Why Do People Think Cheerleading Is Not A Sport

[amanda-flips]

Please don't murder me for this:

Before I was into cheer and stuff, it seemed like cheer was based on looks. Obviously not in competition, but girls seemed to idolize other girls for their abs or tan or poof or "fierceness" or whatever, as opposed to their athletic ability. Again, that was just what I saw on the outside, now that I know more about cheer I see the other side of that.




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[MavsEmma12]

Please don't murder me for this:

Before I was into cheer and stuff, it seemed like cheer was based on looks. Obviously not in competition, but girls seemed to idolize other girls for their abs or tan or poof or "fierceness" or whatever, as opposed to their athletic ability. Again, that was just what I saw on the outside, now that I know more about cheer I see the other side of that.
Before I was introduced into cheerleading, I thought it was "go team rah rah rah" and all about looks. It wasn't until I actually was doing to tumbling and stunts and jumps that I realized how difficult it is!

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

Here are my thoughts on this. I think the main things that lead to the "not a sport" thing in modern people's minds are not that they think all star cheerleading doesn't require athletic ability - majority of its skills are very similar to gymnastic skills, and no one will deny that gymnastics is a sport, but more the lack of opportunities at the top level of the sport - like the olympics or NCAA scholarships.

Yeah, there are Worlds, and that is helping, but I think attitudes would change if kids started to get full rides to cheer for Division I schools just like they do for basketball, football, track and field, volleyball, etc. - not ones where they cheer for the football team and also compete (similar to a dance team), but scholarships where they are considered student athletes in the NCAA-sense.

 

[amanda-flips]

Here are my thoughts on this. I think the main things that lead to the "not a sport" thing in modern people's minds are not that they think all star cheerleading doesn't require athletic ability - majority of its skills are very similar to gymnastic skills, and no one will deny that gymnastics is a sport, but more the lack of opportunities at the top level of the sport - like the olympics or NCAA scholarships.

Yeah, there are Worlds, and that is helping, but I think attitudes would change if kids started to get full rides to cheer for Division I schools just like they do for basketball, football, track and field, volleyball, etc. - not ones where they cheer for the football team and also compete (similar to a dance team), but scholarships where they are considered student athletes in the NCAA-sense.

You'd be surprised by the number of people who don't think gymnastics is a sport. But like cheer, most people who say gymnastics isn't a sport don't know very much about gymnastics.

But I agree with you on the NCAA thing. Hopefully A&T is beginning to help with that.




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[Twinklestars]

I think there are people who are going to question if you can really have a "sport" that is subjectively judged. Cheer, dance, gymnastics, ice skating, diving, etc... are all questionable. It doesn't make the participants any less athletic. It is just different.

There needs to be another category in which to place this type of subjectively judged competition.

It could be argued that it isn't the competitive aspect that makes something a sport. It is the ability to objectively judge by score, time, or distance.




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[Meagan]

You'd be surprised by the number of people who don't think gymnastics is a sport. But like cheer, most people who say gymnastics isn't a sport don't know very much about gymnastics.

But I agree with you on the NCAA thing. Hopefully A&T is beginning to help with that.




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Cheer will never have hope if people really think gymnastics is not a sport. Gymnastics is more televised than cheerleading. I think that's the number 1 reason why people think it's not a sport. They see sideline cheer and nfl cheerleading. They need see the competitive side as often.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Lord, there isn't a number great enough to describe how high my blood temperature gets when I hear non-cheer parents say that the NFL is the furthest a cheerleader can get.

 

[becca_boo_3]

this topic makes me so mad! there is a fine line between school cheer and allstars. I really think it varries. Allstars is a sport no question, but i can understand why people believe that school cheer isn't, even though i think it is! at my school we aren't aloud to stunt but we do compete and you must have a standing handspring to compete. but no one at my school see's the competitions and we don't win so no one ever hears anything about it. I think that both are sports and requires you to be athletic even if you don't compete with your school.

 

[Cheerluv34]

Someone told me they think cheer is not a sport and that you are just dancing around. It made me sooooo mad

 

[Erica]

I would definitly say it's a sport because the dictionary classify sports as: An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for Entertainment.

Anyone who has seen cheerleading for what it is today can't possibly argue that cheerleading doesn't fit into that description.

However, since cheerleading is so very rare over here many I talk to only think of cheerleading as girls on the sidelines waving pompons, doing some chants and waving their arms around abit. And no, that would not classify as a sport. But it's also far from what cheerleaders do.

That, to me, makes it quite obvious that those statments, along with so many other prejudices, is based on nothing but ignorance unfortunatly.

 

[jessicastuart]

It will be a never ending argument! However, it's great to see more and more states deem competitive cheerleading as a recognized sport! Happy high school cheerleading coach over here in New York.

 

[Official OWECheer]

Someone told me they think cheer is not a sport and that you are just dancing around. It made me sooooo mad

It's even worse when people watch an ENTIRE competition routine and then claim that all they saw was dancing. :banghead:

 

[CourtneyyWalker]

I think a lot of it has to do with people's ignorance. They base their ideas on what they have seen, and if all they have seen is pom pons waving and girls screaming "Go, Fight, Win" then they automatically make an assumption about cheerleading in general.

 

[Caila]

People believe cheer isnt a sport because movies/t.v shows never show allstar cheer. If one does mention cheer, its sideline cheer. Its all stereotypes.