It’s a Tuesday afternoon after school and I’m in a rush to get home and change for a long two hours of cheer practice filled with stress, hard work and exhaustion. As soon as I walk in we go straight to stunting which means I go straight to getting thrown in the air multiple times and trying to perfect the multiple new skills I’ve learned for Fridays half time show.  The pressure is on but a lot of people don’t see the behind the scenes of what is put into cheerleading and the true meaning of it. 

Cheerleading is often thought of as just a silly activity that is done by a few girls who wave around their pom poms. People undermine the hard work and effort that truly goes into cheer and there are a lot of people who argue that this isn’t a sport. People might say that some levels of cheer are not as intense as others so it should still overall  not be considered as a sport and some might even say that compared to other sports that cheerleading is not a full contact sport.

 When people say that cheerleading is easy it cannot be supported because as like any other sport cheerleading begins with the basics,nothing too challenging, then it excels into harder tasks like stunts,tumbling and more. It is not fair for cheerleading to not be classified as a sport based on the fact that it is not as “intense” as others. Every sport or activity is different and can’t be compared.

In the article “Cheer Shows Competitive Cheerleading Is Almost as Dangerous as Football. So Why Isn’t It Officially Considered a Sport?” reporter Rachel E. Greenspan says “…competitive cheerleading can be physically challenging, requiring competitors to possess ‘strength, agility, and it’s time that cheer should definitely be considered a varsity sport” (time.com) .

It should truly be taken into consideration, like the article states,  that true strength is needed and that cheer should not be undermined based on people’s opinions that have never stepped on a mat for hours on end practicing and learning how to do challenging stunts, tumbling and more. Like any other sports cheerleaders are athletes and put time and dedication into making the perfect routine without any mistakes. 

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I don’t know many people in my high school that can do a flip or do tricks in the air. It’s time we bring the attention to all the hardworking cheerleaders and give them the recognition they deserve.