All-Star Why Isn't Cheerleading A Sport?

[BamaCheerGuy]

I am a gym owner. You want to know why honestly? Money and the Powers that be! There are those at the USASF who are trully about the safety of this sport and making it viable. However you have a few (not to be named, but you know who you are) that don't want to lose money! Once the USASF goes independent and trust me, the majority want this. It will be recognized!

 

[cheerKT]

It boils down to no universal scoring, IMO. Everything I can think of has been listed already. No universal governing body, too many competitions/ "national championships". Also the negitive perception in the media does not help.

Just because something is HARD, doesn't mean it's a SPORT.

 

[cheerKT]

Also you can't look at something and say "Oh, that move is worth ____ points." Even in gymnastics all the moves/routines have starting values. Other sports have this same issue, and people contest them as sports too.

 

[callmecoach]

Just because something is HARD, doesn't mean it's a SPORT.

Exactly. I don't think anyone who actually knows anything about cheerleading doubts that it's hard or that cheerleaders are athletes, but until there is a universal scoring system and a universal governing body that sanctions competitions (which I don't see in the near future), cheerleading won't be considered a sport.

On the other hand, I think cheerleaders, coaches and teams love cheerleading just the way it is and don't necessarily want to transition into STUNT or something similar that would be more appealing to organizations like the NCAA or, someday, an Olympic committee. Certainly EPs want to keep things the way they are, and in the cheerleading world, competitions like Cheersport, Jamfest and UCA/NCA are (rightfully) considered legitimate and prestigious, so there is no itch to change anything.

I am a fan of ideas like STUNT in that they take elements of cheer and create an actual head-to-head competition between two teams. If it were ever approved by the NCAA as a collegiate sport it would offer tons more scholarship opportunities, which would be fantastic. At the same time, do universities like Kentucky or Alabama really want to stop going to UCA Nationals, where they have built reputations and are considered national champs? Doubt it.

Either way, I see a long uphill battle for STUNT to be popularized or approved and for cheerleading to become a recognized sport. Like I said, although many colleges have been willing to participate in STUNT, I don't think they'd be willing to give up UCA/NCA or the other competitions where they've made a name for themselves. Many say they want cheerleading to be a sport, but if they knew the extreme amount of change that would have to take place for that to be so, I'm not sure they would feel the same.

I am no expert, this is just my take on this always prominent subject :]

 

[ian]

omg. im so tired of seeing this. who cares if its a sport or not? NOT ME, i do it becuase i love it. and im not worried about people telling me if its a sport or not... that doesnt matter. this is such a waste of time

 

[cheerheart4life]

For Cheerleading to be a sport, so much would have to change! I'd love the sport status, but I wouldn't want cheer to transform totally

 

[Deleted member 15407]

For Cheerleading to be a sport, so much would have to change! I'd love the sport status, but I wouldn't want cheer to transform totally

I very much agree! It'd be cool to finally be called a sport, but I don't want for it to take out what cheerleading really is. Maybe there's hope for STUNT to be a sport?

 

[cheerheart4life]

I very much agree! It'd be cool to finally be called a sport, but I don't want for it to take out what cheerleading really is. Maybe there's hope for STUNT to be a sport?

Ehhh I tried to watch STUNT and I just don't like the format how it is now. I don't like the different quarters of competition.

 

[alexamarysouza]

oh my gosh, thank you ian. I wanted to say it but didn't know how to word it.
the only thing that really irks me is when someone just thinks that we're all 'rah rah ree', and that we are not at all athletes. Even if something's not a 'sport', it can still be made up of true athletes.

 

[MissCongeniality]

At my kids' high school ... Band is considered a sport (for credit), cheer is not.Hmmmmmmm

 

[armycheermom]

I agree with ian . My cp loves this "sport", so I could careless of others see it as a sport. I personally don't want it to be classified as a sport. Have you ever read the NCAA rules for sports? Those kids get four years and then it's over. I've know college cheerleaders who cheer for their school for 5+ years. And if we're going to talk about what is in the Olympics, football or baseball/softball isn't on the Olympics, yet both are considered sports...

 

[Ems]

Second Circuit: Cheerleading Still Isn’t a Sport - Law Blog - WSJ

There's this article that just came out earlier today, I know someone posted it under news, but I think it does give good examples of why cheerleading isn't a sport.
While no one can say that it isn't athletic, it does lack so much organization.
A news crew actually came to our practice tonight and interviewed us about what we thought. We tried to say that "yeah, it's disappointing, but that's why Stunt was created, and that's why they do it." but they didn't even air what we said about Stunt during the story on the news.

 

[SharkDad]

Ems thanks for posting that link. There was a LOT of discussion about cheer as a sport when the Quinnipiac case first came out. Here is one of the threads (warning-it gets VERY in depth): Where Competitive Cheer Stands According to Title IX expert & Attorney | Fierce Board - We Talk Cheerleading

Legally the court ruled that cheer currently does not have a defined competitive structure ("too many nationals"), does not have consistent scoring/judging, and does not have a single legitimate governing body. Sorry, I didn't spend a lot of time doing research so someone please correct me if I am wrong on either of those.

STUNT is one option for NCAA recognizing a format of competitive cheer as emerging sport status but it is far from meeting all the requirements that the NCAA committee set out. The committee repeated the requirements of the court ruling and added some school/administration participation criteria. To this date I don't know of ANY school administrations that endorse STUNT.

NCATA is another format that also applied for emerging sport status. They don't do as much PR as STUNT (run by Varsity) does, but every school that particpates in NCATA is endorsed by their school and athletic administration and is acknolwledged as a full varsity sport.

 

[Ems]

SharkDad (I don't want to do a huge quote), I totally understand it. And you're right, a huge bulk of it is complete inconsistency and no organizing body. I mean, just look at the difference between NCA Collegiate Nationals and UCA Collegiate Nationals, they're so different.

I feel like a lot of schools, at least mine, have supported STUNT as much as they can with it not being deemed a sport yet. We don't get any transportation or any costs covered for us, but I do also go to a public school where budgets are being cut back, even "real" sports are suffering. Also, STUNT is only going to be starting it's 3rd season and they're still tweaking the rules. While I like STUNT, it will still be a while before it's ready to be a sport.

I also know about NCATA (I kinda compare them here...) but even with them being backed by their administration, I feel in the case of public schools, such as Maryland, they're still the first to be cut.

Right now, I feel that cheerleading (not NCATA or STUNT) becoming a sport is a ways off. Maybe not too far, but I'll definitely be done cheering by the time it reaches sport status. I'm almost tired of hearing about it. I love cheering, I love STUNT, but the whole "Is it a sport?" debacle is tiring. As long as people give us credit of our athleticism and skill, I kind of don't care if the organization of it doesn't make us a real sport. Yes, some funding and universal recognition would be great, but it's going to be a lot of work.

 

[12mowerd]

Appeals court affirms that cheering is not a sport — Sports — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine

some jerk football player I know posted this on facebook today and was like Winning! I knew it wasn't a sport! and got all kinds of likes and comments. It makes me mad.