People may think that cheerleading is all rah-rah-sis-boom-bah, but it is much more than that. Jumping, flipping and stunting are just some of the difficult elements that go into cheerleading. While some may say that cheerleading is not a sport, so many things prove them wrong.

Cheerleading is a very physical sport, with all the conditioning, run-throughs of the routine and competitions.

According to an article appearing in Chassé Cheer, “Cheerleading Builds Strength,” by Chloe Clevenger, “With all the flipping, jumping, and lifting; conditioning is always a must to keep in shape and stay safe as well.”

A normal competition cheerleading routine is two minutes and thirty seconds. In that time, there are many different aspects that make up the routine.

Cheerleaders have to remember counts, jumps, tumbles, stunts and pyramid sequences while cheering, dancing and remembering the timing of different elements. They also have to remember where on the mat their spots are. It is a very heavy mental toll for the athletes.

Yet cheerleaders never seem to get enough respect from their peers. A school cannot show respect.

According to The Odyssey Online, an online blog, “We all go through the countless hours of extraneous workouts and effort that goes into perfecting our routines and at the end of the day, we have nothing to show for it. People in today’s society don’t even give us enough respect to even see us a sport, yet alone consider us as one of the hardest sports in the U.S.”

Cheerleaders have to be extra careful when they are lifting teammates in stunts. Statistics show that cheerleading is one of the most dangerous sports.

Since cheerleaders do not wear protective headgear, if they get hit in the head, they are at a risk of getting a concussion.

As stated in a 2013 article from USA Today, “1.35 Million Youths a Year Have Serious Sports Injuries,” by Michelle Healy, “Wrestling and cheerleading had the second- and third-highest concussion rates (15 per 10,000 athletes and 12 per 10,000 athletes, respectively).”

Concussions are just one of the many injuries that can happen while cheerleading.

As reported in “Girls’ Most Dangerous Sport: Cheerleading” by Live Science, “The breakdown: sprains/strains 52.4%, soft tissue injuries 18.4%, fractures/dislocations 16.4%, lacerations/avulsions 3.8 %, concussions/closed head injuries 3.5%, and other injuries 5.5%.”

Cheerleading is dangerous, very physical, and requires mental concentration.

According to Oxford Living Dictionary the definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Cheerleading does exactly that or more. So, when people say it is not a sport, technically cheerleading falls under the definition of a sport.