you get to college a single girl in the middle level of a pyramid often holds another single girl. many names for this type. a 2-1-1, a trophy, muscleman all examples of one girl holding one girl.
February 21, 2010 - 9:45 pm
yeah try it, k.
because we lift her with two other people, and they’re not anorexic, my flyer is 125 lbs
November 28, 2009 - 1:13 am
um no "Balla!" we do not lift anorexic girls. we lift girls with as much muscle mass as we do. and there are only two people lifting a girl with someone in the back to make sure the girl in the air doesnt fall back and break her neck. cheerleading is a real sport. we had just as many injurys as the football team this year and the cheer team is better than the football team. people who have not experienced somethng should not open their mouths because they really dont know what its like.
December 20, 2009 - 5:52 pm
I agree with Amy. I am a cheerleader and I consider my self NOT SKINNY and I am a flyer. You want to try being a cheerleader because cheerleading isn’t a few people screaming something we practise for hours on end and make our stunts perfect. You should try holding someone up in the air and see how you like it!
December 20, 2009 - 10:29 pm
Perhaps I am not straighforward enough for you cheerleaders to understand. So I will try to explain.
I have every respect for cheerleading and I understand that it is a very dangerous sport, and I think it looks cool when you fly around and catch each other. Having said that, it still is not a sport. I would describe it as an equivalent to rehersing a play, as some plays have similar tricks and flips and dances moves and whatever else you do.
I have much more respect for cheerleaders than other so called sports such as golf, or auto racing, where any old fatty can excel. But I also understand that there is a higher level of skill and strategy that is involved, which makes it a sport. Please understand that I don’t think of cheerleaders as so lazy that they do not deserve the title of a sport, rather I think of the activity not requiring the skill and talent (and other aspects (see list below)) that a sport must have.
P.S Don’t worry about your weight Kat, please, there are far too many anorexic girls these days. If you are a flyer you are probably a healthy weight.
January 6, 2010 - 12:00 am
okay, thanks for your input and trying to explain everything, but it still doesnt even near cover what we do on our team. gymnastics is a REQUIREMENT. we condition, and practice daily. on the side i run track to get myself in even better shape. thank you for the “skill and talent is involved” but i don’t think you realize exactly how much is involved.
January 1, 2010 - 6:58 pm
I agree with Amy. We have practices that football players could NEVER do. We lift girls that weigh anywhere from 80-150 pounds, okay. So it is a sport cuz it has more physical preparation than ANY OTHER SPORT1 Exept for gmynastics!! So if ya dont know then dont comment cuz u quys are wasting mha time and everybody elses wuth your stupid comments!
January 2, 2010 - 2:33 am
I apologize if logic and clear thinking harms your arguement. Stupid reasoning, it always gets in the way doesn’t it?
I have to say that if you think that gymnastics and cheerleading take the most preperation of all sports you are very closed minded. I cannot begin to tell you how amazingly wrong you are. I am not saying that cheerleading and gymnastics takes considerable preperation, but other sports require preperation that you cannot comprehend, and that I cannot imagine.
I’m sorry that reality is so mean. Try shrinking your oversized female ego and maybe you will start to think with your brain, and not with your need for self-accomplishment.
P.S stupid enough for you.
November 28, 2009 - 1:56 pm
Real sports require skill and strategy, I play hockey, the ultimate combination of skill and strength. I’ve been playing since I was 4 praticing constantly. It requires endurance, intelligence, strength, speed, toughness, hand-eye coordination, quick decision making, accuracy, and bravery. Not to mention hours and hours of practice in the weight room as well as on the ice. The only one on that list that I can see cheerleading requiring is strength. I’m sorry, but if you’ve never played “real” sports don’t judge them as being easy like your own. A couple minutes of dance steps and flips is not a comparison.
January 3, 2010 - 9:20 pm
i would have to say that cheering on the sidelines of basketball or football games, that is not a sport anyone can do that, but competitive cheerleading on the other hand IS a sport. you said hockey has a combination of all those things well so does competition cheerleaders.. let me explain, starting with endurance they have to hold girls in the air, yell a cheer than go to tumbling passes than hold two more girls in the air dance still yell while smiling and make it all look so easy.. you don’t get a break like hockey you can go sit on the bench and rest. yes their routines are 2 min and 30 sec but you have to do all those things. now strength you have to hold girls in the air, sometimes those girls probably weigh more than the bases do, yes you have some help holding them but you also have dead weight to consider also, hand-eye coordination you have to flip girls in the air while still having some sort of contact with them ( high school level) and making sure their foot lands in your hand.. quick decision making, this is if a flyer starts to fall you have to figure out where she is going how to catch her without injury. accuracy.. that your tumbling passes and stunting hits everytime.. bravery.. how many people are willing to be thrown in the air and land on your neck, face shoulders kness ect.. intelligence do you think that by doing all these things you don’t have some sort of intelligence? its a strategy just like every other sport. just because you watch it and you think you know, just because the girls you watch make it look so easy doesn’t mean it is. yes i am a cheerleader but i’ve also played other sports including: basketball, softball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, gymnastics. you get my point…. just because you can lift about 400 pound weights does not mean that football players weigh that much. no one ever said that injury makes it a sport! yes we practice the same thing over and over again, but so does every other sport, they practice plays over and over again , just like cheer.im not saying that football or hockey is not hard i know it is, but cheerleaders don’t have padding like they do.
January 4, 2010 - 11:52 am
Ok let me start, endurance, there is no way that an activity that is a couple minutes long requires endurance, when I say endurance I mean actually having to endure for an extended period of time.
Hand eye coordination, if you consider catching something as big as a human hand eye coordination, then you really don’t know how hard real sports are.
Bravery, um, lots of people jump off things that are higher than cheerleaders of thrown without the assurance of being caught. It’s nothing special. I think that having the bravery to take a hit even though you KNOW there will be pain, requires more bravery.
Intelligence, uh, any retard can do dance moves, I takes a real intelligent person to read a play and read the other teams strategy and know how to affectly beat it. Cheerleading requires absolutely zero intelligence.
Cheerleading requires zero strategy at all. None
In case you haven’t realized, the main arguement by these cheerleaders is that you could get hurt by it. Pay attention!!
Smiling and chanting doesn’t make it a sport, for what it’s worth I holler for the puck and give nasty looks at the faceoff.
No, we have to practice a wide variety of skills and strategies at practice, not the same routine.
January 4, 2010 - 9:34 pm
k but you also have been saying how you’ve been sick of all theses girls say we could get hurt. now your getting mad cause im not so called paying attention?
i know we can get hurt all of us have made that point.
to endure something that is what endurance is?
to read a play thats just looking at a bunch of words and knowing how to read.
cheerleaders don’t know what the other teams routine is, so we have no way to beat them besides doing our routine better. We don’t have an hour or so to beat them you have 2 min & 30 seconds than you pray to god that your routine is better.
for cheerleading our strategy is to have a better routine just like football players have different plays same thing.
i wasn’t saying that only smiling and chanting makes it a sport pay attention! you left out some major parts like tumbling and stunting.
hand eye cordination, did you ever think about when the girl is doing a 360 and you catch her foot and only her foot while she’s spinning above your head and coming down 2 seconds later and trying to follow that foot that moves fast like that.
ya people jump off things but they don’t have someone elses force throwing them up and then not catching them, the flyer can’t do anything to help herself be caught.
so by you hollering for the puch and giving a scary look that makes you what? feel a little bit cooler that you can pretend to be scary?
they also have to practive wide variety of skils at practice. stunting, tumbling, motions, jumps, flexibility, ect.
just a question? have you ever tried to do these things? you know lift your leg to your head hold it there while in the air on someones hands then do a couple flips down than go and do a do a double full… do you even really know what your talking about?
again im talking about competition cheer not cheering at basketball or football games. please pay attention!
