Declaring+cheer+not+a+sport

If you have any title ides that would be great! Thanks!

Cheerleading was recently declared not a sport by U.S. Federal Judge Stefan Underhill as a result of a case brought to him by the women’s volleyball team of Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. The volleyball team had sued the university when their team was cut from competing since the university thought the sport would cost too much money. Instead they put their money into the cheerleading team in the belief it would cost less money for the school. The volleyball’s team fight was that cheerleading was not even a proper sport and the school shouldn’t take money away from a proper sport and give it to an activity. Underhill ruled cheerleading was not a sport because it is too disorganized and underdeveloped to qualify as a sport. He believes money shouldn’t be taken away from a sport that could lead to professional careers for some players or be featured in Olympic games. Because cheerleading would not qualify for these aspects it was declared not to be a sport.

This case has caused much controversy in the cheerleading world. Cheerleaders aren’t given credit for their athletic ability because of this case. How do rules make cheerleading not a sport? Sports include athleticisms and talent and certainly cheerleaders are some of the most talented girls out there. What is the definition of a sport? In a dictionary the word “sport” is defined as “physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively."

//According to the Women's Sports Foundation the following criteria has to be met to be considered a sport://
 * //A physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of a mass//
 * //A contest or competition against or with an opponent//
 * //Is governed by rules which explicitly define the time, space and purpose of the contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared//
 * //The acknowledged primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants//

How can one say these girls aren’t talented or athletic? You may think Cheerleading has no rules, but there are indeed rules for the different levels of ability. There are different forms of cheerleading so there are going to be different sets of rules for each level, but every type has rules. High School Cheerleading and All Star Cheerleading have a different set of rules, based on the girls’ ability, but in each level there are the same set of rules so how can one say cheerleading has no rules? It certainly has rules; they’re just different for the different levels based on what skill a team has.

People say cheerleaders do not compete against anyone, but they do indeed. Cheerleaders work all year to compete against other teams and get a score of how good or bad their routine is. It is true that cheerleading teams do not compete against one opponent, but they do compete based on ability. The girls are “sporty” and extremely talented in their athletic ability.

One cannot say cheerleading isn’t an organized physical activity that requires one being athletic. Cheerleading calls for a lot of stamina and high athletic levels among the members of the team. Cheerleading has evolved immensely over the years, becoming more of a sport and soon people will realize it should be declared a sport.