By REBECCA WAGNER, Student Reporter
Cheerleading is a sport.
For an activity to be considered a sport, it must involve physical exertion and skills for the individual and/or team to compete against another for others entertainment.
Cheerleaders partake in many forms of physical exertion. They stunt, tumble and dance all for the entertainment for others. Cheerleaders tend to get injured more often than athletes in other sports because they are putting their bodies to the test.
Cheerleaders are required to put themselves through the same mental and physical strength that every other athlete must go through. There are teams that practice all year long to compete one time a year. Competing is what would be considered a sporting event.
Until 2020, many people did not consider cheer a sport. When the Netflix series “Cheer” came out, people got a bigger picture as to what cheer really was like on the inside. Usually, people only see what cheerleaders do at games, and they only take into consideration the uniforms and the dancing. They do not take into consideration the different stunts and accidents that occur during practicing.
There are ways that one could argue that cheer is not a sport. Cheerleading was created to promote school spirit and motivate sports teams.
Over the years, cheerleading evolved and became a completely different element. On July 20, 2021, the International Olympic Committee voted to grant recognition to the International Cheer Union. That recognition allows for more doors to open for cheerleading – and for more people to come to the realization that cheerleading is, in fact, a sport.
Many cheerleaders will tell you they form the best relationships through their teams, and they would stand by the fact that cheer is a sport. When you think of cheer, do you consider it a sport or just a pastime for sporting events?