January 4, 2010 - 11:31 pm
You should also all take a grammar class or something.
January 6, 2010 - 12:04 am
umm… didn’t you comment on figure skating not being a sport??? HOCKEY IS FIGURE SKATING WITH A STICK! and it is sooo much more than memorizing dance steps. and hours and hours of practice on sooo many different levels go into cheerleading. can you flip over your head and land it?
January 6, 2010 - 10:40 pm
I cannot emphasize how much you really have no idea what are talking about when say that hockey is figure skating without a stick. All you cheerleaders are accusing me of being ignorant and not knowing anything about cheerleading, and how if I tried it, it would be difficult. And then you go and say something like THAT!? Comparing hockey to figure skating! Truly you are very ignorant of what the both of these are, and I encourage you to tell me one similarity between the two.
January 7, 2010 - 1:59 am
umm… you can call names if ya want to, but im not trying to offend you. i compare it to figure skating because you have to be able to skate on ice, etc. i understand it takes more cordination and skill… but that is beside the point. And i am very aware of what both of these are. =)
January 7, 2010 - 8:29 pm
You kinda threw me off when you used all capital letters. I actually thought that you did not know what hockey was. When you say something like that what am I supposed to think? Yes skating is involved in each but that is all.
January 8, 2010 - 6:06 pm
okay, but still. im not trying to offend you im just saying that there is somewhat of a relation between the two… but you really need to realize just like hockey is more complicated than figure skating, cheerleading is harder than just learning stunts, cheers and dances.
November 28, 2009 - 2:18 pm
But the true reason that it will never be consider a sport by soceity is that it’s not entertaining enough. People go to the basketball game to watch basketball not cheerleading, and you say that they’re equal?
November 28, 2009 - 7:08 pm
Yea, that's true. So I guess it's safe to say that it's not an entertaining spectator sport.
December 31, 2009 - 8:16 pm
Competitive Cheerleading is go to youtube and check out Top Gun or Twisters, then decide.
January 7, 2010 - 8:35 pm
It lacks the entertainment that society wants. It’s boring. Every sport that is won by judging lacks the spirit of the direct competitiveness that the world craves.
January 8, 2010 - 6:09 pm
It is competitiveness between the girls, yes the judges decide who wins, but the real competition is the people who are competing try to be better than the other team. its just like your hockey game. you win by making points and being better, we win over the judges by being better.
January 9, 2010 - 1:02 am
Yes, but it simply isn’t the same, I think you know what I’m trying to say, and I think you know that there is a world of difference between the two.
January 9, 2010 - 5:23 pm
between judges and actual scoring?? You should research how judges decide who wins. You are SCORED on every aspect of what you do. stunts, gymnastics, dance, etc. hockey is scored by who gets the puck into the net more than the other team… see, there is a rate from about 1-10 on most segments of what is involved in a cheerleading routine. points are added up at the end, and the team with the most points, just like hockey, is the one who wins that division… just like a tournament, 2nd lowest score (games won for basketball) recieves second place… so on and so forth. you get the point. i think you should understand how there isn’t that much of a difference between them now.
February 3, 2010 - 10:36 am
I’m not sure why you think it will never be considered a sport by society. Cheerleading competitions are some of the most obnoxiously packed places to be. Not only that but there was an international competition last year, yes “Team USA” was there. It is also being considered for the summer olympics.
February 3, 2010 - 9:43 pm
Ok, yes, there are a few followers of cheerleading, I could’ve guessed that. But really, you think that it can even be considered to be an entertaining sport by society? Unless there’s an underground cheerleading league somewhere that has somehow not ended up on sportscentre then I honestly cannot believe that cheerleading has respect in the sporting world.
February 4, 2010 - 10:43 pm
Maybe it isn’t respected because it hasn’t been accepted yet. I’m sure that when football came around,it wasn’t something that completely interested people. But you see what it has become today. Maybe if cheerleading was introduced to the sporting world, It would be better respected.
December 3, 2009 - 9:37 pm
there was a study done that found that cheerleading is one of the most dangerous SPORTS today. so how can you say that cheerleading is not a sport when it is almost the same as gymnastics.
December 8, 2009 - 3:33 am
plus more then that you have to have a lot of strength and talent to be able to do what cheerleaders do! i know someone who has broke her nose 3 times doing cheerleading!!!!
December 10, 2009 - 12:58 am
Strength maybe, but talent? Really? Just curious how long did it take to develop that talent? I’m guessing not that long, which means that probably not a lot of talent is required.
I jump off my barn, if I hurt myself should it be called a sport? No. If I go skydiving and I get hurt does that make it a sport? No. Even though I cannot see much danger in cheerleading, it remains irrelevant.
Cheerleading lacks strategy, skill, seriousness, endurance, speed, intensity, drive, determination. To list a few off the top of my head.
Listen I know that you are on the sidelines and want credit too. But you have to realize that you are not playing a sport you are dancing while the real atheletes are doing there thing.
December 10, 2009 - 8:50 pm
Pusty, I'm going to be honest here with you, I really don't know what these cheerleaders are talking about.
December 10, 2009 - 8:41 pm
I do, I have a cousin who is a cheerleader and she would probably spazz at me if she knew I had this opinon. Just like I’m sure that these cheerleaders dislike me for injecting a cold hard shot of reality.
December 21, 2009 - 1:11 pm
ummm it took me three months of two hour pratices three imes a week to get good at pop craddle and that is one of the basic stunts. we are preparing for compations now and by the end of practice i am so tired i go home eat and go to bed. the first time i craddled i kicked my base in the face. another time i landed on my other(who is my sister) bases face cause they poped me uneven. Saying that cheerleading is not a sport is like saying gymnastics is not a sport and that is in the olympics. maybe you should rethink your dumb ass reasons why cheerleading is not a sport.
December 21, 2009 - 5:30 pm
I’m sorry, are you jealous of logical reasoning? I tried to be nice and explain with clear concise reasons why it should not be called a sport. You on the other hand make the same baseless arguements and proceed to insult me because I have poked a large hole in your silly little ego.
YES WE KNOW IT IS DIFFICULT, SO IS PERFORMING IN THE CIRCUS BUT WE DON”T CALL THAT A SPORT!
Why should I rethink my reasons? Please come up with an actual arguement, and reasons behind such aimless absurd attacks.
I have had enough of you cheerleaders in your little fantasy world, where you can convince people by screaming the same thing over and over, without responding to the other persons comments.
