Opinion: Is Cheerleading A Sport?

Since the 1800s, cheerleading has been known as a fun, peppy activity. Cheerleading involves dancing, tumbling, and stunting, performed mainly at football and basketball games. With all the activity it involves, it can be argued that cheerleading is a sport, but here is why it is not.

Sports require athletic ability, physical interaction, skills and entertainment. Technically, a sport is something that has physical activity involved in it and it is totaled for points. Cheerleading doesn’t have any of that.

Although it does have sport tactics, cheer is meant for the sidelines of games, supporting players more than actually competing in games. According to ESPNW, a former cheerleader states, “Sports teams exist to compete, not to perform and entertain or support another group that competes.”  So, yeah cheerleading is a great support group for teams but is not an actual competitive team. 

Cheerleading lacks what it needs to be considered an actual sport. Although it involves tumbling and dancing, it requires half the time and ability of a real sport to stand and motivate the crowd along with the actual game. However, if cheerleading had more competitions and more 

Cheerleading is meant to entertain and motivate the crowd to hype up the game. Besides the game, they take the viewer’s attention away from the game with their cheer flair, becoming distracting, and annoying. Like we want to give attention to the game happening, not you!

Cheerleading relies on sports so they can take part in it. If school games were not taking place, then neither would all the cheers. They are only there to motivate and support the crowd and the actual event taking place.

All and all, cheerleading does have qualifications of sport but is rarely used for competitive reasons. Cheerleaders can help the game by giving them a sense of hope, but otherwise, they are just there for support. So thanks cheer, but you’re not a sport.