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Is Cheerleading a Sport?

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Is Cheerleading a Sport?
Is Cheerleading a Sport?
Are cheerleaders just "flirts in skirts" or do they actually participate in a sport? When people hear the word cheerleading, majority of the time they automatically think of teenage girls dressed in pleated skirts with pompoms, jumping and cheering. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, cheerleading is the action or skills of a person or group of people who shout out special songs or chants to encourage a team and entertain a crowd during a sports game. This definition does not mention any terms that defy cheerleading as a sport. Cheerleading is a very debatable topic as to whether it is a sport or not. I believe that cheerleading is a sport because it is very competitive and involves lots of movement like other sports. Cheerleading is considered a sport because it is as competitive as any other sport. It is very competitive because when cheerleaders go into competitions, they have to go out and compete against many other teams and come out number one by the judges. It requires mass training and practice. Cheerleaders practice tons of hours whether for a competition, or sports event, to perform the perfect routine. For competitions, cheerleaders spend hours practicing for a match that is only two and half minutes long. At practice, they push themselves to their fullest to perfect stunts and accomplish new skills. Cheerleading includes lots of physical activity, which involves tumbles, flips, twists, tosses, lifts, and more. Cheerleaders today compete against other squads and work just as hard as other athletes. Another reason why cheerleading is considered a sport is because it involves lots of movement like other sports, such as basketball or football. Cheerleaders are constantly moving and jumping. Cheerleading involves so much movement, that it has the highest emergency room rates. According to the Washington Post and American Academy of Pediatrics, cheerleading is accounted for 65 percent of all direct catastrophic injuries

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