Respond to my replies with reasoning, or just shut up and stop wasting everyones time.
January 6, 2010 - 12:15 am
real athletes? running down a court and throwing a ball into a hoop… yea it takes skill, and speed, but COMPETITION CHEERLEADING takes all that and more. i have broken my nose 2 times, and busted it about 6 basing girls trying to teach them new stunts. at gymnastics, i have about broke my ankle 4 times, i pop my shoulder out of place all the time, and yet I’m still doing it. a flyer falls from 15 feet in the air and gets back up and does it again. an “athlete” gets hit in the jaw and is out for the rest of the game. s
January 6, 2010 - 11:14 pm
Falling on a ground doesn’t make it a sport. Why don’t we call bloody knuckles a sport then because people get hurt?
A guy on my team ruptured his kidney during a game, but he sucked it up and finished the game. Afterwards when they found out he had to be airlifted to the city. He couldn’t finish the season. The reason why he couldn’t return is because hockey is too dangerous to return to with an injury like that too fast.
While cheerleading it probably would be safe to return to. That is why your injured cheerleaders can return.
January 9, 2010 - 5:26 pm
They can only return if the injury is not serious. such as if i broke my collar bone from a girl falling on it, most likely im not coming back that season depending on how long it lasts, same with a leg, etc. you cant return to any sport with certain injuries too fast. with a ruptured kidney, im sure you couldn’t return to cheerleading either.
December 13, 2009 - 3:29 am
WOW!!i think that cheerlading is a sport!!people may go to basketball games to watch the players not the cheerleaders, but we dont only cheer at those pathetic games…we go to all kinds of competitions so stfu!u rlly think we just take a few minutes 2 practice dance steps and flips?haha i wish….my team practices everynight.for about 4 and a half hours……u catch footballs and shit well i get thrown 40 ft in the air and have to do flips and poses….then trust the ppl under me to catch me….also the ppl throwing girls can get hurt by the girl coming down wrong and hitting them….cheerleaders always get hurt it is one of the most dangerouse sports in the world and so many ppl know it although all u stupid football players and shit may try to hide it….u go ahead and try out 4 cheerleading i doubt u would make it through 1 practice. ~kristina
December 14, 2009 - 10:24 pm
Yes, maybe cheerleading is a little dangerous, but there are lots of things that are dangerous, but that doesn’t translate into a sport. Jumping off my barn doesn’t mean that I have invented a sport, it means that I have done something dangerous.
Sports require more than just movement that was rehearsed, that sounds more like a theatre production. Read my previous list of attributes that sports require and tell me if cheerleading has any of those. No, they simply do not.
Please, stop making the same arguments, “it’s dangerous, we could get hurt”, you know that danger does not equal sports, you can brag about it and you sound cool, but in the end your not playing a sport, you are rehearsing a play, basically. I am tired of explaining the same thing to all of you, respond to my rebuttal or please, shut up.
Maybe you don’t take debating as seriously as I do, but I am actually debating here, not making aimless claims.
P.S Try going through a hockey game without being sore for a week.
December 31, 2009 - 8:18 pm
What do you call football plays then, they’re technically rehearsed, and sorry if you’re sore but that happens pretty easily with cheerleading to, it take more than most people realize.
January 1, 2010 - 2:24 pm
Yes, but they do not go as planned and the players must improvise.
Yes we all realize that it takes more than commonly thought, but that’s no reason to make a rash arguement like calling it an actual sport.
December 13, 2009 - 7:23 am
Listen, I've had enough of all these cheerleaders with poor grammar coming here and saying the same crap over and over and over again.
December 18, 2009 - 5:44 pm
Umm yes it is I am a cheerleader and I know how hard we have to work and how much hard work it is! So yes its a sport!
December 18, 2009 - 7:26 pm
It is not a sport. Stop coming on here and saying stupid stuff cheerleaders.
December 21, 2009 - 10:09 pm
yes cheerleading is a sport to all of you basketball, and football players out there. First of all if you guys wanna try lifting up 90-100 pounds girls some of them that might even weigh more than you and trying to hit and stunt and having that person fall on you multiple times yes its worse than falling on the basketball court and getting hit by a what 240lb person, second you have to use all of your strength and help 2 other people lift up 1 person (my team doesn’t use a front) and then perform and hard stunt that has to look good and my team practice every single day after and in the summer non stop then we go to a camp for another week probably more than you basketball players ever will and we have to put in tumbling, stunting (that’s where you lift the people if you don’t know), cheering,dance and jumps together for a 2 min and 30 sec routine while you guys have hours to try and win a game, and i agree with misty . xo about cheerleading is a mix of dance and gymnastics.
And i have actually heard of cheerleaders getting worse injuries than a hockey player or basketball player or football player we get stepped on, smashed, kicked, fall on our heads and sometimes we might even break a bone hear or there.
So just because we might not practice with extra gear on, or on a football field or baseball field, we still are a sport and we are all equal to all the other athletes out there.
December 22, 2009 - 12:18 am
Same old same old. Please realize that it yes, it is dangerous and requires strength, but it lacks vital charachteristics that the title of sports require.
I could be injured by falling off my barn, that doesn’t make it a sport.
PLEASE, EITHER RESPOND TO MY COMMENTS, OR SAY SOMETHING NEW. WE ARE ALL VERY, VERY, VERY AWARE OF WHAT ALL OF YOU HAVE STATED OVER AND OVER. AND I SHOWN HOW THAT DOES NOT PROVE THAT IT IS A SPORT, BUT YOU ALL KEEP STATING THE SAME THING.
You are only showing how cheerleaders know it is not a sport, by not being willing to respond to facts.
January 6, 2010 - 12:28 am
you define a sport by being able to endure things. we endure stuff daily. you define it by strength. we lift people that weigh more than us and throw them above our heads, then catch them. you define it by having strategy? try figuring out how to catch a person flying at your head from 20 feet in the air…. or having to catch their feet in the middle of a tumbling pass and throw them straight up. you define it by knowing whats gonna happen next? how are you supposed to know if a girl is going to land on your head when she comes out of the air? how are you supposed to know if your going to land on YOUR head when you tumble. You say you have to have intelegence… well try having to be at an exact point on a floor that you have never practiced on. (competition) And sure, memorizing one cheer or dance isn’t hard. but try memorizing about 50 of them, and knowing when to do them (defense, offense, score, etc) and for those teams like mine you have several different dances for which we perform at parades and things… and at basketball games half time performances. so now do you think it’s a sport? all the things you comply to be considered a sport applies to cheerleading.
December 23, 2009 - 1:38 am
Cheerleading is indeed a sport. It takes a lot of physical and mental preparation, especially if you compete. You must stay in shape (those uniforms don’t look to good if your not, especially if you’ve got a belly shirt like mine), and you must practice all the time. You need to memorize a LOT and then DO your stunts, tumbling, cheers, dances. It really is a work out. And just because someone can bench so much weight doesn’t mean that they use those muscles regularly (besides weight lifting). And yes, you do lift people in the air, but it is all in your leg muscles. But the one fact that makes cheerleading a bigger sport than wrestling, or hockey, or anything is that cheerleading has the second most amount of accidents of any sport, football being the first. My high school cheer squad held a pep rally and bonfire and at the bonfire we tried to teach all the football players a simple cheer and only 3 of them got it by the end of the night. Then you gotta look at how many powder puff football teams there are across the country. That should tell you what takes the most preparation and time.
