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Teacher A
Period 2
Dec. 10, 2011
Cheerleading

When presented with the question, Is competitive cheerleading a sport? people all
around the world typically start debates on whether the answer is yes or no. A sport can be
defined as, a physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in
competitively (Ninemire). The start of competitive cheerleading occurred in 1949 when
Lawrence Herkimer wanted to create a program for woman athletes that provided exercise,
laughter and joy, and relationships with other athletes like them. Herkimer did not come to
realize, at the time, that his start of a revolution of women would lead to a competitive sport
known today as Competitive Cheerleading (Cheerleading Information; History). Competitive
cheerleading became known to America in 1978 through a television broadcast of a cheerleading
competition on CBS (Cheerleading Information; History). Competitive cheerleading is a
universal sport due to the level of athletic ability required so that performances can be
done to the best of ones capability, the total amount of injuries that occur at every practice
or performance, and the amount of training and devotion the athletes must have to stay in
shape and execute their skills.
The athletic abilities one must possess for competitive cheerleading are natural flexibility,
endurance to keep pushing, and coordination to stay on ones feet. The flexibility one must be
capable of is very precise. The athlete must be able to do all three splits, left, right, and middle;
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be able to bend ones back in an arch and in a hollow body position, and to pull all body
positions, and leg stretches, while balancing on one leg (Barger). The flexibility necessary for
doing all three splits is very challenging for most people, even some cheerleaders. Flexibility is a
need for all athletes wanting to build muscle and ensure balance. There are many flexibility skills
that help gain muscle mass such as the hollow body and arch body holds.
The hollow body and arch body holds are the least challenging flexibility skills a
cheerleader must possess. A hollow body hold is when a person liesdownon her back and
pullsher shoulders and legs to curl up so the stomach is tight, working the abdominal muscles
(Barger). An arch body hold is when a person lays on her stomach and stretches her shoulders
and legs to the ceiling by reaching through her hands and feet and pulling up backwards, also
helping work abdominal muscles as well as the calf and thigh muscles.These are very complex
stretches but they make the back more flexible in the end, which is the goal of stretching
(Barger). These stretches are required so that the amount of athletic ability required is met. The
diagram below explains a hollow body and an arch body hold.







