5 replies to this topic

[Exporter]

When a small college in Conn wanted to replace it's vollyball team with a group of cheerleaders
so they could comply with Title IX - the Judge said No! Cheerleading IS NOT a Sport!

[WestlakeTech]

You can bet this'll cause an outcry nationwide.

[Exporter]

Subject: Definition of a SPORT
My link

From Stanford University - http://www.stanford....aley/sport.html

Why is this important? So,e small schools are trying to repace costly women's sports (basketball & vollyball) with chesper activities, cheerleading, to comply with TITLE IX. It's a money thing.

From Office of the Athletic Director at Texas Tech.
Sport is different from Tests of Excellence

A sport, in my opinion, is any event in which two or more parties attempt to accumulate a point total within a given period of time or course of events while simultaneously impeding one another from doing likewise. That's the critical test, offense and defense. That includes: baseball, basketball, cricket, football, hockey, soccer, etc. It excludes: track and field, golf, target shooting, running, swimming, bicycling, figure skating, ice dancing, gymnastics, weight lifting, etc. Events such as those, wherein you are implicitly barred from even attempting to prevent someone from beating you, are simply tests of excellence. "Anything you can do, I can do better."

* What is a SPORT?
A sport is a physical competition between two individuals or teams in an activity governed by rules set forth by the governing association in which the following are displayed:
Skill, strategy, quickness, strength & endurance, accumulation of points to determine the winner in a given time period.
The compition will be played by the rules which are enforced by officials.

Edited by Exporter, 25 July 2010 - 04:52 AM.

[WestlakeTech]

Story on ABC news about this tonight.

They talked to cheerleaders, who argued the judge's decision. The cheerleaders say that it's a very athletic activity...

Well nobody is denying that. But there's more to "being a sport" than just athleticism.

I think many of them would argue that it's very physical and athletic, it's as dangerous as other sports (especially for those few pulling the aerial stunts), and they do have competitions.

By that logic, a tight-rope walking competition would make that qualify as a sport (trust me, it takes lots of skill and you've gotta be in shape... preferably very thin shape. )

If you ask me, the thing that makes cheerleading a non-sport is that a judge (or group of judges) determines the winner of the competitions. I give the cheerleaders their credit for all of the athletic ability it takes, which is indeed quite a lot. However, I can't call it a sport if you aren't the one determining your score.

The story compared cheerleading to archery and fencing, which are recognized as sports. Archery: you shoot the best score, you win. Fencing, I admit I don't know much about it, but I know that the fencers are the masters of their own fate. Look at football: the players don't just show off their skills and then let a judge determine who has the best team. They play against each other, and if Team A is down 3 points to Team B, then Team A has the chance to make up that difference and take a lead.

It's athletic. It's hard. It takes lots of time and energy. Not just anyone can do it. But cheerleading, in my opinion, is not a sport.

[CalallenWildcat]

It excludes: track and field, golf, target shooting, running, swimming, bicycling, figure skating, ice dancing, gymnastics, weight lifting, etc.

I'll disagree on bicycling. In competitive cycling, teams try to control the pack so that the team leader can get a better time relative to the pack. Thus, success for the leader (and consequently the team as well) is based upon two things: the leader's speed, and the supporting cast's ability to keep others from getting better speeds ("playing defense").

I would assume that whoever first wrote that knew next to nothing about competitive cycling.

[Super B]

I disagree. I think cheerleading is a sport, of sorts.