December 23, 2009 - 2:03 am
Misty, yes i agree, and if your last comment “but neither one of us can say we r better than the other” is referring to my comment, I’m not saying that cheerleading is better by any means, or that it is extremely hard. I tried playing basketball all through elementary school and I still can’t make a layup to save my life. I’m just saying that many people still say that cheerleading is not a sport and if someone would watch one competition, they would see that yes, it is hard. If they would go through practices and follow a team throughout the season, they would see that it is a sport. I would, however, like to say that there is a HUGE difference between a highschool cheerleading squad (at least my school’s squad) and an all-star squad. I would not consider the cheerleaders at my school athletes. All they are are snotty stuck up bitches that think they know what they are doing. I used to cheer for the school then got sick of drama. I am on an all-star squad though, and I am the only person in my school who is on an all-star squad. The things we do there are strenuous, hard, and our coaches push us. We even run suicides, just like a basketball team would. It all depends on how extreme your squad takes things.
December 23, 2009 - 4:26 pm
Listen to all you cheerleaders, either you are not smart enough to understand what I’m saying or you do not respond to what I’m saying because you know I am right.
i’m sorry for being mean, but you cheerleaders are absolutely stupid. You use the same arguement constantly without even responding to my questions.
Maybe get your daddy to explain to you how a debate works.
January 9, 2010 - 5:30 pm
Putsy, i read on another debate that you are from canada… maybe there is somewhat of a miscomprehension about this… im not sure, but there may be a difference between american and canadian cheerleading, so some of the information you have gathered may not be 100% accurate for an american debate. =) not offense.
January 9, 2010 - 10:35 pm
Umm, I don’t think so. Actually basically all my knowledge of cheerleading comes from the movie Dodgeball. You know when the flying donkeys win the cheerleading title after one of their bases got hurt on a roller coaster or something.
As well as whatever my cousin tells me about it.
January 9, 2010 - 10:53 pm
hah, so really your knowledge of cheerleading isn’t very accurate at all? Cheerleading movies tend to over and under-exxagerate alot, such as attitude… we are all not snobby girls… lol. (i don’t think i know what movie your talking about, but same thing anyway)
but what your cousin tells you is probably alot more accurate than the movie. but if your cousin cheers in canada, then there still may be that factor of difference from american. but still im not sure… but im sure it has the same basics.
December 23, 2009 - 2:39 am
This whole debate is a waste.
December 23, 2009 - 5:20 pm
I don’t think that this debate is a waste of time. The classification of certain activities being sports or not is of great interest to me.
I just wish I could debate with someone who knew how to debate.
December 23, 2009 - 6:02 pm
We have to start debating on all the other topics man. Every single one this site comes out with I’m debating. Let’s do this.
December 24, 2009 - 1:22 pm
I know, but I’m still trying to salvage this one because it has great potential.
January 9, 2010 - 3:09 pm
ok listen i do multiple sports at once i am on the cheer team, the bascketball team,a gymnastics team, and the volleyball team. You keep saying that we are listening to you. But you are not listening to us. cheerleading takes the same amount of strategie and endurance than all the other sports i do. it wayyyy more strength and the only reason that it is not in the olympics is cause it is not major enough yet. But neither is bascketball and football. Nobody is better in this but cheerleading is a sport. Maybe if you try it you would understand. But someone as single minded as you would never do something like that. You can’t say it is not a sport if you never try it.
December 26, 2009 - 5:49 pm
Im a cheerleader. And ive been cheering for four years now. I honestly dont think its a sport. Yes, im a cheerleader and i just said that its not a sport. I consider it more of entertaiment. It is dangerous. But were only on the floor for 2 minutes and 30 secs. While football players are out there for 2 hours running back and forth and getting tackled. All were doing is dancing, jumping, tumbling, and stunting. We dont even “really” dance. I decided to take hip hop classes because the routines were really easy to me. ( Im on a allstar team ) So i thought i was good at dancing. But compared to what is really dancing, the routine isnt even that hard. Cheerleading routines just need practice. Not even that much practice. Cheerleading doesnt even take strategy. And when a stunt goes wrong your not the one to fix it. The coaches do. Unless its a small problem. Yes, we do lift people. But we only carry half of their weight. While the other base carries the other half. And you only keep them up in the air for a couple seconds. Depends on if your at a half the extending to a full. But i can admit that libs are hard because all the weight is on one person. It doesnt take skills and talent either. Unless were talking about tumbling. The first time i went to practice i caught right on. The stunts were extremly easy to me. ( Im a base ) I have alot of guy friends that play football. So sometimes i play with them. Ill only be playing for 10 minutes and ill be sweating. ( Im really healthy ) But at cheerleading practice it takes me about 30 minutes to sweat. Not to mention that we only have to remember a 2 minute and 30 second routine.
January 2, 2010 - 7:09 pm
before i was a cheerleader i didnt think of it as a sport, but i do now and not just because it takes strength and u can get hurt. even if u dont want to believe it cheerleading does take skill its one of the most intense sports in the world. ive been a gymnast since i was four and cheer takes about as much skill as gymnastics maybe more. we may only have to learn a 2min 30sec routine but thats not all we do at practice on my team every time a stunt falls or tumbling doesnt land we do 100 pushups for each thing tht didnt land or we run outside around the gym so if u dont believe cheerleading is a sport i dont really care because i do maybe u shld try it some time
January 3, 2010 - 2:51 am
Maybe try a real sport, and maybe you will realize that it is not even close to being one of the most intense in the world.
I’m sorry if your coach disciplines you but that has not merit on if it is a sport or not.
I appreciate your post cassidi because you have been the first cheerleader to show a grasp of the concepts that I have attempted to portray. Even though you are wrong.
January 7, 2010 - 7:20 pm
ive played soccer, football and gymnastics i know what a real sport is
January 7, 2010 - 7:57 pm
Have you played at a competitive level?
January 13, 2010 - 8:34 pm
yeah i have and u saying cheer isnt a sport is just like saying soccer, football or hockey arnt sports. You can believe that cheerleading isnt a sport but reality is cheerleading is a sport and people do like to watch it and join a team. Have u ever been to a cheer competition? They are filled with people. We compete and we do it skirts.
January 6, 2010 - 12:33 am
i completely agree with you. our coach makes us run for 30 minutes when we drop a flyer…
January 8, 2010 - 6:53 pm
I used to be a national rugby player for the canadian womens team. Due to an injury I am no longer able to play that specific sport. Now I am a cheerleader for a national team in the UK and trust me it is just as much hard work and there is just as much chance of getting hurt. Keep in mind that sometimes pyramids are 3-4 people high. Also, I have single based stunts so there aren’t always “like, 7″ girls holding somone up.
January 9, 2010 - 1:05 am
Yes Jill I am aware that pyramids can get really, really high, and that there are individual stunts performed as well.
So your injury made it that you cannot play a sport, so you decided to try cheerleading? But I thought cheerleading was dangerous?
