If you’re participating in a cheerleading activity and you aren’t comfortable performing a certain stunt due to the potential for safety risks, or if you don’t feel as though you can continue performing, it’s up to you to let your coach or an authority figure know. There is also the mindset that a sport designation brings in regulation and lawyers. Brady, Brees share special moment after playoff game. The result was a serious head injury. It has been 15 to 20 years since the “cheerleading” role has evolved to represent the sport-within-a-sport activity. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/business-career/legal/cheerleading-sport Not only is cheerleading considered to be one of the hardest sports, but a recent study in the "Journal of Pediatrics" found that cheerleading is the most dangerous sport for females due to the high risk of severe injuries including concussions, broken bones, permanent disabilities and paralyzation, and injuries causing a shorter lifespan. I remember one conversation very clearly that I had at the supermarket with Mrs. B. For that being said, the article Cheerleadingstates,origins of the sport are defined by its name. Contemporary cheerleading is a power packed, high performance activity where the cheerleaders slog it out hard. I don`t care if people disagree with me! There and then, you think of a million arguments that you could use to defend the very sport that you love and often times, you’re left stunned when the other person insists that “cheerleading is not a sport”. People often say that cheerleading is not a sport. The incident that brought forth the lawsuit was from a cheerleader that was doing a stunt and fell backwards off the shoulders of a base, falling and hitting her head. Also at the meeting, the board: • Approved student drug testing at board expense for the 2019-20 school year. yes cheerleading is a sport. The majority of cheerleading squads do not participate in any competitions. The fact that cheerleading requires a significant amount of athleticism, skill, and technique is just one of the many reasons why it should be considered a sport. An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.”. The statute says that  “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”. Cheerleading is a sport Some may argue cheerleading cannot and will not be a sport, but according to Oxford Dictionary, a sport is defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment . I cringe at the thought of plopping down $800 for insurance each year so my kid could cheer (and that amount would totally depend on the state you live in). It was amazing to me how much is out there about cheerleading being a sport. Man lived inside airport for 3 months before detection The justice that wrote the opinion, Justice Annette Ziegler, disagreed stating that it should include any sport that includes “physical contact between persons”. The injury statistics for cheerleaders – primarily women, but men participate as well – are staggering: After football, cheerleading accounts for more catastrophic injuries than any other sport among high school athletes. The IHSA considers cheerleading a sport, and the championship it holds is actually a state-wide recognized event. Listen on . Yet, despite these things, many people do not consider it to be a sport. RadioPublic. In the opinion written, it was stated that cheerleading involves “a significant amount of physical contact between cheerleaders.”  The example cited was when bases toss flyers into the air. especially competive cheering with stunts involved. A part of the reason that the argument continues is that not even the legal system can agree if cheerleading is in fact a sport or not. That would make the world of all-star cheerleading a much smaller place if each state could actually restrict the moves different AGED athletes can do, thus making it impossible to do a routine in Illinois AND North Carolina that are the same and equally competitive. The school’s argument was that they were NOT in violation of Title IX because they offered cheerleading as a varsity sport therefore they had enough sports offered to women to not be in violation of Title IX. vs Quinnipiac University (that’s right – the ACUTAL court ruling as typed by the judges and filed). The case was based on the Wisconsin law that prevents participants of contact sports from suing each other for injuries that are “unintentional”. MLB star's very 2020 year: From COVID-19 to MVP. Cheerleading : Cheerleading Is A Sport 1520 Words | 7 Pages. Many say that competition cheerleading is a sport, but not sideline. The ICU will have to petition to become an Olympic sport. Cheerleading, unlike many other sports, has changed drastically since it first started out in 1880 and was (originally dominated by men). What a mess that would be! Basically because Quinnipiac University HAD athletes as participants on the volleyball team and had NONE listed on the competitive cheerleading team, there could be NO cheerleading team, even if the team was planned for the same school year that the volleyball team was cut. Cheerleading is a real sport requiring skilled athletes. Breaker. Now California lawmakers are planning to formally designate cheerleading as a sport.. Cheerleading incorporates dancing, flipping, jumping and a range of stunts, and it is considered a risky activity. I have been a cheerleader for 5 years now and cheer leading is 100% a sport. Stitcher. Quick & Dirty Tips™ and related trademarks appearing on this website are the property of Mignon Fogarty, Inc. and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC. Let’s EXAMINE this objectively. The teammate, argued the former cheerleader, failed to catch her when she was stunting, resulting in the cheerleader falling and becoming injured. The National Cheer Safety Foundation said that this was a first of its kind in the entire nation. Until this law changes, cheerleading can’t legally be considered a sport. The courts are a part of the problem. Well, presently no. The AACCA proposes instead of labeling cheerleading a “sport”, create a separate designation, choosing to refer to it as an “athletic activity” so that the physical demand is recognized, but yet there is no