By: Rhianna Dozier
What people consider a “sport” now-a-days is quite interesting. Whoever said cheerleading wasn’t a sport is seriously disturbed.
Let’s get real for a second. Who considers cheerleading a sport?
If you are thinking to yourself “no way” or “absolutely not,” I love to be the one to tell you that you are wrong.
A sport is said to be an activity that involves physical exertion through using skills and knowledge in which individuals or teams compete against one another for an audience’s amusement. So, by definition, cheerleading is a sport.
There are no “but’s.”
Cheerleaders spend countless hours trying to perfect jumps, cheers, chants, dances, kicks, and stunts. Each movement must be sharp and in unison with everyone else. A cheerleader’s day starts early in the morning with extreme cardio workouts. The afternoon is filled with strength and conditioning to tone the muscles that they will use in the evening. The evening is consumed with repeating cheers and chants in an effort to commit them to memory.
Who else do we know puts in this much effort? Oh! That’s right, ANY OTHER ATHLETE!
An average high school basketball team will practice for 10-12 hours a week. Cheerleaders who compete in competitions will practice 10-11 hours a week. Are you seeing a pattern here? Just like any other athlete, cheerleaders run the risk of getting hurt. Badly hurt.
Unlike other athletes, cheerleaders are not as replaceable. One sprained ankle could lead to a whole stunt group not performing. Even more serious, if a stunt group is not utterly focused, the flyer could fall and snap her neck if she lands the wrong way. You are putting your life in the hands of your teammates. You have to want it to be a cheerleader. Talk about blood, sweat, and tears.
What about diets? Ever heard of a “typical” athlete being on a strict diet? I haven’t.
Unlike college and professional football players, basketball players, and soccer players, cheerleaders cannot just go out and eat tow burgers, a large fry, and then proceed to down a milkshake after or before a big game. Cheerleaders have to follow a certain diet to ensure that they are staying healthy and that their bodies are getting the proper nutrients needed to support the strenuous workouts they do during the season.
And image control?
Cheerleaders do not have the luxury of wearing no make-up and just being able to sweat freely. For a cheerleader, no eyelash goes uncurled and no tiny hair sticks out of place. Cheerleaders are polished with skin resembling a porcelain doll, lips as bright as a strawberry, and glitter anywhere and everywhere on their bodies.
Don’t even get me started about cheering for a team that sucks. It’s brutal. Instead of chanting “Hold. That. Line. Knights. Defense hold that line,” you want to say, “What the hell was that you moron.” Cheerleaders have to remain poised standing on the sideline with a smile glued to their face as they cheer through pain, hunger, and tiresome nights.
To say that cheerleading is not a sport, undermines all of the hard work and long hours that cheerleaders put into giving a stellar performance. Cheerleaders commit and give 110% just like any other athlete. It deserves to be recognized as a sport.
And if you consider video games (esports) to be a sport, you better damn well consider cheerleading a sport.
Comments
Post a Comment