January 8, 2010 - 10:48 pm
A sport is “an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition.” Thus, cheerleading in support of a football game is an activity. Cheerleading as part a competition is a sport. It doesn’t matter if the scoring is subjectively judged (like figure skating) or objectively tallied (like baseball).
January 8, 2010 - 11:06 pm
Actually Pusty, you’re not entirely arguing with logical reasoning. Your stand is your opinion of what you consider to be a _real_ sport, and not what the definition of a sport really is, so you only end up half-way right.
When you state that cheerleading is not a sport, you are partly correct, and partly incorrect. Cheerleading for a competition does meet the definition of a sport, yet cheering on the football team does not. A similar, correct, stance would be that running is not a sport, but running a race is.
The only requirements for being a sport is physical exertion and competition. You have already admitted in your posts that cheerleading involves physical exertion and cheerleading competitions involve scoring, so you should admit that some aspect of cheerleading is a sport, otherwise you’re not debating, you’re just being obstinate.
January 9, 2010 - 12:55 am
Ohjo, you are correct in saying that I am using my own definition of sport. However your definition is also incorrect the correct definition is actually,
“Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.”
Of course according to this definition cheerleading is a sport. If the real question was “According to the dictionary, is cheerleading a sport” then I would agree, but that would also make for a very boring debate. I took the question as “Do you think that cheerleading should be classified as a sport?”. Therefore I used my own definition just as you are using yours, and then telling me that my opinon is incorrect based on your definition. I will admit that based on your definition it is a sport.
When I spoke of logic I was talking to the cheerleaders that were telling me that I was making no sense when I said that the fact that girls get hurt doesn’t mean that it is a sport. I was not specifically talking about my ideas or opinon. Sorry that you misunderstood.
January 9, 2010 - 1:12 am
Try me. I’m here to learn just as much as I’m here to debate.
January 9, 2010 - 5:42 pm
Okay, you have to have self ordinance. you can learn anything, sometimes you can even master anything, but to cheerlead you must figure out just exactly how to do something in a certain way to change the outcome in a split second. this may sound confusing, but its easy to understand. maybe self ordinance isn’t the correct way to explain it, but that is all i could come up with. you use this is hockey im sure, but with cheerleading you also have to know how to be at an exact place at an exact time in order to get full points by judges, you have to know how to nail a stunt, and recover something you screwed up. sure you can learn a stunt, but you also have to know how to fix it when you mess it up. another thing, when you are tumbling, not that someone who hasn’t done it before would understand, but when throwing something like a tuck, you know it only lasts about 4 seconds… so within a couple seconds while you are in the middle of it, you have to know whether or not your going to land it. if your not going to, then you have to know how to alter your position so that an injury doesn’t occur. like i said, its very hard for someone that doesn’t do it on a regular basis to understand what i am saying. learning yet??
January 9, 2010 - 11:19 pm
Yeah. I kinda figured that much about cheerleading. I mean honestly, I think I knew mostly everything that you said, but I still don’t know what tumbling is.
Truthfully now, does anything occur too often that doesn’t go to plan? Let me just compare this to something else. I used to play trombone, and our school band practiced the same songs over and over again. So when we had to perform it was second nature, I knew exactly what to do, and the actual performance was easy. Essentially, isn’t this the same concept in cheerleading?
January 9, 2010 - 11:30 pm
tumbling is a term used for gymnastics, just less complex. it doesnt include things like bars, vault, balance beam, etc.
And yes, it is pretty much the same concept, except for the fact you control what happens to your trombone, and it doesnt have a mind of its own. you can practice and practice something in cheerleading, and honestly, it never turns out the same. when you are dealing with something like another human body, you don’t know what your flyers next move is going to be, and you don’t know what she is thinking. with band, you control your instrument. what i am trying to explain is that you have to be able to cope with what is happening in the moment. also with band, what you do next is written out for you, even though it is like a “second nature” you still have that reference. Your mind is your only reference when you are competing. same with any other sport.
January 9, 2010 - 11:48 pm
Yeah I can see that. But I still have that feeling that you overexaggerating a bit.
After practicing for (I don’t know a month or two) you have to basically know the routine pretty well and it must be smoothed over by then, right?
January 10, 2010 - 12:04 am
Well it is kinda more smoothed over by then, but like i said, when you are dealing with something that you can’t control, its not really the same. you know the routine well, but thats not truly accounting for what you don’t know is going to happen. like tumbling, (i hope i explained what that is well enough for you to understand… {backhandsprings, tucks, ariels, etc.} sometimes you just cant land it, and it is more likely in competition because of anxiety… so what i am saying is you can’t control some things, even if you have practiced it for a long time.
January 10, 2010 - 12:16 am
btw, check out our video from last febuary. go to youtube and type in bath cheer competition 2009:). Its the first one that pops up. we were off on timing, and that day when we practiced, we had nailed it. that goes to show you how chance is involved.
January 9, 2010 - 11:03 pm
No, I wasn’t talking about the scoring system specifically, even though that is a part of what I’m saying.
But I’m sure you’ve played sports such as soccer, basketball, tennis. And I’m sure that you know that there is a world of difference between playing against a player/team, and playing against the judges (so to speak). And that to me is what cheerleading to me doesn’t have, and thus is why it’s not seen as entertaining to America.
January 9, 2010 - 11:15 pm
well, people have their preferences. to me, basketball is a sport, but pointless. to you, its very entertaining. to me, cheerleading is entertaining, to you its not… sooo… and yes, i have played a sport other than cheerleading. basketball, track and crosscountry. and it is entertaining in some ways maybe not to all of america, but honestly what sport is entertaining to all of america?
January 10, 2010 - 4:23 pm
The big four comes to mind. You know hockey, football, basketball, and baseball are all considered America’s favourite sports.
Do you have an example of how it is entertaining, but not to most of America.I really don’t think that most people like to watch cheerleading. Otherwise it would be televised more often.
January 9, 2010 - 11:09 pm
Right, so why do you make cheerleaders out to be so righteous? You said that cheerleaders just get up and do it again, but other athletes sit on the bench.
January 9, 2010 - 11:18 pm
well honestly, some people don’t, but where im from, lots of people do. i have seen basketball players get thrown against the wall and they sit out for the rest of the game… im not trying to make cheerleaders righteous, but in most cases it is so. that is where im coming from. your not seeing my point.
January 9, 2010 - 11:21 pm
im not trying to make cheerleaders seem righteous. some athletes do tuff it out and get back out there, but others, like those from where i live, do not. during a basketball game, i saw a guy get thrown against the wall and sit out for the rest of the game. im not sterotyping, such as you seem to like to do, but i am saying that cheerleaders endure alot and still go back out. i don’t think you are comprehending what my point is.
January 9, 2010 - 11:17 pm
Actually the movie is about dodgeball. It just has a little side thing about cheerleading. You could probably see the cheerleading scence on youtube or something.
Actually my cousin is from America, and she’s not a snob either. But I’m pretty sure that Canadian cheerleading is basically the same. I don’t see any reason why it would be.
January 9, 2010 - 11:23 pm
okay, so the information you are receiving is the same, but still not like actually experiencing it.
