Is Cheerleading a sport?

[Kingjackl]

I was going to say, it's more a sport than e-sports is. Which isn't to say e-sports aren't real sport, but cheerleading is still a physical hobby activity that people train for. You could argue about it being frivolous, but isn't all sports at the end of the day? Same with objectification: at least cheerleading is more honest about it than say, women's tennis.

 

[jklinders]

High level cheerleading requires strength, choreography, balance, teamwork and trust. It is actually rather dangerous and competitive. If it's not a sport in some folk's eyes then there are quite a few other sports that don't make the grade either.

There seems to be a bit of a stereotype in this thread. I worked with a university level cheerleader. He (yes it was a straight guy) expressed that he was not going to be able to do it much longer. Even though he is a LOT younger than me his knees and ankles are fucked from doing it.

I don't really get it either. Seems to be a holdout from earlier times when sports were "boys things" and girls only got involved by cheering the boys on. But don't run down the challenges in doing it just because the stereotype is there.

 

[Akytalusia]

are sports not defined as entertainment class physical competitions? if cheerleading meets this requirement, then it's a sport. i wouldn't consider the supplement version to be a sport, but the competitive version sure.

 

[E-Dogg]

How is it not a sport?

Physical activity. Score Based. Competitions.

Just because they are not actively trying to hurt someone else to score the points, it's not a sport?

It is in some states, by definition, not a sport. Seriously. If it _had_ been a sport, the cheerleaders would have had the right to insurance against all the injuries they regulary get, and that costs the high-schools/universities/colleges a crapton of money. Therefore some schools in the US work hard against it being registred as a proper sport. And it is apparently not a NCAA sport. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qR9NeHrn8x8

I also think i saw it on John Oliver or some such, couldn't find it again.

 

[axlryder]

Yes, it's a sport. You compete in a team over some kind of physical display of ability and are scored on the results by a panel of judges. If esports "athletes" can travel on athlete status internationally then you can be damn sure cheerleaders qualify as athletes.

Also, it's ridiculously dangerous and the fact that people would mitigate the dedication and risk that goes into high level cheer-leading is kind of insulting.

 

[Sonmi]

It's absolutely a sport.

The only reason people (and more specifically school administrations) refuse to call it such is that if it was recognized to be a sport (as it should) additional safety regulations would be applied to it, including stricter safety rules that would likely lead to the cheerleaders having to wear protective gear. Considering that the spectacle is supposed to be titillating and that protective gear is not exactly the sexiest thing, it's easy to see why some would refuse to call it a sport.

EDIT: Insurances also have a part to play in it not being recognized as a proper sport, which is a shame.

 

[Gorrath]

Personally, I think a requirement of a sport is that you should be able to read the rules and determine the winner objectively, without the need for a judge. The purpose of a judge/umpire/referee is to ensure that the rules are followed.

For example, as long as you can see who came first in a race, you can see who won. As long as you can count how many times a ball went this way or that, you can see who won a ball game.

This would disqualify most gymnastic events because they require a panel of judges.

So in combat sports if it comes down to a judges decision does it stop being a sport? But if someone wins by knockout or submission then it stays a sport? Like gymnastics there are objective metrics used but there is also some subjectivity which is how 3 boxing judges can all return different results to the same match.

I think "sport" like "game" or "porn" is a word we can keep trying to come up with definitions and qualifiers for but for all them there will be a "however" or an "except".

I'd argue that having objective criteria is important to something being a sport rather than just an athletic competition but as you point out, this gets murky. For instance, I belonged to a drill team group in Highschool, did sport fighting and played football. Even though drill team took physical effort, required a ton of time and practice and was done competitively, I would only have called it a competition because the judging criteria was mostly subjective.

I tend to think this way about figure skating as well, or any competitive physical activity where "artistry" is a strong factor in determining a victor. I would say that, even if a fight comes down to a decision, the judging aspect does not render the competition not a sport because no part of the criteria the judges are supposed to use is wholly subjective. If a football game comes down to whether the line judge thinks the nose of the ball crossed the goal line, that doesn't mean his decision is a purely subjective one, it's a subjective view of objective criteria which is not the same as a subjective view, by necessity, of subjective criteria.

