Cheerleading: Sport or Not?

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

I'm lazy, can you give me some examples of Olympic events that aren't formally recognized as college sports?

Curling, skeleton, bobsled, figure skating.

I'm pretty sure none of those are college sports. I'm not sure about skiing, snowboarding, archery, cycling.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Nanners52674

Curling, skeleton, bobsled, figure skating.

I'm pretty sure none of those are college sports. I'm not sure about skiing, snowboarding, archery, cycling.

Thanks. Those aren't college sports (I assume for most colleges) but they are considered sports, in general.

I guess cheerleading can't be in the Olympics because there are already cheerleading competitions year-round.

[Nanners52674]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Thanks. Those aren't college sports (I assume for most colleges) but they are considered sports, in general.

I guess cheerleading can't be in the Olympics because there are already cheerleading competitions year-round.

I didn't mean that they're not sports. Just that simply being an Olympic sport doesn't mean it's a recognized college sport. If that makes sense.

[33girl]

Is there some sort of set of national guidelines that your program has to pass to be regarded as a competitive squad? Maybe that would help to determine whether it's a sport or not - either you fulfill certain requirements or you can't use it to meet Title IX.

LOL @ Sen. I'm partial to that one down front on the left.

[BluPhire]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

Doing flips and stunts on the sidelines doesn't make it competitive, either.



Gracias.

Originally Posted by jennyj87

I did HS cheerleading for three years before moving to competitive.

Go to one practice of a competitive team and there will not be a doubt if its a sport or not.

I just don't understand how people can say "oh yeah gymnastics a sport!" then not agree that cheerleading is.


Side note, in 2008 Rhode Island ruled that it was a sport and now RIIL holds states.

Originally Posted by carnation

Competition cheering is a sport, for sure, but not sideline cheering. Huge difference.

I don't blame the volleyball players for suing!

Originally Posted by DrPhil

At its most competitive level and highest level of difficulty where people have intensive training and can get hurt:*** Sport.

When it isn't competitive and only has a "clap your hands" level of difficulty: Not a sport.


***That isn't the metric for what makes something a sport.

Originally Posted by groovypq

Sideline cheerleading isn't just "clap your hands" level of difficulty, even if it isn't competitive. Many sideline squads do all of the same elements and have the same difficulty level of competitive squads. In the college ranks, it's usually the sideline squad that competes (i.e. Kentucky, LSU, Alabama, Louisville, etc.).

Also, it should be noted that the judge ruled that competitive cheer is not a sport in its current form for Title IX purposes. It is not fully developed in that format. He writes toward the end of the case:

"In reaching my conclusion, I also do not mean to belittle competitive cheer as an athletic endeavor. Competitive cheerleading is a difficult, physical task that requires strength, agility and grace. I have little doubt that at some point in the near future – once competitive cheer is better organized and defined, and surely in the event that the NCAA recognizes the activity as an emerging sport – competitive cheer will be acknowledged as a bona fide sporting activity by academic institutions, the public, and the law. As the evidence in this case demonstrates, however, that time has not yet arrived."

</soapbox>

Originally Posted by AlphaFrog

If competition cheerleading is a sport, so is competition marching band.


/band geek

Do I need to go on, or are we just gonna have a semantics debate about me not specifying competitive?

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by 33girl

LOL @ Sen. I'm partial to that one down front on the left.

That's the one I was checking out.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by BluPhire

Do I need to go on, or are we just gonna have a semantics debate about me not specifying competitive?

Uh...what? Find a more interesting topic to try to be a smartass about.

Are you now specifying competitive? If so, say so. Now, when you say competitive, are you talking about cheerleading that doesn't resemble competitive dance squads void of tumbles, towers, and jumps? Afterall, even competitive cheerleading has levels.

These are your tasks since you wanted to establish guidelines for the discussion.

[BluPhire]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Uh...what? Find a more interesting topic to try to be a smartass about.

Are you now specifying competitive? If so, say so. Now, when you say competitive, are you talking about cheerleading that doesn't resemble competitive dance squads void of tumbles, towers, and jumps? Afterall, even competitive cheerleading has levels.

These are your tasks since you wanted to establish guidelines for the discussion.

Okay semantics debate it is. Moving on.

**thumbs up**

If figure skating can be a sport, so can cheerleading.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by BluPhire

Okay semantics debate it is. Moving on.

**thumbs up**

Shuttup. Seriously.

[BluPhire]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Shuttup. Seriously.

Or else what, you will cuss me out on the internet?

Seriously its not that serious. I can apologize for my part for it even escalating to this point...cause it ain't that serious...its just semantics.

[DTD Alum]

I understand that this isn't the official definition of a sport, but I tend to think that a sport is an athletic event that is judged objectively rather than subjectively.

So, for snowboarding, I think if it is a snowboard race I'd see it as a sport, because the winner is simply the person who crosses the line first or in the shortest amount of time. However, if it is being judged on tricks alone than I'd think of it as a very athletic competitive event, but not a sport per say.

By that definition, I do not think that cheerleading is a sport. I do think it is a competitive event that is incredibly athletic, but I don't think it is an official sport.

I don't think athleticism alone makes something a sport...it is widely agreed that ballet is one of the most athletic endeavors one can undertake, but I don't think that the athletic element automatically makes it a sport. Things like snowboarding and cheerleading are closer because they involve competition, but by the basis that they are judged subjectively they seem like incredibly athletic events that veer closer to an art form than a sport.

Lastly, I do not think marching band is a sport either. I'm sure that carrying some of the instruments is intense, but at the end of the day the athleticism required is only a tiny fraction of what is needed to be successful in competitions. Musicality and the ability to play your instrument well are infinitely more important.

[AGDee]

The debate isn't even about whether cheerleading is a sport. it is about whether it's a collegiate sport that falls under Title IX. The title of the thread is misleading. For one, if it is COED, it cannot oust a female sport under Title IX.

This judge didn't diss on cheerleading or even say it wasn't a sport.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by BluPhire

Do I need to go on, or are we just gonna have a semantics debate about me not specifying competitive?

I'm trying to figure out how cheerleading became your hot-button issue.

[BluPhire]

Originally Posted by knight_shadow

I'm trying to figure out how cheerleading became your hot-button issue.

Because I'm just hot like that.

Smart A$$ comment aside, No particular reason actually, it was just an off comment that blew up more than it needed to.

Could have been easily ignored.

[knight_shadow]

Fair enough.

I'll go back to waiting for college football to start back up *exits thread*