Cheerleading rocks, I should know I am a captain! All you who say that anyone could do it, I dare you to go to one of my practices and try it, and see how you feel afterwards!
- Molly

I feel that cheerleading IS a sport...as long as you compete. Sideline cheerleading (calling cheers and chants, jumping) is not on the same level as cheerleaders who stunt at their games. This makes it an athletic activity. Stunting really shows the athleticism and proves what strength we have! I feel that any team that competes is a sport, but I believe that competetive (all-star) cheerleading should be in the Olympics!! To be a cheerleader, you need to be flexible, graceful, have good balance, and have muscle! A reason people might use is that you don't play games, therefore cheerleading is not a sport. Gymnasts are judged and scored during individual routines, and then scores are added for team wins. No one can doubt that gymnastics is not a sport...it was one of the first sports in the Olympics! Some will tell you that since you wear a skirt, cheerleading not a sport. Who cares that we wear skirts? Field hockey is definitely a sport, they wear kilts...wrestlers wear spandex...figure skaters and gymnasts wear leotards...swimmers wear bathing suits and speedos! All of those sports are in the Olympics so obviously how much leg you show doesn't dictate what kind of athlete you are. We are athletes! We cheerleaders are required to jump, tumble, and lift our own body weight or more over our heads and throw a body 20 feet in the air. I'd like to see a football player do a split, or a straight-up heelstretch reload double twist. Whether you believe that cheerleading is a sport or not, you can not deny our athleticism, but consider this: when squads train, practice, and compete...that sounds like a sport to me.
- Anna

I think competitive cheerleading is a sport because it takes strength to lift girls in the air, if you are at the bottom of the stunt, and for the flyer, they have to try really hard to stay tight and do all those things in the air!! Tumbling takes a lot of strength whether you're working on a backhandspring, or a full. Dancing takes a lot of memorisation and work. Although I think competitive cheerleading is a sport, I can not exactly say the same about school cheerleading.
- Sarah

I've been told that ALOT, and no matter what i do NOT let it get to me or bring me down in any way! No cheerleader should, because I think we all know that in our hearts, CHEERLEADING IS A SPORT! I'd like to see those girls that think it's not go out there and do all that we do, they'd realize how much time and effort and strength and ability it takes for us to do that! It takes alot of time to get everything down, and alot of effort and you do have to be strong, I personally do ALOT of sports, basically all that are available to girls in my area and I'd have to admit that cheerleading is def. one of the hardest ones...it takes strength and will-power and you have to be commited to it! All those girls AND guys that think its not are TOTALLY wrong...its a sport and I don't care what anyone thinks...so before you say cheerleading ISNT a sport...try it and you'll see for yourself that it is! And to all the cheerleaders who get told that its not, ignore it don't let it get to you because you know that it's a sport and NEVER give up!!
- Chelsea

Cheerleading IS a sport! Any kind of cheerleading is a sport! We work really hard to reach our goals no matter what they are! I cheer for Pop Warner and we are required to cheer for the football teams on Saturday...there, we cheer on the side lines, do a half time cheer, mount, plus alot of other stuff! Then we have competitoin and if we place in the top 3 we move on...if we place in the top 2 at Regionals we move on to Nationals! It takes alot out of you to cheer! We are athletes and cheerleading will always be a sport!
- Jacqueline

Of course cheerleading is a sport! The definition of a sport is: "Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively". Let's review: is cheerleading a physical activity? YES. Are there rules? YES. Is it often competition cheerleading? YES. No matter what anyone ever says, cheerleading is a sport.
- Rachel

Cheerleading is a sport: it is fun, very, very competitive, and it also takes a lot of energy! I love cheerleading and it most definitely is a sport. I think cheerleading is the most dangerous sport, too.
- Alexa

I believe that all the girls who have put up answers on this page have already made all the points i believe. But I also believe that ALL cheerleading is a sport. And why? Because if all Fishing and all Golf is a sport why isn't cheerleading? Cheerleading takes a lot more then those two other sports. So why can't we be taken seriously? And cheerleading is also a good way to get into college!! I hope that one day even if I'm not alive the people after me that do cheerleading will be taken as seriously just as many other sports. Cheerleaders are strong and we know it, and no one should put us down for loving the SPORT that we live for.
- Robyn

