The question of whether cheerleading is a sport or not has many people talking. Cheerleaders argue that all the intense training, athletic skills, and competitions make it a sport. They believe that the dedication and physical effort required are just as demanding as any other athletic activity. However, some people think it’s just about cheering for other teams and providing support during games, which they feel doesn’t qualify it as a sport on its own.
Some non-cheerleaders say that competition cheer is a sport, but sideline is not.
“I think regular cheer is not a sport, merely a hobby,” junior Alyssa Morgan said. “On the other hand, I think competition cheer is a sport because you have opponents.”
Morgan isn’t the only non-cheerleader that thinks this. Junior football player Kaden Stone said, “Yes, cheer is a sport only when it is competition because a sport is when you compete.”
On the other hand, Greenbrier East’s own cheerleaders argue that cheerleading is a sport.
“Cheer is a sport,” freshman Bailee Cleghon said. “Competition cheer is more of a sport than sideline, but I enjoy them both.”
Although from the sidelines cheerleading may not seem like a sport to people who have never done it before, it is just as much of a sport as anything else. Cheerleading consists of tumbling, stunts, and jumps. Tumbling and stunting can be very dangerous at times; for example, Cleghon recently suffered a concussion from landing on her neck, the result of a failed tumbling pass. Throwing humans around six feet above the ground is both dangerous and takes a lot of skill.
Sophomore Bailey Carter has experience with how challenging cheerleading can be both physically and mentally. “Tumbling can be very mental for me and hard on my body, but I also think it’s super fun to learn and get new skills,” she said. “I think cheer is a sport even though a lot of people don’t think that. But it is, because sports require skill and competition and that’s exactly what cheer is.”