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Stretching body positions, especially for the girls flying in the air, is a challenging but
achievable goal for all cheerleaders. A body position is a stretch that usually only the girls who
fly in the air have to be able to accomplish, but any other person is capable and allowed to pull
them. A body position is a stretch that pulls the legs up toward the head so the hand can grab it
(Vatt). The person pulls on her foot and extends her leg to be able to touch her hand which sticks
straight up in the air toward the ceiling. These flexibility stretches help the athletes become more
flexible so they will not get injured while trying to perform a skill during a practice or a
performance or so they will be able to achieve the skill during practice (Vatt). This helps
cheerleaders be able to perform to the best of their capability.
All competitive cheerleaders must have the endurance to keep pushing themselves
through any tough task they may encounter. As a competitive cheerleader, Ive learned that the
coaches are pleasant, but they are tough so they can drive their athletes to do great things, said
former cheerleader Ciera Kirby. A lack of endurance will affecta cheerleader as time goes on. If
a cheerleader does not have the endurance to keep moving while doing a full out routine where
every stunt and tumbling pass goes, then the cheerleader might pass out, may risk receiving an
injury, or may suffer a severe punishment from herselfor from the coaches, states Charlotte
Allstars coach Leigh Barger. If a competitive cheerleader does not give 120% at all practices,
like other sports athletes do, then she will find competing to be very challenging because she did
not push herself all the way during practice (Barger).
The majority of people around the world are born with some level of coordination. The
coordination that cheerleaders must be capable of is to balance on one leg for long periods of
time, to spin in the air while flipping over and land on their feet, and to jump up and run around a
competition floor without tripping over anything. Cheerleading is complex and challenging
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without coordination; if the athlete lacks simple coordination, she could risk injuries and risk
hurting the team as a whole (Vatt). When doing a full, a tumbling skill that the highest level
cheerleaders must have, the athlete must be able to go up in the air, flip her body over backward
while doing a full turn spin either to the right or left of their body, all at the same time, says
tumbling expert Garret Vatt. Cheerleading is very complicated and involves a lot of athleticism,
but it is worth the recognition and satisfaction that the athletes receive. Through injuries, both
physically and mentally, athletes must push through and persevere to achieve the goal they have
for themselves.
The amount of injuries that occur during practices and performances prove that
cheerleading is a sport. Just like in football and wrestling, cheerleaders suffer injuries while
practicing for competitions and while they are competing. Injuries are very common to
cheerleaders, but it takes heart to get back up and perform. AHe Said/ She Said articlein the
magazine states that, The percentage of catastrophic injuries related to cheerleading makes up
30% of all sports related injuries, the other 70% is divided among six sports which evenly come
out to be 11.6% for each of the other six individual sports. Cheerleading related injuries can be
more serious than any other sport because theyoften involve spinal cord and/or brain injury
(Vatt).
There are many different types of injuries that a cheerleader may experience while at
practice. Depending on what the athlete is doing, most sprains occur in the legs and ankles, most
breaks are related to the arms and fingers, and most tears in muscles happen to the anterior
cruciate ligament (ACL) and the stomach/ back (Vatt). The most common injury in competitive
cheerleading is a sprained ankle. However, the most severe damage takes place in the
brain.Cheerleading is known to be the concussion sport; one out of four cheerleaders receive
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concussions every day from practicing, states tumbling expert Garret Vatt. Injuries related to
cheerleading happen when athletes do too much at once and do not take a break for their bodies
sake.
Cheerleading related injuries occur when cheerleaders push themselves to the limit and
end up doing more than they need to. For instance, Haley Buie, a former competitive
cheerleader, recently sprained her ACL flying in a stunt during practice. Haley was tired and
pushed herself too far to be the best therefore, she got injured and sprained her ACL. Ciera Kirby
broke her back during practice because she was focused on completing her stunt. She did not
realize the risk she put herself in because she was exhausted and overdoing the stunt that she
needed to do. Rebecca Bryant, a competitive cheerleader for Charlotte Allstars, tore her ACL
while competing in the first competition of the season, states Garret Vatt, an expert on tumbling
and stunting. She did her tumbling pass and felt something pop in her leg. She got back up and
kept going through the routine even though she was screaming and crying because of the pain
(Vatt). Rebecca pushed herself through the pain and kept going to finish the routine.The
paramedics who provided her medical care at the competition said that if she were to have
stopped the routine, she would have suffered a less severe injury to her leg, but she kept going
and that forced her ACL to get worse (Vatt). These practice related injuries show how dedicated
cheerleaders are to be the best at what they do.
With the right training and the amount of dedication and hard workcheerleaders put into
the sport they play, cheerleaders really show that cheerleading is a sport. Cheerleaders have to
dedicate themselves fully to the goal they want to achieve, create muscle memory so their bodies
can remember how to do a skill, and they must be prepared for physical performance (Vatt). Just
like in football, cheerleaders have practices every week then games on weekends. Cheerleaders
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have to be willing to do whatever it takes to be completely committed to the sport they play.
Garret Vatt states, When I played football, back in the day, I had to dedicate my life and all my
time to my sport. When I picked up cheerleading in college, I noticed that I had to give up an
equivalent amount of time as I did for high school footballand fully commit myself to the sport I
was competing in. While undertaking such a big commitment to the sport, the athletes must also
learn new skills and perform them to the best of their abilities.
In every sport there comes a time to learn new skills and take on challenges that the body
may not be prepared for. Cheerleaders must learn how to first understand the skill they must do,
thenlearn how to execute the skill physically. This helps the athlete to build muscle memory.
Tricia Ellis-Christensen defines muscle memory as, a type of movement with which the muscles
become familiar over time. The unconscious process of muscle memory is very common in the
world today (Ellis). As with all sports, cheerleading involves muscle memory to acquire new
skills and to complete the task given to the cheerleaders. Once the athletes body and mind know
how to do a skill, it will come easy for them to perform physically in front of thousands of
people at competitions.
Competitive cheerleading is a team sport that utilizes a routine for competitions (Barger).
This routine is taught to the cheerleaders and performed the routine at cheerleading competitions
in front of a panel of judges and thousands of spectators. The elite cheerleaders perform at a
cheer competition known as The Cheerleading Worlds. This cheerleading competition is for
cheerleaders around the world who come to show off their routine and compete for money,
trophies, and glamour. Teams come to Disney World where they compete to be the best and to
be World Champions (Barger). This competition is just like a NFL Super Bowl game or a MLB
World Series game. These competitions are opportunities for the athletes to show their skills as
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the best of the best in their sports. During the 2011 Cheerleading Worlds competition in May,
a cheer team from Thailand won the competition and took home the gigantic world cup trophy
(Vatt). Competitions like The Cheerleading Worlds get the cheerleaders ready to show off
what they have trained for. This test of physical ability is displayed in front of millions of
viewers live via internet, and is featured on ESPN for viewers at home to watch. The eight
judges who score this competition are randomly selected from different cheerleading gyms all
over the world, not just from America.This helps decrease favoritism within different
nationalities (Vatt).
The level of athletic skills, the amount of injuries, and the amount of training, both
physically and mentally, and devotion the athletes must have to make competitive cheerleading a
universal sport. Cheerleading takes just as much athleticism, determination, and effort as any
other sport. A wise man once said, Football players are only as dedicated as their weakest link.
In cheerleading, there are no weakest links; everyone is just as dedicated as their teammates.
Competitive cheerleading is a sport; this idea is rapidly progressing throughout the sports world.







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Works Cited
Barger, Leigh. Personal Interview. 29 September 2011.
Cheerleading Information; History.Knowledgebase-script.com Knowledge Management
Software, 2007. Web. 16 Oct.
2011.http://www.knowledgebasescript.com/demo/article450.html.
Ellis Christensen, Tricia. What is muscle memory? WiseGeek.comConjecture Corporation,
2011. Web. 30 Oct. 2011. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-muscle-memory.htm.
He said/ she said: Football vs. Cheerleading. The Cut Mag.com Word Press, 13 Aug. 2009.
Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://thecutmag.com.wordpress/?p=1878.
Kirby, Ciera. Personal Interview. 1 October 2011.
Ninemire, Valerie. Is Cheerleading Really a Sport? About.com New York Times Company,
2011. Web. 30 Sept. 2011.
Vatt, Garret. Personal Interview. 22 October 2011.