Why Is Cheerleading a Sport

Cheerleading; a competitive sport based on organized routines of two and a half minutes, which include tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting. No. Cheerleading does not consist of preppy girls from the movies who wear short skirts and who barely cheer at their highschool's football games. It's a lot more than that. Cheerleading consists of hardwork, detemination, athleticism, agility, and teamwork just like every other sport. Whether it's throwing their flyer ten feet into the air without letting her hit the ground or performing their hardest tumbling pass and landing it perfect, cheerleader's put in effort and commitment like any other athlete. Cheerleading is definetly a sport because of it's risky practice, it's demanding schedule, it's competitiveness, and it's growing popularity. According to a website called ListVerse, cheerleading is ranked top 5 on the list of the most dangerous sports. The website continues to say that cheerleading is the most injury-prone sport in the world for women, with 20,000 reported injuries a year. Because of all the injuries due to cheerleading, it should be considered a sport. Many different injuries can occur, just like any other sport. Common injuries include broken legs and spinal injuries. In 2010, ABC News' "Nightline" raised the question to if cheerleading is the most dangerous sport in the nation. (Gutgold). Not only are news programs asking the question is cheerleading a sport, but they are asking if it's the most dangerous sport in the nation. Girls and boys who compete in cheerleading perform difficult stunts and tumbling passes where the cheerleader is risking getting injured anytime. Tumbling and stunting can lead to high risk of head injuries, such as concussions, or neck injuries. (Gutgold). These athletes take risk of injury every game, practice, and competition, just like any other athlete. The dangers of cheerleading is just one reason why it should be named a sport. The amount of