Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a dynamic physical activity involving organized routines that include jumps, tumbles, stunts, and dance, typically performed to support sports teams. Originating in the late 19th century in the United States, cheerleading began with coordinated chants at football games and has evolved into a widely popular activity across schools and professional sports. Though not officially classified as a sport by many, the National Cheerleaders Association and other organizations have promoted its competitive aspects, leading to the establishment of cheerleading competitions at various levels.
The activity has seen significant changes over the years, particularly in terms of participation and safety concerns. Historically male-dominated, cheerleading began to include more female participants in the mid-20th century, and today it encompasses teams for all genders from elementary school through professional leagues. However, concerns have been raised regarding the safety of cheerleading, as injuries—especially concussions—are common during stunts and formations.
In recent developments, cheerleading gained recognition as a sport by the International Olympic Committee in 2021, leading to its eligibility for future Olympic competitions. This recognition has fueled ongoing discussions about safety regulations and the need for stricter oversight in cheerleading programs.
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Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity in which groups of individuals perform various organized routines while reciting cheers. Cheerleaders execute jumps, tumbles, tosses, stunts, and dance moves as part of a synchronized routine usually to root on a sports team. Cheerleading is a popular activity with school students and professional sports teams. Teams of cheerleaders also perform in competitions against other teams. While it is not technically classified as a sport, many people feel cheerleading should be considered one. In addition, many people have questioned the safety of cheerleading.
History
The origins of cheerleading can be traced to the late nineteenth century in the United States. Students chanted and yelled cheers at the first intercollegiate football game between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869. In 1898, University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell urged fans at a game to cheer for the Golden Gophers, making him the first unofficial cheerleader. From this point, the activity known as cheerleading was born.
By the early years of the 1900s, several all-male teams (called yell teams or yell squads) formed at universities to cheer on their football teams. A yell team at the 1909 Yale-Princeton football game was featured in an article by the New York Times, which dubbed the group "cheerleaders." In 1924, Stanford University began to offer cheerleading courses. By this time, the all-male teams had begun to attract female participants. Cheerleading gained popularity, and by 1940, more than thirty thousand US high schools and universities had cheerleading teams. While some women did participate in cheerleading, it remained a mostly all-male activity until many men were sent to serve in World War II (1939–1945).
A former cheerleader for Southern Methodist University named Lawrence "Herkie" Herkimer formed the National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) in 1948 and began hosting cheerleading events. Fifty-two young women and one young man attended its first cheerleading camp in 1952. Herkimer is credited with creating pom-poms (derived from the French word pompe, meaning "tuft of ribbons") made from crepe paper that later became an iconic cheerleading accessory.
By the 1950s, cheerleaders could be seen not only on the fields but also on the courts, cheering for collegiate basketball teams. Cheerleading became a competitive activity during this time, and cheerleaders from the elementary, middle, and high school levels competed all over the United States. The first Catholic Youth Organization cheerleading competition was held in 1955 in New York.
In the early 1960s, cheerleaders were invited to professionally cheer for several National Football League (NFL) teams. The Baltimore Colts had the first organized cheerleading squad. Within a decade, nearly a dozen teams had cheerleading squads. Some of these included the Atlanta Falcons' Falconettes, Dallas Cowboys' Cowbelles and Beaux, and Kansas City Chiefs' Chiefettes.
In 1965, Yale, which at the time was an all-male school, barred women from cheerleading at the school. It began allowing women admittance in 1969. Pop Warner football for youth players introduced the first cheerleading programs for children as young as age four in 1967, furthering the reach of cheerleading among younger people.
As integration spread at schools throughout the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, many demonstrations and violent protests emerged over racial tensions. Students fought for more African Americans to be selected to cheerleading teams in North Carolina after only white students were selected for the team. In Texas, a walkout was held when only one Mexican American cheerleader was selected from a school with an 85 percent Mexican American student body.
In the 1970s, other issues regarding cheerleading arose as the Dallas Cowboys implemented rules that some people denounced as sexist to women. Women on the Cowboys' cheerleading team were required to wear tightfitting uniforms and maintain their weight; they were not allowed to fraternize with players; and they could not use their cheerleader status for self-promotion. Despite the stringent rules, the cheerleading squad remained one of the most popular in the NFL; more than one thousand women vied for spots on the team every year. Many NFL teams followed the Cowboys' lead and instituted their own requirements.
In 1974, former cheerleader Jeff Webb incorporated gymnastics moves into the activity and founded the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA). While cheerleading teams had been common in the NFL, few existed in the National Basketball Association (NBA). NBA cheerleading teams became popular after 1979 when the Lakers' owner Jerry Buss formed the Laker Girls.
Cheerleading competitions gained popularity in the 1980s. ESPN began to broadcast the National High School Cheerleading Championships, sponsored by the UCA, in 1983. The first magazine devoted to cheerleading, American Cheerleader, was published in 1995. Numerous films and reality television shows devoted to the activity debuted in the years that followed, further highlighting cheerleading's reach into popular culture.
Topic Today
Cheerleading's popularity continued into the new millennium. The International Cheer Union (ICU) was formed in 2004 to further the activity's reach around the globe. By this time, the stunts and tricks performed had become increasingly elaborate and difficult. More young cheerleaders began to suffer from serious injuries due to being dropped, falling, or stunts not going as planned, and many people began to denounce the activity as dangerous.
The dangers were brought into the mainstream in 2006, when a Southern Illinois University cheerleader fell from a human pyramid and fractured a vertebra. While this was not the first major cheerleading injury made public, it made many people question the safety of cheerleading.
In cheerleading, most injuries occur during stunts, such as pyramid formations, in which one person comes into contact with another person and results in injury. Several studies found that concussions were common injuries sustained by cheerleaders. The high incurrence of concussions has become cause for concern in youth athletics programs. The brains of young people are susceptible to concussions, and concussions can have long-term negative effects on a person's cognitive and motor abilities.
All fifty states have passed laws for young athletes regarding concussions and returning to play, but cheerleading is not classified as a sport by many states or the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Many people feel that it should be named a sport because then it would be subject to stricter regulations, safety measures, and coaching certification requirements. In late 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved the ICU as the governing body of cheerleading. In 2021, the IOC recognized cheerleading as a sport, which made cheerleading eligible to compete in future Olympics. The US Olympics and Paralympics Committees followed suit in 2023.
Bibliography
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