January 9, 2010 - 11:26 pm
Even though I thought that most cheerleaders weren’t snobs, some of these cheerleaders are being really mean to. I don’t know if they just think I’m some heartless guy who looks down on them or they truly are snobs. But you seem like a reasonable person.
January 9, 2010 - 11:32 pm
thank you. =) and really, stereotypes make us seem that way. everyone see’s you as a cheerleader and immediatly connects you to being a snob. but truly, we arent… well most of us… i know some are.
January 9, 2010 - 11:45 pm
Yeah, because that’s what America wants. They want drama, and snobby girls, and violent guys. I think that Hollywood is seperating from reality more every day.
But then again I’m just a farm boy from Canada. What do I know about snobby cheerleaders, the closest school that has real cheerleading is probaly a few hours away from here.
January 9, 2010 - 11:59 pm
Yea, i agree… and Im just a country girl from KY, but i still know whats going on…
and see, people gather information from things such as movies, and suddenly think they know what they are talking about (Im not reffering to you, just stating a point) You can’t exactly say that you know much about cheerleading though, since you haven’t really had a chance to acknowledge it firsthand.
January 9, 2010 - 11:59 pm
oh, and you seem like a pretty reasonable person yourself. =)
January 10, 2010 - 12:15 am
True, but I like to debate. Because I learn as well as share my own knowledge. Sometimes I may come across as a bit arrogant, but I’m willing to take that risk.
Thanks.
Just curious, does bathco. stand for Bath County, Kentucky?
January 10, 2010 - 12:19 am
um, yea… i don’t think i should have given that info out, but so long as your not going to do anything…. =)
And i like to debate too. hopefully from this you have learned a little more about cheerleading and have come to respect it a little more.
January 10, 2010 - 12:34 am
I don’t know what I would do with it. I’ve always wanted to freak someone out by figuring out there name and then scaring someone with it based on something they said. That would be funny.
No, I won’t tell anyone your from Bath County.
And I told you I’m from Canada, so don’t say anything. jk
Well, personally I think that I respected cheerleaders before I got here, but cheerleaders automatically thought that I wasn’t respectful just because I disagreed with them, I’m glad that this has been resolved.
January 10, 2010 - 12:38 am
Thanks, and yea, that would freak me out. totally… i don’t think telling someone your from cananda would hurt you, its the specifics im worried about… you know my country, state, and county… but i trust you.
I don’t think you disrespected us, i just think that maybe now you know more about it, you would respect it a little more. So have we altered your opinion any at all??
January 10, 2010 - 12:52 am
Yeah I totally understand. It’s not even necessarily me, anyone could take that info there. That kinda sucks because it would be cool to add you on facebook or something because I trust you, I don’t really trust everyone else that I don’t know.
Have you altered my opinon? Well I’m kinda in a really good mood know, because I had a really good hockey game today. But anyways to be honest I think I’ve realized a few things but I stand on my overall opinon. I respectfully disagree.
Umm, I kinda have dial-up, so I have only watched a bit of it. Sorry.
January 10, 2010 - 1:03 am
yea, it would be cool…i don’t know how we would give each other that info without everyone else seeing it too though.. so.
oh, congrats on your game. and i still have to respectufully disagree with you… sorry. but im glad you have realized some new things though… it all makes a difference. =)
January 10, 2010 - 12:40 am
did you look at our video? (bath cheer competition 2009:) on youtube) if so, what did you think?
January 10, 2010 - 12:54 am
But getting back to what I was saying earlier, yes I guess there is some aspect of expect the unexpected, but it does not compare to say hockey, where you have to analyze the chaos.
January 10, 2010 - 1:06 am
true, i do understand that more chaos is involved in sports such as hockey, but it seems like you have more of an option in those sports where as in cheerleading you don’t have much time to consider your options (seconds) as with hockey you have a little more time to think. even though it is physically chaotic in hockey, it is mentally chaotic in cheerleading if you know what i mean.
January 10, 2010 - 1:20 am
Maybe, but I think you underestimate hockey. The way I see it cheerleading you expect this to happen and then this. Which comes from practicing the routine. But in hockey you have to aware of everything, your players, the other teams players, where you should be, where you are, what to do with and without the puck. We aren’t just aimlessly skating around, we have systems, strategies, and improvisation to think about. Not to mention studying the other teams systems and strategies.
January 10, 2010 - 1:27 am
i understand this, and i also understand that cheerleading doesn’t involve studying other teams strategies, but i think you aren’t realizing that we have to be aware of where we are in order to do certain stunts. we have to know where other people are too, and what they are doing in order to avoid danger… and i know we practice it, but like i said, sometimes it doesnt work that way. Im not estimating hockey at all, i am just using it as a standpoint at which to compare to so that it is easier for you to understand… such as you use other sports that i may have been in to help me understand hockey.
January 10, 2010 - 1:52 am
Yeah, I’m just trying to have you understand that hockey is both physically and mentally challenging. I’m sure that you understand that,
I just don’t think that you can compare the magnitude of the physical and mental challenge to hockey. Sure it is but I guess I’m just saying, “Our sport is hard and cheerleading isn’t really”. No offense.
And like I said before I have WAY more respect for cheerleaders than golf players, and race car drivers and other so-called sports.
January 10, 2010 - 1:56 am
I get that, and i do believe hockey may be more complicated than cheerleading, i just want you to know what most people don’t realize about cheerleading. and i don’t consider golf a sport either… i have a buddy and he and I debate about it all the time… =)
Before i started this debate, i will tell you, honestly i didn’t really care much about hockey, i guess that’s because no one around here plays it, but now i have a greater respect for it too. =)
January 10, 2010 - 1:22 am
So how long did it take for you to learn that routine? It looked good. Honestly the movies do a better job of making it seem really hard.
So how did you do in that competition anyways?
Yeah, I can’t think of a way to exchange info either.
January 10, 2010 - 1:30 am
well, we started really late. the standard for practicing a routine is about 3 months, but we only practiced about 1… that is including making up the whole thing, putting it together, making the music, registering and everything… and thanks… i thought it was okay.
we placed 4th in that competiton
too bad we can’t. i would like to get to know you… not to try and get personal info out of you, but how old are you?
January 10, 2010 - 1:42 am
Yeah that was well done.
I know that I wouldn’t be able to pick that too fast, but I’m sure that some are able to.
Actually I’m 17 years old.
Do you have facebook?
January 10, 2010 - 1:46 am
Yea, we practiced really hard for a while…
ohh… 17? im not quite that old… a few years younger.
and no, sorry, i don’t have one. my dad doesn’t want me to have one… any other way we could talk? do you have msn?
January 10, 2010 - 1:55 am
Really?
Really, everyone in that video looked to me fairly old.
Yeah I got msn.
January 10, 2010 - 1:58 am
yea… not really that old.
so do i, so maybe if somehow we could get each others email we could get in touch on there. but i can’t do it tonight… i have to go. i will get back on tomorrow though.
January 10, 2010 - 2:08 am
I’m not going to lie you seem really smart for being a little under 17.
I think that you can request sportsmonarch.com to delete a post, so that might be a way.
