Cheerleading is an Olympic Sport ... Seriously !!!

Well it could do with a better name, cheerleading just sounds silly as a sport
Then again so does darts

Each to their own I guess

a reply to: gortex

"Non-sport" ?

"Just an activity" ?



21st Century football players (a sport):





VS



21st Century cheerleaders (what you call a non-sport):





You tell me which one encompasses more vigorous athletic training...





Anything that requires years of training, unique skills, and a disciplined athletic body absolutely deserves to be a part of the Olympics.

Mowing the grass is an activity, anyone can do that.

But getting thrown up into the air doing a triple backflip and then landing perfectly on top of someone's hand mid-air on one foot, requires a little more than just pushing a lawn mower around the yard.

Cheerleading has changed over the decades, it's no longer just little girls kicking their legs up in the air and shaking their pompoms to "rah rah, go team".

a reply to: gortex

It's more like a human sacrifice ritual than a sport.

. . . 65.2 percent of all catastrophic injuries in youth sports occur in cheerleading . . . she plummeted 20 feet headfirst into the gym floor, fracturing three vertebrae in her neck. Parks escaped permanent paralysis but now lives with unrelenting pain . . . Meanwhile, Jackson is paralyzed from the neck down after she leaped into the air, flipped into a back tuck and landed flat . . injury, disability and death from cheer-related accidents.

ussa.edu...

They call them accidents? It's a calculated risk. The kids getting into the competitive end of this are having their futures endangered by adults who are able to calculate the risk.

originally posted by: Metallicus
a reply to: gortex

If Soccer can be an Olympic sport why not Cheerleading? They both are boring and no one scores.

ETA: Also, curling etc...they have lots of crappy 'sports' in the Olympics.

Sorry but 3.5 billion people would disagree with you.

originally posted by: headorheart
ESPN and the American Medical Association see it as a sport. I'm not talking about running around with a cone on your head, I'm talking about competitive cheerleading.

You seem to be debating with gorillas...

I'd be willing to wager that the average Olympic grade 'cheerleader' can kick the snot out of any of their armchair critics! *__-

a reply to: namelesss

I'd be willing to wager that the average Olympic grade 'cheerleader' can kick the snot out of any of their armchair critics! *__-

And you accuse those who don't see Cheerleading a sport of being gorillas.


If Cheerleading is deemed a sport then anything could be classed as such , Olympic fishing , Olympic Disco dancing or even Olympic juggling perhaps.

The British cheerleading team prepares for the next Olympics;

I'm a purist . . . I believe we should limit it to the original events.

Those are:

running (200m, 400m, & distance)
jumping (long jump with weights)
throwing (javelin, discuss, and shot put)
fighting (wrestling, boxing, & pankraton? [their version of MMA])
pentathalon
equestrian events (both horses and chariots)
hoplite race (200m & 400m races done in full battle armor)

The hoplite and possibly equestrian events were the only events where the athletes wore clothes.

So, while we are complaining about how terrible the changes to the olympics and their inclusion of new things are, why don't we sit back and look upon how they used to be. Because unless you really want to go back to the originals, quit whining!

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: namelesss
"I'd be willing to wager that the average Olympic grade 'cheerleader' can kick the snot out of any of their armchair critics! *__-"

And you accuse those who don't see Cheerleading a sport of being gorillas.

It was rather tongue in cheek.
We are all gorillas!

If Cheerleading is deemed a sport then anything could be classed as such , Olympic fishing , Olympic Disco dancing or even Olympic juggling perhaps.

I think that the real question is the definition of 'sport'.
For this trick, I will summon the great Wiki, observe;

en.wikipedia.org...

Sport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Sport (UK) or sports (US) are all usually forms of competitive physical activity or games which,[1] through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants, and in some cases, entertainment for spectators.[2] Usually the contest or game is between two sides, each attempting to exceed the other. Some sports allow a tie game; others provide tie-breaking methods, to ensure one winner and one loser. A number of such two-sided contests may be arranged in a tournament producing a champion..."

According to this definition, masturbation can be a 'sport'! *__-

as long as they don't require that creepy smile that college football cheerleaders have painted on i reckon this is as athletic as many other olympic sports

The big question is . . . what is the line that determines the difference between a game and a sport?

I mean they consider ping-pong a sport for the olympics! Next they'll have chess and backgammon.

a reply to: JDeLattre89

At a certain level of skill, I find ping pong as impressive as anything else.



I guess its easy to look at something like cheerleading in the least flattering light possible, but at the higher levels I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by what they can accomplish with consistency.

Then again, I greatly enjoy watching synchronized swimming at the top levels too, so.. *shrug*

a reply to: namelesss

Which is exactly why I stopped debating. Clearly no use if they cannot see the qualifications that cheerleading has to make it at least worthy of a "sport" related debate.

originally posted by: Serdgiam
a reply to: JDeLattre89

At a certain level of skill, I find ping pong as impressive as anything else.

 

I guess its easy to look at something like cheerleading in the least flattering light possible, but at the higher levels I'd be lying if I said I wasn't impressed by what they can accomplish with consistency.

Then again, I greatly enjoy watching synchronized swimming at the top levels too, so.. *shrug*

Ping pong could qualify