And now that I've spent two paragraphs explaining my unsolicited opinion, I'll also say that it really shouldn't matter too much. Even if I think of figure skating as a competition instead of a sport, that shouldn't indicate that figure skating is any less of a thing worthy of amazement and respect. I just think it's important to differentiate between physical competitions that are judged based on objective and subjective criteria. I think denoting the structure of how a physical competition by differentiating between those criteria is useful.

 

[Gorrath]

It's absolutely a sport.

The only reason people (and more specifically school administrations) refuse to call it such is that if it was recognized to be a sport (as it should) additional safety regulations would be applied to it, including stricter safety regulations that would likely lead to the cheerleaders having to wear protectinve gear. Considering that the spectacle is supposed to be titillating and that protective gear is not exactly the sexiest thing, it's easy to see why some would refuse to call it a sport.

EDIT: Insurances also have a part to play in it not being recognized as a proper sport, which is a shame.

I agree that it should be forced to include protective gear, regardless of how much said gear detracts from the "sexiness" of it. A couple of years ago I did some research into sports injuries and found out that cheerleading causes more injuries to highschool students than any other physical competition, including football! At the very least they need to wear headgear, if not elbow and knee pads.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

Yeah, though it kind of feels like it should break away from the football gender obligations and become it's own thing, like some of the fantastic dance shows, an artistic sport of kinetic grace deserves more than just to be a sideline to an extremely boring bro-sport. This is probably already occuring, but not enough, damnit! Though that is primarily a US culture/habit as far as I'm aware.
If you want an actual dubious sport, then extreme ironing may cause a pause for thought.

 

[Sceadu]

It's absolutely a sport.

The only reason people (and more specifically school administrations) refuse to call it such is that if it was recognized to be a sport (as it should) additional safety regulations would be applied to it, including stricter safety regulations that would likely lead to the cheerleaders having to wear protectinve gear. Considering that the spectacle is supposed to be titillating and that protective gear is not exactly the sexiest thing, it's easy to see why some would refuse to call it a sport.

EDIT: Insurances also have a part to play in it not being recognized as a proper sport, which is a shame.

I agree that it should be forced to include protective gear, regardless of how much said gear detracts from the "sexiness" of it. A couple of years ago I did some research into sports injuries and found out that cheerleading causes more injuries to highschool students than any other physical competition, including football! At the very least they need to wear headgear, if not elbow and knee pads.

More injuries than football? It's a physical activity, it's a team activity, and it's competitive?

Ok, so it's a sport.

 

[renegade7]

It's basically gymnastics but with more judgment and fewer safety regulations. IIRC Penn and Teller had a Bullshit episode about it and it was one of their better ones.

I think what really irritates me about it is that there are scholarships for it. Athletic scholarships really annoy me in general because they allow universities to take advantage of low-income students and prioritize athletic ability over academic potential, but cheerleading just especially bothers me because so much of it just comes down to looks. At least with sports like football and gymnastics you can train if you want to be competitive, but cheerleading gives such an advantage to students who are naturally attractive. If it was just a game that teenagers played then I wouldn't care as much, but when simply being lucky enough to be conventionally attractive has such a bearing on your ability to go to college that it gives you an advantage over hard-working and academically gifted students who would actually be more likely to benefit from an advanced education, that annoys me.

I teach at the college level, and I swear every time some air-headed freshman cheerleader comes in and complains about the F she just got on her exam I just want to bang my head into the wall because it reminds me that the next Noether or Curie could be out there somewhere not able to get into college because she wasn't deemed pretty enough for a scholarship.

 

[xaszatm]

What do you think of cheerleading? Is it a sport or just an excuse for attractive females to wear short skirts? If you knew any of them did they fit the stereotype of snobby, slutty, and dumb?

Spoiler: Me coming into most Escapist threads these days

Cheerleading is more of a gymnastic hobby than a sport. That doesn't stop it being hard work and physically demanding, not an "excuse for" wearing short skirts (last time I checked anyone can wear a short skirt for literally any reason).

And yes, I've known a cheerleader. She was a fucking sweetheart. Because we don't all live in Stereotopia, where everyone acts like they're in a shitty high school movie.

Also "females".

^ This.

Yeah, funny thing, it wasn't until I was out of high school until I learned that Cheerleaders were supposed to be evil. Mainly because the head cheerleader was my high school's D&D Dungeon Master and one of my personal friends. Heck, in high school I knew more female gamers than male.

