Is Cheerleading a Sport?

It’s a heated debate: is cheerleading considered a sport? After all, most sports only have one season, cheerleading has two: football and basketball. Like cross-country we run, like football we toss, like soccer we kick, like a track and field we jump. We even risk our lives in pyramids like Egyptians. We have injuries and tryouts like all other sports. The fact that we don't tackle our opponents to the ground for a ball …

…cheerleaders need medical care, use of mats and other safety devices, and ample practice space. The problem is that other athletes have no idea what it takes to be a cheerleader. We make it look so easy, we fly through the air with grace and we catch our teammates as though they are feathers floating from the sky. They don't understand the technique and time it takes to master such skills. Cheerleading is a sport.