Cheerleading Pros And Cons

When you hear late nights, long practices, fierce competition, rivalries, teamwork, determination, injuries, and Friday Night Lights; what comes to mind? Football? That may be true, but these elements also apply to the reality of cheerleading. Cheerleading is an activity that as been around since the late 1800’s and is currently struggling to receive its qualification as a sport. Title IX, an education amendment, is a major factor that impedes cheerleading from being considered a sport. Title IX states that within any federally funded education program or activity there cannot be any discrimination based on sex (Overview Of Title IX Of The Education Amendments Of 1972). In the beginning, cheerleading was all male activity seen as too masculine for women. But now cheerleading is a predominantly female activity; and the gender …show more content…
Cheerleaders work just as hard as other athletes with late practices, workouts, and they also experience physical injury. According to Google, a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Cheerleading is competitive whether it’s for an official competition or a Friday night varsity football game. It also requires skills like rhythm, flexibility, strength, and energy. The stunts, dances, and difficult routines make the activity entertaining, especially when the individuals involve the audience with chants that up the team spirit. Although cheering is mostly a female activity, males are welcomed. The public stereotypes the only women are cheerleaders, men can do it with determination and talent. The individuals that participate see every event as a contest because they want to be known as the best squad. With all these factors in mind, cheerleading should be considered a