Andre J. Carter

A Follow Up from faja

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by

Andre
in

So one commenter said  they did not like my explanation and that I did not answer the question.

What a complete waste of time. Did you just want to hear yourself “speak”? You didn’t answer the question at all, merely chose to avoid it while you talked in circles and rambled on telling useless stories. Please, no more posting for you. – coach

It is that small minded attitude that will continue to handicap Cheerleading, but allow me to humor you in the straight forward answer.

Cheerleading is a sport if you use my definition.  My definition of a sport is simple. It is an athletic activity that allows participants to compete. Cheerleading is athletic and there is an outlet to compete. You may be on a “traditional sideline team” but you can still choose to compete in Cheerleading in school Competitions, all star competitions, or even at camps run by those that want to keep it a non-sport and the head to head All Star competitions at those camps. So all of you kids that are involved in it can call it your sport. (Not that you did not already)

It is not a sport under other definitions of the word. Specifically the definition of qualifying as a sport under Title IX. Some of the things that make it great don’t allow it to fit into these definitions. An example is that there is no recognizable season or one set of rules.

So, if you must have the simple answer and you want to compare Cheerleading to every other activity and try to label it in an established category, it is as much of a sport as many already labeled as so, and it is definitely one in my book. The prior intent was to say it was better. Sorry for the confusion.

Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 bans sex discrimination in schools receiving federal funds. Should a school sacrifice federal funding because Cheerleading, a positive and healthy activity, is used as an outlet for female athletes? I can think of worse uses for federal funding. I am pretty sure the point of Title IX was to offer positive and athletic activities such as Cheerleading.

Simple enough? I will try to label my articles Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, Level 4, or Level 5 for you in the future.

faja

Comments

4 responses to “A Follow Up from faja”

  1. Kingston Avatar
    Kingston

    I mentioned this on the boards, but I feel like it is worth a response here.

    The simple fact is every girl that competes in allstar cheerleading, competitive high school cheerleading, and I am sure a good bit of sideline cheerleading believes they are doing a sport. No matter what we as adults believe, they think they are doing a sport. And one day when they grow up to have little girls of their own, they will put them in cheerleading and teach them it is a sport.

    I think it is a losing battle to try and educate the public that what they do 'isn't' a sport for the sake of what everyone would lose. Rename the competitive part, call it something different, separate the two, and allow them to coexist so that one does not harm the other. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

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  2. Kingston Avatar
    Kingston

    I mentioned this on the boards, but I feel like it is worth a response here.

    The simple fact is every girl that competes in allstar cheerleading, competitive high school cheerleading, and I am sure a good bit of sideline cheerleading believes they are doing a sport. No matter what we as adults believe, they think they are doing a sport. And one day when they grow up to have little girls of their own, they will put them in cheerleading and teach them it is a sport.

    I think it is a losing battle to try and educate the public that what they do 'isn't' a sport for the sake of what everyone would lose. Rename the competitive part, call it something different, separate the two, and allow them to coexist so that one does not harm the other. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

    Like

    Reply
  3. Kingston Avatar
    Kingston

    I mentioned this on the boards, but I feel like it is worth a response here.

    The simple fact is every girl that competes in allstar cheerleading, competitive high school cheerleading, and I am sure a good bit of sideline cheerleading believes they are doing a sport. No matter what we as adults believe, they think they are doing a sport. And one day when they grow up to have little girls of their own, they will put them in cheerleading and teach them it is a sport.

    I think it is a losing battle to try and educate the public that what they do 'isn't' a sport for the sake of what everyone would lose. Rename the competitive part, call it something different, separate the two, and allow them to coexist so that one does not harm the other. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

    Like

    Reply
  4. Kingston Avatar
    Kingston

    I mentioned this on the boards, but I feel like it is worth a response here.

    The simple fact is every girl that competes in allstar cheerleading, competitive high school cheerleading, and I am sure a good bit of sideline cheerleading believes they are doing a sport. No matter what we as adults believe, they think they are doing a sport. And one day when they grow up to have little girls of their own, they will put them in cheerleading and teach them it is a sport.

    I think it is a losing battle to try and educate the public that what they do 'isn't' a sport for the sake of what everyone would lose. Rename the competitive part, call it something different, separate the two, and allow them to coexist so that one does not harm the other. Why wouldn't you want to do that?

    Like

    Reply

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