Table of Contents
The purpose of this research is to further expand upon the short article Cheerleading: Is It A Sport that is found in the textbook Sociology of North American Sport by Sage and Eitzen. The article argues that some cheerleading programs consist of complex physical skills that are required for competitions and thus should be granted the status of a sport. (p.236). Sage & Eitzen state that a sport is any competitive physical activity that is guided by established rules. (p.5) To define sport, Title IX of the Education Amendment (1972) has created a Dear Colleague letter (See appendix A) that helps explain which activities can count as a either interscholastic or intercollegiate sports by meeting specific criteria.
The letter consists of two broader categories with various criteria that need to be met and which resemble other already established varsity sport programs. Under Title IX’s Dear Colleague letter, the category Program Structure and Administration states that there must be an operating budget, including support services and coaches, and whether the participants can receive scholarships and awards. Criteria also includes that the participants should be recruited in a similar fashion as the already established sport programs. The second category, Team Preparation and Competition, consists of four criteria which include:
- the same practice opportunities be available,
- that the activity have a regular season,
- pre-season and/or post-season opportunities for competition must be available (e.g. state tournament, meet), and
- that the activity be developed with the primary purpose of athletic competition.
There has been considerable debate on this topic especially since one school fought to use competitive cheer as a sport to meet Title IX criteria. This was denied by higher courts in previous years. This report seeks to provide information on whether competitive cheer programs currently meet Title IX’s criteria to be considered a sport. To answer this question, peer reviewed material was analyzed, along with additional articles for background information on the progression of support and arguments regarding this issue.
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This report’s main findings include the increasing popularity and whether competitive cheer programs meet the Title IX criteria for competitive cheer to become a sport. Increasing demand of physical skills required for competition also is emphasized since this is a growing requirement for recruitment and sustaining competitive demands.
Findings
- Do Competitive Cheer programs meet Title IX’s Program Structures and Administration criteria.
After reviewing the peer reviews and the articles, I determine that competitive cheer has recently began to meet this criteria. One program that has helped push through some barriers is that according to Varsity.com, there has been a national governing body for sport cheering in the United States since (2011. (Varsity.com). This governing body, USA Cheer, has developed a new program called STUNT that focuses on the competitive sport, separating it from the traditional cheerleading programs. Varsity.com also states that this program was purposefully developed to meet the requirements of a sport under Title IX. (Varsity.com).
In a (2010 case ruling, the court determined that competitive cheer did not meet the criteria having a governing organization, thus could not be considered a sport based on the lack of a governing body. To address this issue, [c]ompetitive cheer coaches from eight universities recently created the National Competitive Stunts and Tumbling Association for the purpose of governing competitive cheer at the collegiate level. (Ziegler). Four more universities must also participate to meet a minimum of participating universities so that this governing body (Ziegler) can meet Title IX criteria.
As of (2015, The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) has published a rule book named Spirit Rules Book which allows the program to follow similar already established sports programs. This update may help support competitive cheer’s fight to be a sport. Further research is needed to see if the NCAA and/or Title IX have or plan to reconsider reviewing whether competitive cheer have now met the criteria.
- Do Competitive Cheer programs meet Title IX’s Team Preparation and Competition criteria.
After analyzing the peer reviewed material and other articles, I am able to conclude that competitive cheer does also meet this criteria. Competitive cheer requires numerous, if not more, practice hours similar to that of already established sports. Cheer teams often practice 10-15 hours per week to master their routines and perform dangerous stunts flawlessly. Competitive Cheer has had a regular season for some years now. It is a spring activity which holds various competitions that are judged by a set of regulated criteria. In 2017, California has finalized the last of the details to include the sport of competitive cheer into the interscholastic programs at the high school level.
According to Brandeis, Competitive cheer teams will be subject to the same by-laws as other CIF sports, with rules pertaining to practices, grades, and competitions. According to Drehs, in (2004, one school had consulted with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights regarding having one cheer squad apart from the traditional cheerleaders that could focus specifically on competitions, thus making it eligible as a Title IX sport. (Drehs). This program, however, was later cut in (2012. Nonetheless, this later helps set the stage for other schools to incorporate two separate cheer teams, a traditional one and a competitive one. This also allows for the competitive cheer team to focus solely on mastering their skills for competition as a priority. Currently, annual state competitions are being held in 46 U.S. states. Those states who lag behind this trend include Montana, Rhode Island, Delaware, and Kansas.
- Competitive Cheer programs have evolved into a very rigorous and physically demanding sport.
