Do you believe that cheerleading is a sport? Have you ever sat next to a football player who has referred to cheerleaders as “flirts in skirts”? Although cheerleaders, cheer coaches and fans of cheer will tell you differently. Cheerleading coach Tracy Williamson states “After coaching cheer for nine years I do believe it should be considered a sport.” (Williamson. Personal interview. 17 September 2016) Along with Williamson many people also believe that cheer can be a grueling sport when done right with hard work, dedication, physical activity and participation in competitions. Many cheerleaders as well as their coaches would say that they put a lot of hard work and dedication into their sport.
Most teams take about three to four months to learn just one routine. This means that they have a lot of long practices over a short period of time. Along with long practices come little to no free time for the athlete as they will still have homework to do before or after practice as well as any other activities they must complete before the day is done. On top of running these practices the coaches must also put tie into finding the proper music and creating the routine. They must also regularly attend classes for first aid and CPR. But before they even become a coach they must go to college classes such as Physical Education Coaching, General Physical Education and Health and Fitness Management.
Cheerleading also requires a lot of physical activity. Like gymnasts, cheerleaders must train for years to be able to tumble at the level that cheerleaders tumble at. Most cheer routines contain multiple tumbling passes where ten to fifteen cheerleaders throw multiple tumbling skills in a row which requires a lot of strength and endurance. Cheerleaders must also be able to stunt. Cheer coach Williamson states “Stunting consists of three bases who must be able to throw a flyer ten to twenty feet in the air, spot her, and be able to resist her weight enough so that they can safely catch her and then turn around two seconds later and do it all over again.” (Williamson. Personal interview. 17 September 2016).
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Another aspect of stunting is the flyer. She must be able to control her body as she flips up in the air because going just one inch to the side could cause the cheerleader to be dropped. These stunts are harder when you are on a co-ed team where one requirement is partner stunting where just one man and one girl attempt to do stunts that all girl teams use four people for. This means that the girl must be able to have complete control and the guy must have strong muscles as he flips the girl into the air and holds her there for fifteen to twenty seconds. Can you imagine doing that on a daily basis? Because cheer requires the athletes to have strength and endurance a lot of cheer teams will do weight lifting sessions during or after practices.
A lot of people would define a sport as being a team or individual who competes against other teams or individuals. Cheerleaders do just that at many cheer competitions that are held throughout the year. Cheer squads travel almost every weekend to compete against other teams. During these competitions they must abide certain rules, much like any other sport. They have a time limit of three minutes and fifteen seconds. They also have to stay within the bounds on the mat. Much like basketball or football they are not supposed to go out of the lines that are on the edge of the mat, which is the “field” for cheer. They also have restrictions on what they can and can not do while tumbling and stunting.
This is similar to illegal moves in wrestling, they can get points taken or even get disqualified. Like the other sports, at the end of the competition a winner is declared and medals or trophies are handed out. In the biggest competition in cheer, Worlds, that happens at the end of every season first place is given rings much like the football players who win the Superbowl. “There is no true definition of “official sport”, but if there was cheer would be a part of it” (Williamson. Personal interview. 17 September 2016). So are cheerleaders just “flirts in skirts” or are they real athletes? When done right cheerleading can be a grueling sport through hard work and dedication, physical activity and competition.
