Cheerleading: Is It A Sport?



May 24, 1995|JOY KUNISHIGE and Spanish River High School

Some people say sports would go on without cheerleaders. They're right. Maybe that's because cheerleading has become a sport.

Cheerleaders don't just lead cheers anymore. They lift impressive weights: Each other. They jump and tumble in the tradition of the best Olympic gymnasts. They compete nationally for awards and scholarships.

And win.

Liz Lorie, a Florida State University cheerleader, recently won a $10,000 scholarship in the "America's No. 1 Cheerleader" competition.

Cheerleaders aren't just cheering athletes. They are athletes. Think about it. Like baseball players, cheerleaders follow complicated rules. Like ice-skaters, cheerleaders compete for points in front of judges. Like basketball players, cheerleaders work as a team.

Compare basketball and cheerleading. The forwards, centers and guards in basketball depend on each other like the flyers, bases and spotters in cheerleading do.

The dictionary defines "sport" as "physical activity."Don't say cheerleading isn't physical. It requires the same athletic skills as any other sport.

Take the "basket toss."That's when cheerleaders toss a teammate into the air. The cheerleader touches his or her toes, flips over, then lays back and falls into the arms of the waiting teammates.

Not difficult enough?

Try an "awesome."That's when a guy "spots" two girls and ends up holding them both up - one in each hand. It requires the same style and strength as any other sport.

Cheerleading has come a long way since the '50s. The skirts are shorter. The practices are longer. And the girls are stronger.

Games might go on without cheerleaders. And that's OK. Because cheerleaders are going beyond the games.

Sun Sentinel Articles