I don't want to be just like every other cheerleader who says "it is so a sport", but it's true. When most people think of cheerleading, they picture the stereotypical blonde, with her short skirt and arms around the quarterback. Little do most people know, cheerleading was originally an all-male activity. It wasn't until around the 1940's that it became mostly female.
Now, cheerleading is far from the prissy-girl activity it used to be, and many times is a full-fledged sport. Girls and boys that participate are athletes like those from any other sport. Cheerleading takes a lot of coordination, strength, endurance and courage. Imagince being thrown at least twenty feet into the air and waiting for people underneath to cath you. Or how about being the person underneath, seeing a body falling at you and knowing that you need to catch it.
It is becoming more dangerous, which was apparent when a fourteen year old girl died last year practicing a new stunt, and again a few months ago when a girl broke her neck while performing at a basketball game. Minor injuries, like black eyes, bruises, and broken noses and finger occur all the time, just as often as any other sport. Cheerleading is "associated with the highest number of direct catastrophic injuries for all sports in which females participate". Many places are now naming cheerleading a sport, which is good, because then there are more guidelines to be followed and safety is better promoted.
Lifting people in the air, tumbling, and cheering, all while keeping a smile on is a hard task. Some may consider it easy, but I'd like them to get out there and attempt half of the things we do.
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