January 10, 2010 - 12:47 pm
thanks… im at the top of my class =)
umm… maybe you should do that… i dont know how i would.
January 17, 2010 - 12:50 am
Any new ideas on how we could give info??
January 10, 2010 - 2:10 am
That’s great. Yeah Kentucky isn’t much of a hockey state, compared to hockey crazy Canada.
January 10, 2010 - 12:48 pm
yea, we are more of basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, cheerleading and stuff like that.
January 10, 2010 - 3:08 pm
And horse racing
January 17, 2010 - 12:43 am
Yea, I guess that’s what the rest if the world recognizes us as… “horse Capitol if the world”… Lol I guess I forgot
January 11, 2010 - 11:26 pm
Canada breeds hockey legends. I don’t know how you guys do it. Everything else you suck at though.
January 13, 2010 - 8:26 pm
OK, slightly offended, but slightly agree.
You would not believe the magnitude of hockey in Canada. I went to the States and watched Sportscentre once, and there was only a couple minutes of hockey highlights. It was odd, considering Canada’s Sportscentre is mostly hockey highlights.
We do suck at a lot of things, but that’s because we are so hockey obsessed and anything else is pushed to the back.
But actually Canada is slotted to win the most medals in the winter olympics coming up, so I guess we’ll see.
January 13, 2010 - 9:42 pm
Exactly. NFL, MLB, and NBA are the respected sports here. I go to Rangers games once and a while, but NHL doesn’t get the respect it deserves.
January 13, 2010 - 10:00 pm
Reasonably so, hockey is not very popular in the U.S outside of the northern states. I think that southern Americans would be just as frustrated when they see hockey highlights as I am when I see MLB and NASCAR highlights.
I wouldn’t expect it to recieve respect that it doesn’t deserve in the U.S.
January 11, 2010 - 3:03 pm
that looks so cool!!
January 13, 2010 - 9:58 pm
That’s your reality not mine. Reality to me is that it is mostly overlooked by everyone and that it is missing key areas that to me define sports. Also my reality says that it is not very entertaining to me or the world, I come to that conclusion simply based on the fact that I seen more spelling competitions on sports channels than cheerleading competitions.
Your mom doesn’t count as people who are entertained.
January 19, 2010 - 9:06 am
There is an incredible amount of preperation that goes into it and a lot of hard work… other sports may have more preperation, but usually they are in just a few aspects… cheerleading requires being in shape and able to do much more than just a few things. There is more to it than most people realize and most people dont understand it enough to make a logical judgement.
January 22, 2010 - 12:34 pm
sadly, most people dont and wont understand how difficult cheerleading is unless they are a cheerleader. and they probally wont until they are.
January 23, 2010 - 2:12 pm
Please explain how I cannot comprehend something unless I do it.
January 23, 2010 - 11:22 pm
You can comprehend only to some extent… You can know the basics, but you dont really know it all. And until you actually play the sport, your not going to know everything. Like with hockey, all I know is the basics, and what you have told me. All you know about cheerleading comes from media and what your cousin and I have told you.
January 24, 2010 - 10:28 pm
Exactly, I comprehend the basics of the sport and the just of what occurs. I believe that I have a sufficent understanding of the sport in order to discuss it intelligently.
January 31, 2010 - 10:06 pm
You can debate intelligently…. But anyone could pretty much debate intelligently on any topic with a bit of research and reference. Like in history, I have no clue about half the things that went on, but I know the basics from what I read out of the book.
January 22, 2010 - 3:30 pm
hey this is all i got to say it depends! if you cheer for a schoool its not really a sport but if you copete aganst pther teams then heck ya its a sport!!!!!!! i have a compotition tomorrow actaully!!!!!!
January 31, 2010 - 11:46 pm
Ok, I really don’t think that history can be compared to cheerleading. No people spend their entire lives learning history and developing an opinon about it. The basics of cheerleading can be taught fairly quickly. Just as you probably have a firm grip of football, or hockey.
February 4, 2010 - 10:38 pm
Okay, it Is hard to compare cheerleading to history, I agree. And I do, just as most people do, have the basic knowledge of football, basketball, hockey, etc. But a good debate I think would come from having more that just the basic knowledge… Don’t you think?
I mean if I were debating about Which football team was the best, I could look at scores, how many games they have won and stuff like that, but I could give a better argument if I know things like individual players… It sounds complicated but I hope you understand.
February 6, 2010 - 12:51 am
i have played varsity volleyball, basketball, been a varsity cheerleader and drill team member and i can honestly say that cheerleaders have done more conditioning, weight lifting, had longer and more strenuous practices and have been under equal or more pressure than any of the other “sports” that i have played in high school, i do not want to undermine the difficulty, skill, and athleticism required to play any other sports but i do agree with many people with the opinion that cheerleading is a sport.
February 19, 2010 - 11:01 am
Come on! If chess is a sport (where you move your ARM every few minutes) then there is no doubt that Cheerleading is a sport! If you want to be top cheerleader you have to be gymastic too. Thats it. Cheerleading is a SPORT!… (read the first sentence on wikipedia about cheerleading: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading)
February 19, 2010 - 9:41 pm
The mental acumen and agility required to play chess at a high level burns a lot more calories than simply moving your arm around. It’s not a good comparison to suggest that it’s not a sport because it doesn’t require large physical inputs of energy and is somehow lazy (because it actually requires a ton of energy).
Bowling is probably a better comparison.
I’m in a rough agreement that it’s a sport, just not because of that particular line of argument.
February 20, 2010 - 1:48 am
Cheerleading involves: jumping, cheering, dancing, stunts and tosses (elements of lifting or throwing athletes into the air) and, tumbling(gymnastics). There are three different types of cheerleading: School( Middle, High, and College), Association(Pop Warner), and All-Star or competitive. Each has their own governing body. National Cheerleading Association(NCA) for High School. The United States All-Star Federation(USASF) and the International All-Star Federation(IASF) for All-Star cheerleaders. Cheerleading has come a long way since it’s beginning and is n longer girls with pom poms shouting GO TEAM GO! With the addition of All-Star cheerleading and advanced stunting and and tumbling elements, as well as long hours spent each week at practice and conditioning, cheerleaders have become extreme athletes pushing their bodies to limits that most people only imagine.
Obviously these organization consider cheerleading a sport, as well as the athletes who participate in it. The NCAA(National Collegiate Athletic Association) has yet to recognize cheerleading as a sport even though it accounts for 66.7 of all female catastrophic sports injuries. ESPN recognizes cheerleading as a sport and broadcasts the NCA High School Nationals, as well as the USASF Cheerleading Worlds for All-Star cheerleaders. During the 2009 Worlds USASF launched it’s Be An All-Star campaign promoting All-Star cheerleading and the sport as a whole. Plans have been made for cheerleading to be featured in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. For these athletes, this is their dream, their goal, what the strive for, what they live for. Cheerleading is their SPORT.