Cheerleading is a sport - we sweat and cry just like the football players and wrestlers, even though you may not see it!
- Jessi

Yes - Cheerleading is probably one of the most dangerous sports I know of.
- Shay

Cheerleading is a sport, don't let anyone tell you it isn't. Cheerleading takes hard work and will make you sweat. So ask that person how cheerleading isn't a sport after all the hard work you put into it!
- Emma

I believe that not only is cheerleading a sport but the most dangerous of them all. It takes will-power and strength to do everything we endure, and we believe it is fun and most becoming. Cheerleading can change your lifestyle, social status, and basically your interst in other sports. Cheerleaders put in plenty of effort in suporting other sports, and it is a shame we can't get the same in return. I've heard numerous times that Cheerleading is a dumb and stupid sport. Now tell me this: since when was placing players across from each other and having them run into each other for a ball (AKA football) the smartest idea put into the world of sports? We put the same amount of time, blood, sweat, and tears into cheerleading and were proud of it!
- Lonitra

Cheerleading is totally and completely a sport, because cheerleaders work very hard, and cheerleading is just as difficult as vollyball, softball, basketball, etc.
- Lisa

Athletes lift weights. Cheerleaders lift athletes. Cheerleading of course is a sport. Anyone who disagrees, I'd love to see them lift people above their heads, and be a crash mat when the flyer falls. I'd also love to see them up high, on one leg, while pulling the other leg behind them, making a scorpian, or in front of them doing a heel strech. Being a top, that's effort, and being able to stay tight, not wobbling, that's even harder. So cheer is for sure a sport.
- Court

I totally think cheerleading is a sport. There are so many different aspects to cheerleading that are dangerous. In 7th grade (I'm now a freshman) I wrote an expository essay about cheerleading and how it's the most dangerous sport for women. I was sick and tired of all these people in my class saying that cheerleading is not a sport. I presented and also brought a article from a teen magazine. It was about the college cheerleader who fell during a stunt and was still cheering while on the strecher. Still the guys were listing other sports that were more dangerous than cheerleading. It's sad that people just don't understand the risks of cheerleading. I love cheerleading and say it will always be a sport even if some people don't believe it is.
- Amy

I think cheerleading is a SPORT!!! We work as hard as any football player, basketball player, track ect. People think cheerleading is so easy and that anyone can do it. If any one can do it then why have tryouts to see who can really do it? My high school cheerleading team just came back for a competition and people kept telling us that we were going to lose and that we sucked because we dropped the girls when they were in the air. They think that we just went out there warmed up and then stunted. I hate to tell them but our coach made us run around the track at least 3 times before practice and then we went and got warmed up for a 3-hour practice and most of our routine is all stunts so we got really tired. Most of the student body here always put us down and everything else telling us we are wasting our time, cheerleading isn't a sport its an "after school activity", but really any sport or after school activity you have that requires lifting things or people its really a sport! My main saying is "athletes lift weights, CHEERLEADERS LIFT ATHLETES"!
- Jessica

Cheerleading is DEFINITLY a sport! Other athletes lift 30 to 50 pound weights... cheerleaders lift 90 to 120 pound people... DO THE MATH!!!
- Cara

Yes cheerleading is a sport. All the guys I know say that it isn't, but I know that it is. I have to work out 4 times a week and stretch everyday. I don't see the people who think cheerleading isn't a sport out there doing back flips or getting thrown 20 feet in the air! Cheerleaders have to be as strong as a football player, as poised as a dancer, and as flexible as a gymnast. My school cheer team is national champions and runner ups, so whoever doesn't think cheerleading is a sport- they MUST be jealous!
- Juska D.

I have been a cheerleader for 8 years and trust me, I've probally had over 200 stitches from cheerleading over those years! Its a dangerous SPORT you have to use all your strength to lift the flyer into the air. I know that cheerleading is definatly a sport.
- Paige

I definitely think that cheerleading is a sport because we lift other girls and do the most diffucult stunts. We also have to do a lot of fitness training and conditioning just like any other sport.
- Mikayla

Cheerleading is absolutely a sport, no doubt about it! Just because we don't tackle our opponents to the ground for a stupid ball doesn't mean we aren't athletes! We work just as hard as any other sport. No matter what anyone says, it is a sport. You don't know what cheerleaders go through until you've been one!
- Katelyn