We the undersigned object to the proposal of having cheerleaders as part of the pre-match entertainment at Ipswich Town FC for the following reasons. 1. Such displays are essentially sexist. Cheer leaders are almost always younger females and this is not inclusive. 2. Where cheerleaders are children and younger teenagers it is sexualising adolescents to a public audience. 3. Cheerleading is not part of the tradition of the club, nor is it part of the tradition of football in England. It forms part of the tradition of North American sports and is an unwanted import. An online consultation was conducted on the TWTD website. http://www.twtd.co.uk/news.php?storyid=20665&title=town_topic:_what_could_improve_matchdays_at_portman_road When cheerleading was suggested it was also rebutted in most cases, and where not the comments are generally non-committal with only a few supporting the idea. There are many other ideas of improving the pre-match and interval entertainment that are less exploitative and should be considered as a priority for improving the match day experience.

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