Persuasive Argument

Is Cheerleading a Sport? 

        Is cheerleading a Sport?  Most people say it's not, and it doesn’t look like much when you just see them at football or basketball games, but there is much more to it than you think.  In my opinion it is a sport because of three big reasons.

         The first main reason that it is a sport is because it involves conditioning and exercising.  In order to dance and tumble you have to warm up and have the strength to do so.  To do certain stunts like a prep or a cradle you have to have a team/small group.  A team/small group usually has from 4-6 people in them and they have certain jobs.  You can be a back base, they hold your ankles and keep your legs steady, and lift you up.  They are usually the strongest person in the group.  You can be a side base, there are two. A side base catches the flyers feet and lifts them up.  You can be a flyer, which is usually the smallest one in the group.  The flyer is the one that is on top of the pyramid/prep.  They have to keep their balance, their legs straight, and when you do a cradle they have to do a pike in the air.  So you have to know counts, know when you do stuff, and you have to keep your balance.

         The second most important reason is it involves leg and arm strength.  You have to lift people up or be up in the air doing something with your arms.  You have to know how to dance and do cartwheels and be able to stand on your head and/or hands.  You have to have that certain strength to be a cheerleader and do stuff that we do.

          The last main reason why cheerleading is a sport is because it’s competitive.  You can choose if you want to compete or not.  You go to different schools and dance, tumble, do stunts, and cheer in front of judges and other teams.  You have to have a dance and/or a drill to perform in front of others.  Just like football and basketball, you have one big team, but there are different small groups who work together at one time, or in different plays together.

            Cheerleading is a sport because you have to do the things dancers and gymnasts do and certain stuff from other sports.  It's competitive, football is competitive right? Yeah, so is cheerleading.  It might look easy when you just see them with their poms and it looks like they are just saying something like, "Yeah! Go Pirates!"  But there is much more to it than that.  We make it look easy, try it.