Cheerleading has come a long way since its popularity dating back to early 1900’s, when males were cheerleaders. Now, it is comprised of mostly females who perform a variety of cheer routines and stunts. The sport of cheer has become physically demanding that includes perform[ing] highly synchronized choreographed routines in order to compete at local, regional, and national competitions. (Ziegler). Competitive cheer, which has developed out of cheerleading, also incorporates many gymnastic stunts within their routines. One argument is that gymnastics has been recognized as a sport for many years, so the competitive cheer should also be considered a sport.
Hours of conditioning exercises are required to continue to meet the demands of this growing competitive sport. After analyzing the peer reviewed materials, authors are in agreement that competitive cheer has developed into an athletic program that requires rigorous conditioning, including strength training and cardio, along with countless hours practicing the routines so that the cheer team can perform in sync with each other. Not only have the physical demands increased, but the risk of injury has also increased dramatically for this sport. These participants suffer similar injuries as those found on other athletic sports, such as baseball and football. According to Drehs, there are bumps, bruises, sprains and injuries related to repetitive. There are scratches, cuts and burns. (Drehs).
Johnson is in agreement with Drehs, stating that that the risk of catastrophic injury is significantly greater, presumably because of the more demanding, and physically risky, stunts being performed. (P265). In one peer reviewed article, Shields tells us that cheerleading injuries include mostly include areas such as the ankle, knee, neck, lower back, and head, with many requiring physical therapy, surgery, and even hospitalization due to fractures and herniated disks (p573). This change to more gymnastic-style cheerleading routines may be associated with the increasing number of cheerleading injuries. (567 Shields). Shields recommends that these participants increasing time spent on conditioning and strength training to decrease the number of injuries. (Shields).
- Competitive Cheer programs have gained popularity but continue to see opposition as a result of gendered stereotyping.
Over the years, competitive cheer has become very popular with over 3 million young females participating in this sport throughout the U.S. (Raabe). To date, there are 46 states that consider competitive cheer a sport, along with some universities that have given the sport of cheer varsity status. This growing movement gives females another opportunity to participate in a sport. In the article Competitive cheer now a CIF sport, but some athletes have concerns, Brandeis tells us that this growing trend happens at a grassroots level.
Individual schools create club programs and they work their way up to becoming sanctioned at the state level. (Brandeis). One giant leap forward for the sport of cheer is that it currently has provisional status as an Olympic sport, with a potential debut in (2020 (Sherman). But even with the growing support, competitive cheer still faces opposition, mainly due to the stereotyping of this gendered sport. Blacker tells us that despite being the focus of fierce competition between generations of teenage girls jockeying for status and a place on the team, by sporting standards cheerleading was the sideshow, not the main event (Blackler). Johnson is in agreement with Blackler, adding that the traditional stereotype of the cheerleader… were thought of as pretty girls who did nothing more than shake pompoms, shout cheers, and swing their limbs. Johnson further tells us that they supported athletes; they were not athletes themselves (p, 262 Johnson).
It’s hard for cheer participants to move away from that stereotype when appearance is still important and young females continue to maintain a hyper-feminine presentation. Drehs also gives the example that participants at UCLA have makeup consultants. (DRehs). Even though femininity seems to go along with the sport of cheer, it is not the only sport that encourages this status quo, for example Gymnastics and figure skating continue to have females who wear makeup and dress feminine while performing. However, the latter are considered true sports. A negative trait that is sometimes seen with the more feminine sports, is that they are not violent enough or masculine enough to be considered a sport. There is a lack of respect and recognition [that] cheerleaders get without taking into consideration the physical demands that are required of the sport. (Lewis). Some persons may choose to not see a difference between traditional cheerleading and competitive cheer.
Policy Recommendations
Should competitive cheer gain sport status? Competitive cheer has evolved over the years, distinguishing itself apart from that of traditional cheerleading. Unlike cheerleading that is focused on attaining school spirit and is entertainment focused, competitive cheer is focused mainly on competition. Over the last couple of years, additional breakthroughs have developed moving this activity to appear more as a sport. There will need to be continued improvements with the structure of the activity for sport classification by Title IX, however further studying would be necessary to monitor this issue.
Following are some policy recommendations in support of progressing competitive cheer as a fully accepted sport:
- That Title IX of the Education Amendment (1972) recognize competitive cheer as a sport.
- That institutions who incorporate competitive cheer as a school sponsored sport also provide fair and reasonable support, such as providing an athletic trainer.
- That coaches and participants have sufficient resources on safety for performing stunts and limiting injuries.
