First of all, the use of physical fitness is one of the main criteria for an activity to be considered a sport. As some people would think, cheerleading is not only about pompoms and pleated skirts. It's about strength. Some tricks cheerleaders do are very hard physically. cartwheels and twirls may look banal, but they require a lot of strength. especially if you are in a competition and making tones of them. Also tossing someone in the air and then catching him is very demanding. An average women weights about 155 lb. This is very heavy especially if you consider the height they are throwing them in the air. Catching someone is even harder since as they fall the person will accelerate making it harder for the person to catch. So I'd put a check mark on that criteria.
Secondly, another very important criteria you need to fulfill is the presence of technic. Have you ever noticed how every move cheerleaders do seems to be so easy and graceful. This is because there is a lot of technical skills in each of them. Cheerleaders practice very hard to ameliorate their technic. A cheerleading choreography is very similar to an acrobatic dance. Dancing is considered a sport, so why not cheerleading? It is way harder to make flips look good than sliding movements and turning around. you also need a lot more technic because flips and and throwing people in the air is very dangerous. So, I think that this criteria is also fulfilled.
In conclusion, cheerleading has about all the criterias needed to be a sport. It should, therefore, be considered as one. Physical fitness and technical skills are required in cheerleading almost more than in any other sports. So for all the people who say that cheerleading is not hard, try it first. An activity who uses physical fitness and technical skills should be considered as a sport.
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