WE GOT SPIRIT, YES WE DO!! WE GOT SPIRIT, HOW BOUT YOU? Short skirts, loud voices, and tons of energy; that’s what most high school students define as a typical cheerleader. Most people in the world will have this opinion. I mean all they do is just cheer on other teams, right? They don’t actually do anything other than a few back-flips here or there. How hard could it be? The answer is a lot harder thananyonewould think. Although cheerleading is considered not a sport, it is actually one of the most demanding sports out there.

If you look up the definition of a sport in the dictionary, it will tell you that a sport is a “physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively”. Cheerleading isn’t considered a sport because by definition our main objective is to cheer on other teams in their own sports, but there is not a cheerleader out there that agrees with that. True, that used to be the main job, but there is just so much more to what we do than just providing school spirit. There is a sense of teamwork and family that cheerleading has rather than other sports. A cheerleader isn’t just a member of a team- they are a member of your family, someone you really have to depend on. They literally put their lives in the hands of their teammates everyday, just to get even a fraction better at what they do. There is a trust there that is not easily broken, as with a dedication to your team. And with that dedication comes practice. Lots and lots of hardworking physically demanding practices.

Along with competitions come rules, and with cheerleading there is a heck of a lot of them. According to the National Cheerleading Association, there are six categories in which each team is judged; technique, stability of stunts/strength, choreography/flow of routine, degree of difficulty, perfection of routine, and overall impression. They’re pretty harsh in judging, too. If a stunt moves, or the flyer wobbles a little bit, it’s considered a “bobble”, and results in a .5 deduction from each of the six judges. If a sign or flag is left on the competition floor after the allowed time for the cheer is done, that’s another .5 deduction. If the music ends before you do? deduction, if you’re sloppy in your motions deduction. If you look tired, or don’t yell loud enough in the cheer deduction, or if your routine is even a second over the allowed 2 minutes and 30 seconds deduction. Oh, and if you leave something behind on the floor, MAJIOR DEDUCTION.

As well as complicated, cheerleading is also one of the most dangerous sports in the world. Stunting, tumbling, and jumping three hundred-plus days of the year has its effects on people. Many cheerleaders suffer from broken bones, head trauma, and back issues. It is a proven fact that cheerleaders get more head injuries in a year than football players do. ( As told on http://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/cheerleading-high-rates-catastrophic-injuries-concussions ) Still think all cheerleaders do is jump around and yell “go team” and wave their little pom-poms?

The official ruling on cheerleading is that it is not a sport and while cheerleaders all over the world have argued that it is to countless people, multiple times, the majority still believe cheerleading to be almost pointless, a sport for those who can’t play “real” sports. After reading this essay, and seeing it from just one more cheerleader’s view, would you still agree with them?