From my freshman to senior year in high school, the thing that took up most of my time was dance. You could find me practicing with my dance team after school for continuous hours, even having Saturday practices. The time and devotion that was put into my dance team matched the amount of time and devotion football or basketball players put into their teams.

When people would ask me if I played a sport, I would respond with yes, dance. They would then laugh and say: dancing isn't a sport. I would then explain why I believe dance is a sport and should be considered as one everywhere. According to Cambridge Dictionary, a sport is defined as a game, competition, or similar activity, done for enjoyment or as a job, that takes physical effort and skill and is played or done by following particular rules. Dance definitely has all of these components, which proves it takes just as much effort and work as other sports do.

Competitions are usually an important part of sports teams. After a team has worked for their upcoming season, they enter competition season, where they showcase what they have been working on and go up against other teams. Dance teams will practice continuously and make sure that every routine is perfect in order for the opportunity to win a trophy. Football teams will compete in games until they get closer to winning the ultimate title or football championship. Even in the dance world, there is an ultimate title, known as Nationals, supported by the National Dance Alliance (NDA).

Rules are also usually incorporated into sports teams. In dance, rules are set for practice and for competitions. During a football game, if a team breaks a rule, they get a foul or can get flagged. Similarly, when a dance team breaks certain rules during competitions, they can lose points, which affects their total score. Overall, there are rules, regulations, and expectations, which are expected to be followed for sports teams.

Training is necessary for teams to get in shape for their season. Football teams will train during the summertime so they are ready for fall football games. Similarly, dancers need to train and get their bodies ready to be dancing all of the time for competition season. In doing this, dancers will stretch, increase their flexibility, and gain muscle.

Stamina is necessary for a team. Many sports include the act of running back and forth, like football. In terms of dance teams, the dancers are constantly moving across the dance floor. Dance routines can go up to four or five-minute routines, which means you need to keep up and put your best foot forward for the whole time. If one dancer loses stamina during a routine, it can affect the team as a whole.

Teams work together to produce a final product. Talented and trained individuals work together to compete and win trophies. In terms of dance, dancers work together during a routine and find a way to communicate with one another so that they can show all of the work and dedication they have been putting in all season.

People pay to watch sports teams and they pay to watch dance competitions. Dance teams hope to be the best dance team in their county, state, and nation, just like sports teams do. Dancing takes the same amount of motivation, sweat, tears, hard work, and long days and nights as any other sport. Luckily enough, at my high school, dance was considered a sport, and my dance team was able to attend Sports Awards and get varsity letters, just like all of the other sports teams.

However, not all schools consider dance a sport and ultimately, dance should be considered a sport everywhere. This will allow for funding to aid in dance programs at schools so that dance teams are appreciated just as much as football teams are. Ultimately, dance should most definitely be considered a sport, and if someone says it's not, now you know what to respond with.