Where Competitive Cheer Stands According to Title IX expert & Attorney

My oh my oh my! lol

Ok, Kingston, to your question about whether ground bound squads are a sport, I ask you a question instead . . . Is machine pitch baseball a sport? Or does baseball only become a sport when it's done exactly how we see the pros do it?? I say ground bound competitive cheer is BORING but if they are competing and exerting physical energy, jumping, tumbling, dance, motions -- ABSOLUTELY it is a sport. Boring maybe, but definitely a sport!! If we took field goals out of football would it still be a sport??

The Sixth -- experts don't get subpoenaed. They are hired to testify on your client's behalf to help them win a case.

Oh and Kingston, just to go along with your geometry lesson -- Jeff Webb testified to help the triangle prove that quadrilaterals are just wannabe squares! lol

 

Are you being serious?

 

Machine pitch baseball is the same sport, except a machine pitches the ball instead of a pitcher. It's for young boys who are just learning to play. They start with coach pitch, then move on to machine pitch, then to baseball as we know it with an actual person pitching the ball. To me, baseball with a machine pitching the ball would be like us coaches going out and basing all stunts, pyramids and baskets. It's for proper progressions with safety in mind. Baseball is missing an element of the sport when a coach and/or machine is pitching the game.

And the video you posted of the ground bound squad in Ohio had all the elements of cheer in it except stunts, pyramids and baskets. If you're saying because they had limited tumbling abilities they aren't a sport, then does that mean our level 1 2 and 3 all star cheerleaders don't compete in a sport?? That statement confused me a little.

Now, as far as the sideline vs. competitive discussion, I guess I agree with that. At the high school or college level, competitive cheer wouldn't exist without the sidelines. In a school atmosphere, I don't think it should. At a school their primary focus would be leading the crowds at games, but that doesn't mean their OTHER focus of competitive cheer shouldn't be the sport side of what they're doing. Why can't they both coexist peacefully together?? It's really not that hard of a concept to me. I am 16 years old. I am a cheerleader. I lead the crowd in chants and cheers on Friday nights which I do for fun. I practice 5 days a week to compete in the other side of cheerleading, the sport side, on various weekends. Why does cheerleading have to fall in line with the way every other sport is defined? Why can't we be different in our own right? If I only do sideline cheer, I don't compete in a sport. If I do competitive cheer AND sidelines, I compete in a sport. It just seems so simple to me.

 

Ok, I tried to edit my post because I realized after posting it that my question about levels 1 2 and 3 cheerleaders not competing a sport doesn't make sense in this instance because they DO stunt. So ignore that part of my post.

 

If you take out the stunting AND tumbling, then we're back to pretty much a sideline activity. I think we can all agree that competitive cheer without BOTH of those elements is not a sport. But you take out just one and I think it would still be defined as a sport. Power Tumbling is a sport and that's all they do is tumble. So a cheer routine without stunts but WITH tumbling to me is still a sport.

I am in total agreement with you that the competitive side of cheerleading should be called sport cheer. I like it. It keeps the name "cheer" without the "leading" part which is what I believe we do. We cheer but we don't lead. Perfect solution to our problem.

 

Look you already have a governing body.

ABOUT USA CHEER

The USA Federation for Sport Cheering is a not-for profit 501(c)(6) and is the national governing body for sport cheering. USA Cheer exists to serve the cheer community, including club cheering (All Star) and traditional school based cheer programs. USA Cheer has three primary objectives: help grow and develop interest and participation in Cheer throughout the United States; promote safety and safety education for cheer in the United States; and, represent the United States of America in international cheer competitions.

 

first organized and website purchased August 2007, papers filed 1/10 putting All Stars together with high school to be governed by USA Cheer.

 

LIES! I came up with the 'Sport Cheer' name before you!!!! lol