Cheerleading Is a Sport

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Competitive Cheerleading Is a Sport There are a number of people who believe cheerleading is not a sport. A sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Therefore there are some very strong arguments that support that cheerleading is in fact a sport. Firstly cheerleading is an activity involving physical exertion it is competitive, it is a team sport that entertains judges and audience at competition and lastly it is a skill based activity. Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. Cheerleaders must learn to tumble; they perform back tucks round off back hand springs and full and double twisting layouts. Cheerleaders also perform stunts and tosses which is where the flyers are thrown two to three meters in the air, held by bases in different body positions that require strength and cooperation with other team members. In this respect cheerleading is the number one cause of injury followed by gymnastics then athletics. The physical exertion in Cheerleading is comparable to other sports. Cheerleading is a competitive sport; cheerleaders are placed into divisions which are group based upon age, size of the team, gender of the participants and ability level. The age levels vary from under four years of age to eighteen years and over. The divisions used by the USASF/IASF are currently tiny, mini, youth, junior, junior international, junior Coed, senior, senior international, senior Coed, special needs and open international. Ability levels range from one-five, five being the most advanced and difficult. 3rd 2nd and 1st place medals are awarded to the winners of all levels and divisions. For instance level two squads train up to 12 hours a week for many different competition appearances, but they actually only perform for up to three minutes

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