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What Really is Cheerleading?

Post: Introduction to my blog

Cheerleading has been around for over 200 years and is becoming quite a domination in the United States compared to other countries. Most people don’t know what the NCA championships, NCA college nationals, Summit championships, or world championships are in cheerleading. Well, let me tell you that it is the best of the best teams that compete in these competitions. Just saying you have attended or have made finals is huge enough, but for me, I am a 2021 summit champion, 2x NCA silver medalist, and have the honor to compete at the NCA college nationals in April. It quite hasn’t been as easy to get those titles and most people understand. My team and I have trained countless hours and days on days in order to even have a chance to be the best. Fortunately and I have been able to get those titles and be proud of my summit ring. As you can see in the picture below it is something I may not really wear but if there is a fire that is one of the first things I am taking with me. But some people may ask, ‘is cheer even a sport’, ‘It seems like every cheerleader wins nationals’. But that is far from the truth. Let me show you what not only I have encountered with dealing with but everyone else in this cheerleading can understand the struggles and wish we were heard more and that people listen.

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The History of Cheerleading & Title IX

Across Universities and colleges all over America, people see cheerleading as the girls supporting the football/basketball team and cheering them on to victory but nowadays there is way more than just cheering on their team. The article “The complicated history of cheerleading, Title IX and what it means to be a sport” By Jennifer Gerson, talks about how Title IX and Universities across America came together to bring civil rights, inclusion, and diversity to all equal and treatment the same. “President Richard Nixon signed the Education Amendments Act in 1972, the new law’s Title IX codified gender equality in education as a civil right. Though the words “sports” or “athletics” were never mentioned in Title IX, they became pivotal in boosting women’s involvement in sports. But it also launched a complicated conversation — one inextricable from the sports world, but also often left out of conversations around athletes even today.” But today one of the sports left in the dark is cheerleading. Cheerleading is not considered a sport according to the NCAA so it doesn't get the recognition and same opportunities other sports at universities get. The NCAA is a corporation that gives money and helps universities get sponsors, scholarships for teams, training programs, and academic programs/services. The problem with this towards cheer is that we are treated like athletes but don’t get the scholarships or support to help the sport grow and become more than just the ‘sideline girls’. Most sports are able to get an ‘off season’, this is the time for them to train and grow their programs stronger and even better and help the athletes with whatever they need. In cheerleading, there is no off-season. With the University of Kansas, cheerleaders are required to cheer and attend all men's football games, women’s volleyball, men’s/women’s basketball, and events the university assigns them to. Adding to that, at the end of the year they prepare and train to compete with a routine at ‘NCA’ National Cheerleaders Association championships. This is where they compete against all universities/ colleges across the United States. This shows the sport has double the responsibilities with half the recognition. According to Nester said, “Cheerleaders are treated differently than other student-athletes on campus — namely because without NCAA and Title IX recognition, they aren’t technically classified as student-athletes.”  People don’t realize the evolution of cheer has become over the past 20 years and this is what is holding the sport back. Another problem is the budget of these programs and what they receive each year. According to the article “The complicated history of cheerleading, Title IX and what it means to be a sport” By Jennifer Gerson “As head coach at Georgia Tech, Nester was the highest-paid head cheer coach in the ACC. He earned $51,000 last year and was the team’s only full-time coach, overseeing over 100 athletes as Georgia Tech’s spirit coordinator, which put him over multiple cheer squads, the dance team, and the mascot. The next lowest-paid head coach at Georgia Tech earned $102,000 last year and has only seven athletes in their program. For a sport whose head coaching roles are often filled by women and LGBTQ+ people, the lack of Title IX recognition has in turn yielded a major wage gap.” This goes down to scholarships as well when cheerleaders get $300 a semester if they hit a 3.0 GPA while the football team each gets $3,000 a semester for at least a 2.0 GPA.

“Title IX was supposed to move women off the sidelines. But while cheerleading has moved far beyond game day, it still doesn’t have that official recognition.”

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One of Many.