February 24, 2010 - 4:28 pm
I am a varsity cheerleader at my school and i think it takes tons of time and practice. We have had some of our guy bball players come to try and lift us and they can’t. They also agreed that it is hard. Earlier this season i was doing a stunt where they threw me up in the air and i did a front flip but i didnt get all the way around and i landed on my head and my knees. I missed one day of school and two games bc i could barely move. So yes cheerleading takes lots of practice. but i do not think it is a sport. I still think we should be able to major(letter) in it but unless you compete, i just consider it an activity. If your team is actually going out and competing with other teams tho then it should definately be considered a sport.
March 2, 2010 - 8:11 pm
Ok the 2miunets 30 seconds have nothing to do with the sport. If you put together all of the cheers,stunts and game roteins do u think it would be that long. No! These minutes are just highlights made.
Cheerleading requires a large amount of flexibalty for the flyer. Leg strength for jumps. Gymnastics for tumbling. Hand eye for stunting. Knowledge of counts and music. Full muscle strength for stunts and so on……..
As it has already been touched it is now next to hocky and football the most dangerous sport in the world. It takes GUTS to get up that high stick your leg over your head and twist down 4 times and pray to god you get caught.
According to the dictionary it is a sport. Just because they are sometimes there to cheer on other althlets doesn’t mean they are second best.
Of corse cheerleading is a sport in fact i would call it the ultimit.
You must have some basket ball for the jumps but it cheerleading you have to kich your leags up over your forhead while doing it.
You must have some football for all of the strength to through a girl over your head.
You must have gymnastics for tumbling and you must watch out for other girls while doing it.
you must have snow boarding for the courage to fly up and flip.
Dance for the sharp tight moves.
Hocky for the hand eye of catching the girl.
Track for running to positions.
You have to do all of this while smiling and yelling. You also have 2 miunets and 30 seconds to prove yourself. How is that for a sport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cheerleaders are not well known yet by the world and that is ok. But to say it is not one just because it is not your sport is wrong. If you say you don’t get as tired doing it or it doesn’t take that much out of you then you haven’t hit your moves sharp enough or threw her hard enough or twisted enough. It takes work like all those other sports sometimes more.
Don’t be mean either. It’s a stero type everyone hates cheerleaders because there jelous. Being mean won’t make you better. Just because it’s not your sport doesn’t mean you have to dis it.
p.s you go see if cheerleading is under your sports program or newspaper column at school betca it is:)
March 3, 2010 - 11:37 pm
I don’t think that I claimed that it wasn’t technically a sport, I just said that I personally didn’t consider it a sport.
-Based on the fact that it is simply a couple minutes long.
-There is no direct competitiveness. (This is the same reason why I don’t consider figure skating, or bobsledding a sport, because you don’t have to face an opponent other than the judges/clock.)
-I really have an issue with the fact that it is determined by judges. There is no real tangible score (this could be argued but I really think that you understand) that you see such as a touchdown, or a goal.
- It’s simply not entertaining enough to be considered a sport. (I know that isn’t a real measurement of sport, it’s my measurement of sport)
- The name suggests that it is not a sport, call it something else and it may be taken more seriously.
Now, your job isn’t to talk about a dictionary definition, it’s to tell me about how warped and absurd my point of view is. I hope I wasn’t mean enough, I think a lot more can accomplished with rational and clear discussion.
March 8, 2010 - 7:49 pm
Of course cheerleading is a sport. Most sports throw balls, we throw athletes.
And aside from that, there’s some serious cardio involved in routines.
March 11, 2010 - 6:19 pm
Of course cheer leading is a sport. I think its the ultimate.
O.k first of all get the 2 min 30 sec out of your head. If you put together all of the cheers and game roteens it would not be that long. This time is full of the highlights of tumbling stunts &cheers. Or think of it this way only that long to prove your self.
You need the jumping power of a basket ball player. But we have to jump touch our toes and flip after.
You need the tumbling power of a gymnast. But you have to watch where your going while doing it so you don’t run into other girls.
You need the dancing knowledge and experience for the roteens.
You need the strength of a football player. But there’s a difference between spiriting a girls or a ball.
You need the hand-eye from hockey. Try doing a 360 load and then catch ONE of her feet in a full lib.
You need the track from running from position to position. Maybe not as fast but you have to keep to a beat.
You need the flexibility of every thing in General.
You also seem to be forgetting its just as intense as anything. It is now officially the most dangerous sport in the worlds. Above hockey. We can still let our team down. If your in a competition and your not in your spot in time and the girl goes up without you Oppps concussion
And you have to do all of this while smiling. What sport has all that.
Just because its not well known or isn’t in the Olympics doesn’t mean its not a sport. Or because we are there for other athletes. We should be appreciated more.
Whats up with the judges thing. That makes the sport harder. You can beat the other team without question but judges you have no control over. Yea some have a reff but we have certain stunts that are illegal for certain levels.
If you don’t find it hard after you’ve tried it i don’t think you’ve jumped as high or smiled enough as another girl who appreciates it. Or been on a competitive enough team.
What criteria doesn’t that meet. You have to compete and there is a winner. You get a work out. It’s dangerous. It is a spot at schools and park districts. And it will soon be know by more around the world. It will soon be laughed at by people who think other wise.
I think its great and enjoy it. So please don’t dis it just because its not your sport.
March 13, 2010 - 12:55 am
#1. 2 minutes is not sufficent enough to really challenge the actor/actress to perform to their supreme ability
#2. 2 minutes is not a sufficent amount of time to determine the winner of any sport
#3 I have never denied that cheerleaders must be in good condition to perform, probably better condition than most sports, however simply performing stunts does not make it a sport. Your whole list of attributes that cheerleading requires means nothing if the sport itself doesn’t have the intangible.
#4 This being the competitiveness of real sports, the man vs. man, me vs. you aspect that is the heart and soul of sport itself.
#5 I’m sorry but for something to actually be called a sport it should probably be entertaining to some people. I just don’t think that this is the case, even though there is some obscure league somewhere in the u.k.
#6 The judge aspect is not about whether it makes it harder or easier, because that varys with every judge. What I meant was real sports need have everyone in complete control of their own destiny.
I’m not trying to diss it, this is just merely my opinion and I accept the fact that this will not be shared by others. So please don’t get offended because I really do have the utmost respect for cheerleaders.
November 27, 2009 - 6:23 am
Uhh, I'm a cheerleader, and Cheer leading is like Gymnastics and dance both put together, one of which is a very competitive sport, played in the Olympics. the reason why i say its crossed between Gym and dance is because we need the flexibility, and skills of a dancer. I would like to see a few basketball players throw somebody up into the air and catch the flyer properly. It takes concentration and practice and there is usually 4 people per flyer, not 7, the two people on the left and right, do most of the lifting, the one at the back counts and takes off some weight from the flyer when s/he is going into prep, and the one at the front usually just spots and catches the flyers feet when she is coming down into something like cradle. Cheer and basketball, are both very competitive sports, but neither one of us can say we r better than the other.
December 6, 2009 - 1:01 pm
I like the way you think but on my team only three people lift the flyer we don’t have fromtspots onless we do something like a stick it
January 6, 2010 - 12:36 am
our team has three people, no front spots. and main bases hold more weight than side bases…. so that’s why i disagree with the argument that you have 2 people dividing the weight… but i do agree that we cannot put cheerleading over any other sport, because other sports are hard.