interference from outside rule makers forcing the teams to comply to demands of other sports teams that they can’t structurally handle due to the nature of the team. Both on the sideline and competitive. They argue that people wanted cheerleading defined as a sport so that it would get funding like football, get qualified coaches that would be paid a salary like a football coach and would garnish them some strength in the world of academic sports like football. Doctors consider it a sport. However, cheerleading can become a sport over time if more cheer squads become competitive. Who wants the state to come in and say “for anyone under the age of 12, there is no more tossing into the air; they must always be connected to the floor by another athlete. Because they were “creating” the team, and it had not, in fact, been a “varsity sport” to begin with when the volleyball team was disbanded, they couldn’t count that as a “varsity sport” for women to begin with. “If a school wants competitive cheerleading to be a sport on their campus, and they are willing to do what is outlined in the Office for Civil Rights’ definition of a sport, the road is still open for them to consider counting it as a sport on their campus.”  The article also states that the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics has had inquiries from the competitive cheer community about making competitive cheer a part of the “emerging-sports” list, but they state there hasn’t been enough interest for them to do so. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser. Shame on society and their narrow views that still effect... One of the founders of iCheer, I am excited to bring the positive and inspiring parts of cheer that I see all the time to the masses! Sports require hard-work and teamwork rather than men and women yelling cheers out loud. This was challenged by a group of athletes that played volleyball as well as the coach, stating that it violated the Federal “Title IX” law (I will get into that in a bit). We all want the sport – and I do think it is a sport – to be equally recognized for the physical demands, the skill and the mental toughness that a cheerleader needs to compete in the world of cheerleading. The AMA says cheerleading should be considered a sport The AMA argues that cheerleading is as rigorous as many other activities recognized as sports by the NCAA. Cheerleading isnt a sport but people are working really hard for other people to accept it as a sport. I know I don’t want that at all. Currently you have JavaScript disabled. I don't need opinions but I just need to know if its a ligit legal sport. That is very sad to me. Title IX’s mandate applies to a wide range of programs at high schools and colleges including such things as admissions, recruitment, financial aid, academic programs, student treatment and services, counseling and guidance, discipline, classroom assignment, grading, and vocational education. Some sports fans say cheerleaders are competitive athletes, but critics argue cheering only hypes up sporting events (or in other words, it's not a real sport). Many people don’t know that cheerleading is split into two different types; such as competitive cheerleading and school cheerleading. Cheerleading is a team sport, so it allows individuals to come together and achieve the one common goal which is to win. Cheerleading takes physical strength, coordination, and teamwork, and in 2009, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that it is legally classified as a contact sport (ESPN). Do you point your toes? If a cheer team receives an at large bid is it pos... What an idea to put the Fun in fundraising. There HAS to be facts to back that it is NOT a sport, right? ICU was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in the United States. If people doubt that cheerleading is a sport, they can easily take a look at some cheerleading squads performing a routine. I think that is a unique way of looking at the argument. But who wants the state to come in and enforce unreasonable rules and restrictions? When she learned of a recent court decision ruling that cheerleading is not a sport, Lexi's passion for cheering took center stage. Your email address will not be published. Cheerleading : Cheerleading Is A Sport 1520 Words | 7 Pages. My first stop in my research (because you can get ANYTHING on the internet) was to get the DEFINITION of “Sport”. Is cheerleading a sport? Official recognition matters. It is a slap in the face to the athletes that spend countless hours perfecting routines, and competing throughout the country. Over decades the cheer world has changed rapidly. It brings in the world of structure and more structure; states can make laws managing it. With the ruling of the United States Court of Appeals, you would think that was the “end all” of the argument. This is wrong on so many levels! The ONLY statement in the entire 39 pages was made by the Plaintiffs in the case, siting that “women who participated on the competitive cheerleading team should not be counted at all because the activity had not yet achieved the status of an intercollegiate varsity sport.”. Cheerleaders as athletes is not a legal requirement, and cheerleading is not sanctioned by the OSHAA as a sport, Borton said. While the US Court of Appeals stated that cheerleading is not generally recognized as a sport and therefore can’t be considered one in the colleges, the state of Wisconsin had a case as well. In other words, cheerleading is more than a sport. The most interesting to me was the “position paper” that the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators (AACCA) wrote. its so funny to hear boys talk about how its not a sport, but imagine how much more funny it would be to watch them try it. If you need personalized legal advice, contact an attorney in your community.. A federal judge recently held that competitive cheerleading at the university level does not count as a “sport.”  Why does that matter? All of these sports, cheerleading included, require the athletes to be in shape, precise, talented and well-rehearsed. In conclusion, cheerleading can ’ t be a sport because there is step. 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