First off, I want to start with by no means am I saying cheerleading does not require an immense amount of athletic ability. To me, it was one of the most physically and mentally demanding activities I have ever participated in. I will also give credit where credit is due. Cheerleaders are determined. They are brave. They are strong. Not many people would willingly put their lives (yes, their lives) on the line to be tossed in the air, tumble across a gym floor/mat, and jump as high in the air as physically possible all to please a crowd, a team, or simply for the love of it.
To my fellow cheerleaders: do you enjoy being able to do jumps, stunts, and tumbling? If so, you should probably give up on the age-old argument that cheerleading is a sport. When you argue for the acceptance of cheerleading as a sport, you are arguing for the eradication of all of the things that make you love the activity.
The definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment,” or so says Google and even the NCAA. The key word in this definition is "competes." In the argument of whether or not cheerleading should be considered a sport, this is probably the most important thing to consider. Sports teams compete. They do not perform for the enjoyment of a crowd or the support of another competing team.
No one is arguing that cheerleading does not require an immense amount of athleticism, but you can be an athlete and never actually participate in a sport just as you can participate in a sport and lack athletic ability. However, I do know a lot of people who like to argue that competitive cheer teams are competing and should be considered a sport. That is not possible.
Competitive cheer teams do not compete enough to satisfy sports requirements from NCAA or Title IX. As much as these performances are jaw-dropping to watch, they are still just performances. If teams were to begin satisfying these requirements they would almost have to stop cheering at sports games entirely, which would, of course, basically kill off cheerleading as we know it. In fact, most cheer teams voluntarily choose not to compete in these cheerleading competitions.
Another thing that would be changed if cheerleading were to be considered a sport is the added regulations: practice time, fundraising rules, restrictions on travel, and restrictions on national competitions. If the NCAA were to recognize cheerleading as an official sport, yes, it would guarantee better facilities, more funding, improved safety regulations, and better certification for coaches, but it would require these student-athletes to practice upwards to 20, even 30, hours a week, as most student-athletes do, and those stunts and jumps you love so much: yeah, those would be regulated too, making it nearly impossible for competitive cheerleading to survive.
So the next time you try to argue for the activity you hold so near and dear to your heart to be considered a sport, think about what you would be doing to it if it were to actually be a sport.
Take it from a former cheerleader.
