OT Is Cheer a sport or not?

[IzzyFierce]

Hey guys!

My name is Izzy, and I'm an allstar competitive cheerleader. I'm on a coed level 4 team and an open level 5 team. I'm doing a project for school, so I really need your help!

I need to know ...
what cheer means to you
how many injuries you have gotten and what kind of injuries
Do you think competitive cheer is a sport? Why?
Is school cheer a sport? Why?
How much crap do you get about being a cheerleader? (example : cheer isn't a sport, etc.)

Please go into detail!


Thank you guys sooo much!
Much love!

Cheers, Izzy

 

[cheeeeer93]

What doesn't cheer mean to me? It's seriously everything. It has brought me so much confidence and friendships. Honestly, I have changed so much just because of cheer. Cheer has made me a better person.
I have gotten punched in the nose in a single down, several sprained ankles, too many pulled muscles to count
Competitive cheer IS definitely a sport. It gets taken to the next level and requires so much stamina and athleticism.
School cheer really just depends on the degree of what you are actually doing. Sideline cheer is not at all. But if you are on a highly competitive team, then yes.
When I did school cheer, I would constantly get crap about it but that was because my team was terrible and it wasn't taken seriously at all. I get more respect now because I do strictly allstar and people are more understanding of it.

 

[Audrey]

Cheer is a way of life for me. I don't know what I would do without it. It's given me so much confidence and so many good times. It's by far my favorite thing to do.
The only bad injuries I've gotten are a sprained wrist and ankle. Otherwise just countless cuts and bruises.
Of course it's a sport. It's competitive and athletic. I don't understand the logic behind people not thinking it's a sport. Cheerleaders are some of the toughest, most athletic people out there.
Competitive high school cheer is a sport. However sideline is just an athletic activity.
I've gotten into so many arguments about this it's not even funny. I've had to explain to schoolmates, adults, even my own parents why it's a sport. People make fun of cheerleaders a lot at my school and I always have a hard time convincing them it's a sport. It's not like I'm getting constantly harassed but I frequently get crap for it.

 

[yougottabelieve]

Cheer means life to me, live and breathe it. Luckilly I havent gotten that many serious injuries. But as I call it, I completely killed my ankles in doing tucks. I do believe competitive cheer is a sport. We practice a certain amount of hours of other people (and more), We do physical work, and it's just as hard (and harder) than many sports out there. School cheer sport is debatable. If they take it seriously like any other all star gym then yes I would say it is a sport. If it's just go around in a short skirt showing off your uni' to people, then that would be just wearing clothing... People have told me cheer isn't a sport and all that but it's deffinately easy to win that fight. Those people have never tried it, so they don't have any rights to say it. But the reason they say "Cheer isn't a sport" because they think of the stereotypical cheerleaders on the sidelines (sucky ones) or the people that don't take it seriously.

 

[powerXbaby]

what cheer means to you: Cheer is pretty much everything to me. I can't even permanently quit! I just keep coming back to it. I love the feeling of competing and being on a team. Getting new music, learning choreography, watching other routines. Everything about it is just amazing!
how many injuries you have gotten and what kind of injuries: Well, this is the part that kind of sucks about cheerleading. i've gotten a couple permanent injuries such as a twisted vertebrae in my upper back, torn my labrum twice and it has so much scar tissue that it still bothers me, I no longer have cartilage in my knees or ankles, and all my joints have a lot of restricted movement. Permanent swelling to my eye from an elbow to the eye.
Do you think competitive cheer is a sport? Why? Absolutely yes. We work just as hard, if not harder than most sports out there. You have to be physically and mentally ready for anything that might come your way. We throw people for pete's sake, not silly balls!
Is school cheer a sport? Why? It can be. It really depends on the level of the team skill wise, how hard they work, and how much competition they do.
How much crap do you get about being a cheerleader? (example : cheer isn't a sport, etc.) I don't really get a lot of crap because most of the people I hang out with are cheerleaders or know how hard it is. Most people who don't know don't say it's not a sport, they just don't understand it. Most of the time I get, "like that one movie, bring it on?" In some ways, that movie has helped us.

 

[IzzyFierce]

Thank you guys sooo much for replying! If it's ok with you guys, I'm planning on using your answers in my project as interviews.

PowerXBaby - when I was reading yours,I noticed that we have alot of the same answers..lol. ;D I've quit twice and every time, I've come back.

Cheer isn't jsut a sport to me any more, it's a passion, it's pretty much my life. This sounds bad, but if I had to choose between my friends or cheer, I would choose cheer...it sounds bad, but I dont think I would ever truly be happy if I couldnt cheer...

 

[Hi-Phlyer21]

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[Hi-Phlyer21]

Oops hit post before I toed anything. Lol.

- what cheer means to you: to me cheer is my life, my passion. It's everything really idk what I'd do if I couldn't for some reason. I mean I guess I could go back to gymnastics but it's really not the same. I love it too much. It's legit my lifee. I can't imagine what I would be like or my life if I wasn't involved in it.

- how many injuries you have gotten and what kind of injuries: let's see...
* I've sprained both of my ankles more times than I can count from tumbling
* both wrists from stunting/tumbling at some point were also sprained.
* I almost had to get root canals because of being hit in the mouth by flyers doing full downs.
* permanently sprained chest from when I was on my college team partner stunting and I popped my flyer and she sat on my chest.
* a lumbo-sacral strain last year not really sure what caused it but I pretty much couldn't move at all.
* 4 broken knuckles then 6 broken again from tumbling. * Shin splints: tumbling, jumps.
* Oh, and a concussion. When a girl and I collided heads during the routine.

- Do you think competitive cheer is a sport? Why?
Yes, the whole point of sport is competing for something, which we do. And cheerleaders are more athletic than participants in these other "real sports" brsides that cheerleading is at it's roots just another form of gymnastics. If one thinks that gymnastics is a sport than one can't say that cheerleading is not. Everything including stunts and all that were or are still a part of modern artistic gymnastics today.

- Is school cheer a sport? Why?
School cheer during the competitive season is. So I'd say it's only a half year sport. Also the AACCA says that a cheerleading team MUST cheer in support of the schools sports teams or they cannot be called a cheerleading team. So yes they may be able to compete but their primary purpose is to support the other athletic programs at their institution. They can still compete but that has to come first or they can't do anything. So it Isn't but it is...half year.

- How much crap do you get about being a cheerleader? (example : cheer isn't a sport, etc.)I don't get any crap most people I come across think it's cool that i'm doing it. Whether it's a football player or whatever. And a lot of times people ask me a lot of questions about, like, "isn't it hard" or like wanting to go into detail about what goes into it all.

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