A big deeper issue going into cheerleading is the acts of trespassing, hazing, harassment, sexual harassment, mental abuse, deliberate neglect, and failure of school officials to act upon these problems. Title IX is a program to help and protect student-athletes that have been around for over 50 years. The article “Title IX Cheerleading Case” By Batista, Paul J. Goes into the case of Samantha Sanches and how her issues and complaints were never listened to or taken seriously by her school which resulted in her safety and well-being getting abused. In conclusion, since cheerleading is an ‘extracurricular activity,’ the judge “...reduced it to its essentials, this is nothing more than a dispute, fueled by a disgruntled cheerleader mom, over whether her daughter should have made the squad. It is a petty squabble masquerading as a civil rights matter, that has no place in federal court or any other court."

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The Training of Cheerleading

One of the most important topics about cheer that are always shoved under the rug and never talked about is the physical, self-esteem, and mental health of college females. In June 2022, a group of students from China did a study on “Effects of 16 Weeks of Cheerleading on Physical Self-Esteem and Mental Health of Female College Students.” Their objective was aimed to analyze the influence of cheerleading on female college students’ physical self-esteem and mental health. These 63 female college students were trained in cheerleading for 16 weeks (4 times/week, 90 min/time). The test scored them from week 0 to week 16. After 16 weeks, they noticed the results that indicate that cheerleading training can effectively improve female college students’ physical self-esteem, especially in the aspect of physical attractiveness, and effectively improve the level of self-worth in the main areas (Deng, 2010). But again, these were females who have never cheered before and had self-insecurities beforehand to see if it would positively impact them or negatively. Cheerleaders who been in this sport for a period of time have constantly have been told to watch their weight watch what they are eating from the early ages of 6 and up. This can start with body dysmorphia and anorexia which have been huge problems in the cheerleading industry. So why is this keep happening? Coaches are the world think they know what is best and what is going to make the team, stunt, or person get better. But there is more than just a trophy or title that is important.

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Why Isn’t Consider A Sport?

On January 8th, 2020, Netflix decided to do a documentary on cheerleading and decided to follow one of the highest national and well-known teams Navarro Junior College Bulldogs. They explain in the show, “They’re the toughest athletes I’ve ever filmed,” the documentarian told The Wrap in an interview. “It’s not even close. And that’s no slight to football players.” But unlike football, cheerleading is not officially recognized as a sport — neither by the NCAA nor by U.S. federal Title IX guidelines. 

In the late 1800s, cheerleading was founded and organized for the IVy league teams to help cheer on the football teams and it was only for men. But over the next 100 years, females became dominant to it very quickly. It started to rise quickly and be very competitive but the problem was the stereotypes. “People usually associate cheerleaders with privileged girls who grew up with easy lives,” says Lexy Medeiros. As well as ‘Oh, you don’t do a sport, you just get to look pretty,'” she tells TIME.

In the show, they explain how to show support for other teams and participate in cheering for the football, basketball, and volleyball teams but get secondary opportunities and very lack of support. Without people realizing the difference between competitive and sideline cheer.

Here you can find another person talking about:

https://youtu.be/C9ofcFBydFI 

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Anxiety & Physical Trauma In Cheerleading

Another big topic and issue in cheerleading is how much anxiety, physical trauma, and injury among cheerleaders are put on. The article “Reducing Competitive Anxiety Cheerleader Psychology” explains that “There exists a link between high levels of stress and increased rates of injury among athletes. When individuals become stressed during athletic events such as competitions or strenuous training, symptoms including muscle tension and narrowed attention often accompany the stress response, increasing injury risk and reducing performance quality. This study put 2 different teams on “psychological stress-coping skills. Such skills include relaxation breathing techniques, visualization exercises, stoppage of negative thoughts, and development of self-efficacy statements. The other half of the team will receive a placebo "sports nutrition" program.” Showed many improvements and Fewer deductions indicate fewer errors (bobbles, drops, falls, etc.) and reflect superior performance. Overall, shows that if cheerleaders got the support and help needed would not only benefit the program but the universities as well from injuries and things needed for cheerleaders to participate. 

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What’s Next?

Through these posts, I hope you can get a better understanding of what it really means to be a cheerleader. Not only the stigma behind it but how big of a community and world there really is behind cheerleading. Having struggles inside and outside of the community is the biggest struggle people have yet to realize. It’s tough when you work just as hard to prove yourself but big corporations who have no clue about cheer just tell you no. ‘You aren’t a sport’, ‘You aren’t true athletes’. This isn’t true and hopes you convey that you agree. Anyways, it’s always been nice to have a ‘ring’ to prove it.