Is cheerleading a sport?

Yes, I think it’s a sport. It’s pretty physically demanding, especially the higher up you go with it (like in high school and college).

No.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/07/21/federal-court-rules-cheerleading-sport/

sorry I already had looked it up before the question.

Spectator sport, for sure. Who doesn’t like a panty clad lass in a short skirt being tossed in the air?

No.

Less than chess.

It is absolutely a sport. I think I was one of the people (or the person) who mentioned it as a sport in that question.

Penn and Teller did an entire show on it once, there seem to be some people, who don’t want it called a sport for several reasons, from money to feminism. But besides that, I think it meets with any and all definitions of “sport”. Are there competitions? yes. Is there a risk of injury? yes. Does it require being in shape? yes. is it psychologically demanding? yes.

If cheerleading is not a sport, then gymnastics is not either. Thats all cheerleading is in my book, a form of gymnastics.

Not but should be for reasons @poisonedantidote already said.

Yes! @poisonedantidote for the “Bullshit” reference. Competitive cheering is a sport. A lucrative one too.. Sponsored by one company who sells all the equipment. They give everything to the(football, basketball) sport and cheering is not respected as it should be. I was a jr. high cheerleader but had no talent except for yelling. I went into drama. Neither program got any funding and we all worked hard.
Cheering/gymnastics IS a sport.

And on the same field, so is Chess team, Forensics, Drama. Support all of our kids.

Holy moly, it is athletical but not a sport. You don’t have an opponent, there is no score, and you doing it doesn’t accomplish anything tangible, you don’t get to the top of the mountain, the bottom of the rapids, hit a target, etc.

Sorry to dispute you @Hypocrisy_Central but yes, there are opponents and scoring and a sense of accomplishment to be able to do the moves in front of judges. And I just don’t understand the rest of your comment. I do hike to the top of a mountain… I am not judged. I do ride an ATV up a hill-climb and I am judged.
Cheerleaders are held against a standard and their moves are judged and compared to their peers. That, my friend, is a sport.
and I’m sorry. I really tried to resist, but athletical is not a word

@Blueroses Yes when they compete but for the most part they do what they do on the side line of sports events like football, or basketball. In that respect they are not completing a physical act as getting to the top of the mountain (judged or not), making it through the desert, or getting to the bottle of the rapids for instance. For the most part they are performers supplying entertainment.

“ain’t” is not in the dictionary either as “yada yada yada” or “escapability” but that don’t stop them from being used and understood.

umm wtf is the bottle of the rapids?
and (judged or not) you are saying that mountain climbing is a sport, regardless?
Not saying I would disagree because I climb mountains and it is a challenge to my physical abilities. I am not judged, but it’s difficult.
You say cheering is only a sport in competition? They perform athletic moves and challenge themselves like you might climbing a mountain.

For the vast majority of cheer leading, no it’s not a sport. Nothing is a sport unless you’re in a direct, organized competition with other teams/people. Most of the time cheer leading isn’t competitive.

When it is though, that’s a sport. But your standard stuff done on the sideline of games? Not so much.

No. cheerleading is just like any other form of entertainment.

Would you say your favorite recording artist is in it for the sport? no, its entertainment.

Yes. I do believe it is a sport, though most its not considered one, which I think is absolutely ridiculous. How is it not a sport? The workouts I always did were insane, actually some of the hardest workouts that I have ever done out of all my sports. You also have to be physically fit,, I mean you have to lift a girl over your head and toss her 10 feet into the air and then catch her. There are also some extreme injuries that can occur, just like in any other sport.
And some of you said that there is no scoring or competition, I believe thats wrong. There are two different cheerleading teams, there are the regular ones that cheer for other sports. In that there is usually only a couple competitions throughout the season, but there are competitions. Where tons of teams compete in front of judges and they recieve a certain amount of points for each thing they do. Then there is a winner. Usually first second and third place. Then there is a competition cheer team. They don’t cheer for other teams, they only do competitions usually around the nation. They compete against hundreds of other teams and the same thing happens in this competition, except its way bigger.
So how isn’t cheerleading a sport? Because it should be.

@Hypocrisy_Central Performing at football games and other events is really just practice for the competitions. It’s a chance to know what you need to fix in order to be ready. It’s also a chance to scope out your competition. I’ve been in cheerleading competitions, they are pretty intense. Don’t land something the right way, you are docked points. Be half a beat behind the rest of your squad, you are docked points. They practice as much as the football team and then some if you count football games as additional practice for them.

at games no, in competition yes.
However, though many people
find cheerleaders on sidelines
annoying/a distraction./eyecandy or
some other stereotype;
its important to note that as far as most school teams
go, the athletes are required to cheer
at games in order to be eligible to compete
whether they want to or not….

I’ve said the same thing about figure skating and ice dancing… it’s not a sport if your choice of music and the sincerity of your smile are factored into winning.

Considering how difficult it is and how much work it takes, we treat it like a sport so why can’t it be?

Technically, a sport is considered “anything involving compettition”, so yes.

Technically and by definition yes I believe it is…

Personally… no, I don’t. Not one that I would watch anyway.

*We were punks in high school, we used to sit in the bleachers make fun of the cheerleaders and try to confuse them. but don’t worry they were; rich, thin, and beautiful so they pitied us.

*But it was really fun to listen to them calling out count drills, and knowing how easy it was to make them slip up by calling out random trivia facts and… animal noises.

*Hangs head in shame… Sorry, I was a bad seed.

Cheerleading is most definitely a sport it requires much dedication, and flexibility. You have to be super flexible and very athletic. If you aren’t already, then the squad will teach you how.