 

[Gorrath]

It's absolutely a sport.

The only reason people (and more specifically school administrations) refuse to call it such is that if it was recognized to be a sport (as it should) additional safety regulations would be applied to it, including stricter safety regulations that would likely lead to the cheerleaders having to wear protectinve gear. Considering that the spectacle is supposed to be titillating and that protective gear is not exactly the sexiest thing, it's easy to see why some would refuse to call it a sport.

EDIT: Insurances also have a part to play in it not being recognized as a proper sport, which is a shame.

I agree that it should be forced to include protective gear, regardless of how much said gear detracts from the "sexiness" of it. A couple of years ago I did some research into sports injuries and found out that cheerleading causes more injuries to highschool students than any other physical competition, including football! At the very least they need to wear headgear, if not elbow and knee pads.

More injuries than football? It's a physical activity, it's a team activity, and it's competitive?

Ok, so it's a sport.

Well I gave my response to that question in another post which explained why i wouldn't necessarily consider it a sport, but it is a physical competition with no lack of danger to the participants. I can see both arguments for and against calling it a sport, so all I can say with certainty is the level of protection needs to be increased for the participants.

 

[Ishigami]

For me? No.

I tend to rule out any activity that is not measureable in an objective unit such as: Length, time, height etc.

So is figure swimming a sport for me? No.
Figure Skating? No.
High Diving? No.
Floor exercise? No.

I recognise that you need an immense amount of body control, training etc. to do it and it is most impressive for sure. That by default makes it a sport in the wide sense but it is missing one element for me: Professionalism.

At the end of the day I cannot differentiate between one successful execution and another. And I think they are therefore not fit for professional tournaments. Since the ranking is decided by the subjective opinion of judges and not a objective measurement.

 

[FalloutJack]

Is Cheerleading a sport?

To make a long story very short, no.

To explain just a bit, cheerleading is an attachment to the sport going on behind it.

Cheerleading is not a sport, and neither is poker, so shut up ESPN2.

 

[The Lunatic]

If you compete, sure.

Otherwise? Well. I mean... Kinda sorta, but, not really.

I kinda think of it like dancing.

Sure, dancing is basically a sport if you're competing against people.

But, dancing alone in your bedroom? Not particularly.

Similarly, I don't really think you can call something a "Game" unless you compete against something. Be it the game itself putting stuff in your way, or you know, other players.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

If we're fighting to have video games recognized as E-sports, then you better well believe that cheer leading is a sport.

 

[Elijin]

I'd say it's more of a dance, you wouldn't call ballet a sport.

Is figure skating a sport? Because its pretty similar to ballet, but....on skates, and its an Olympic sport.

But really though, this has left me in such a twist. Having never put thought into it, I wouldn't have called ballet a sport. But putting any thought into I immediately come to the conclusion that its a highly skilled, physically demanding, specific skillset. With intense competition for placement and recognition, at which point large crowds pay a bunch of money to gather and watch the skill demonstrated.

In a logical sense, ballet seems very much a sport, with the actual productions more of an exhibition match by the champions, the real competition having gone on behind closed doors.

Cheerleading I see as a bit more divisive. It both is and isn't a sport, based on the idea its practiced at varying levels. In some places its an ultra athletic dance and gymnastics routine, and totally a sport. In other places, its a social thing with some kids wearing uniforms and waving pom poms while cheering for their school/team.

 

[Dango]

It's a lot like gymnastics, so yeah, I'd say it's a sport.

 

[J.McMillen]

Personally, I think a requirement of a sport is that you should be able to read the rules and determine the winner objectively, without the need for a judge. The purpose of a judge/umpire/referee is to ensure that the rules are followed.

For example, as long as you can see who came first in a race, you can see who won. As long as you can count how many times a ball went this way or that, you can see who won a ball game.

This would disqualify most gymnastic events because they require a panel of judges.

The judging in gymnastics is to make sure that the athlete properly performs a particular element in their routine. Every element in their routine has a point value and it's up to the judges to award points if the athlete is successful and to penalize them for mistakes. All the points are codified so that judging is pretty consistent and if there is a score that's way out of line it can be reviewed for mistakes.