By JAXYN CLOUD
Imagine working incredibly hard every morning, lifting weights, throwing girls in the air and putting the body through extensive stress just to be told you aren’t an athlete. Unfortunately, this is a common mindset held regarding cheerleading.
Cheer deserves more recognition as a legitimate sport, both from schools and the world of athletics.
The NWOSU cheerleaders are now competing for the first time in thirteen years, with their first stop being Anaheim, California for Collegiate Nationals. Their squad holds five practices a week, while also performing for football, basketball and volleyball. Their schedules are extremely busy, just like any other sport on campus.
“They just really want it.” said Head Cheer Coach, Chloe Rogers. “We have a really great group of girls who work so hard to prepare for competition.”
“Cheer is just a club that supports sports teams,” is a common mindset that isn’t the truth. Many associate cheer with the sidelines of basketball, football and volleyball games, but cheer is much more than that. Competitive cheerleading has its own leagues, competitions and championships. Sideline cheer is just one glimpse into the hard work cheerleaders put in to be successful in all areas of competition.
“It’s more about looks than actual athletic ability.” This is a common stereotype about cheerleading. Presentation matters, but that does not take away from the incredible athletic ability a cheer routine requires.
Tumbling and stunting require an incredible amount of strength and precision from the athletes. It also requires countless hours of practice to create muscle memory. A split second could mean the stunt falls or it could mean you land on your neck and suffer permanent damage. All of these elements come together to enhance the routine.
“One thing I’ve learned about competing as a cheer and track athlete is that cheer is not easy,” said Olivia Saner, a Health and Sports Science major from Dawson, Nebraska. Saner is a two-sport athlete, competing in cheer and track. “[Both sports] take a lot of time and dedication to do what we do. Juggling both can be exhausting and uncomfortable but having a new family around makes each day feel normal.”
Some say that cheer is not a sport because it is not in the Olympics. Cheer is recognized by the International Olympic Committee, which means it could be included in future competition. If this is the only standard for recognition as a sport, then is breakdancing a sport? It was a category of competition in the 2020 Olympics. What about sailing or table tennis? The Olympics recognizes all of these activities as sports.
Sexism could play a large role in the way society views cheerleading. Since cheer is a primarily female sport, some may not take it as seriously as other sports. Between gender stereotypes and oversexualization, cheer has been given an unfair “just there to support the males” role. Perhaps if cheerleaders were primarily male it would receive more respect. Cheerleading deserves respect for its physical and competition demands, not to be treated differently because of gender stereotypes.
The most legitimate reason for considering cheer an athletic activity, but not a sport, is its origin.
Cheer was created to promote school spirit, then slowly developed into the intense activity it is today. There are now competitions to showcase these athletes, but their primary goal is to entertain, not compete. Although cheer was created for the purpose of leadership and school spirit, weren’t all sports originally created as a fun pastime? The origins don’t change that cheer is now at a level of athletics that far exceeds what it used to be.
“Even though we aren’t always seen the same way as other athletic programs, we train just as hard and represent our school at every event,” said Mia Ovalle, a nursing major from Laverne, OK. “I think we deserve a bit more recognition simply because of the commitment, hard work, and school spirit we bring to every event we attend. We’re constantly working to grow the program and make our school proud.”
Next time a cheerleader walks by, show them some appreciation and give an encouraging word. They are working hard to represent NWOSU well without the praise other teams receive.