Cheerleading Becomes an Olympic Sport

When one thinks of a cheerleader, the stereotypical image of pom-poms and ponytails immediately springs into their minds. However, what most fail to recognize is the extreme amount of “blood, sweat, and tears” that being a cheerleader demands. As a freshman cheerleader at Sierra Vista HS, I found that Cheerleading is more than just a group of students cheering, stunting, and tumbling for other sports and athletes. Cheerleaders put an immense amount of time and effort into creating an exciting time for other teams, in addition to competing in national
sporting events.

On July 20, 2021, The IOC (International Olympic Committee), “voted in favor of granting full recognition to the International Cheer Union (ICU) and cheerleading, making one of America’s oldest examples of teamwork eligible to apply to be included in the Olympics program.” Now that cheerleaders are considered Olympic athletes, they will be competing for the 2028 Olympics. “Despite 2024’s Paris Olympics consisting of 50% female athletes for the first time ever, the list of sports for the 2024 Olympics has been approved and cheerleading will not be in the Paris Games… This means that the 2028 Games in Los Angeles is the earliest possible debut for Olympic cheerleading, but in order for cheerleading to be included in the Olympics, it would have to secure a majority vote from the IOC’s 102 international members.”

Ms. Lonna Hughes, one of the Cheer coaches here at Sierra Vista, also gave reasons why Cheerleading deserves recognition as an Olympic sport. She expressed, “Being a cheerleader is being a part of a team as any other sport, so for what reason cheer be left out as not being considered a sport?” Cheerleading can be time-consuming; it also takes a large amount of dedication and commitment to do cheer—another point Ms. Hughes also specifies, “Especially, cheerleaders can receive a full cheer scholarship for college, just as in any other sport. So why wouldn’t we consider this dynamic craft anything less than a sport?”

Sierra Vista’s athletic trainer Mr. Joseph Bedowitzs also claims that Cheerleading is considered an official sport, “Yes, Cheerleading is a sport. It takes practice and great skill to do what they do.” For cheerleaders to make an excellent impression, cheerleaders must work excessively to make sure they can impress everyone either in the crowd at a game or a cheer competition. For example, when cheerleaders go to a competition or a game they have to be hype, have good facial expressions, and make sure they are keeping the crowd up on their feet and having a good time. However, it takes practice to achieve these abilities to do various types of skills such as jumping, stunting, tumbling, cheering, and even being hyped up. Most cheerleaders usually have two to three practices each week, each lasting up to three hours, while also balancing school, work, and other activities.

After decades of Cheerleading not being considered an Olympic sport, Cheerleaders worldwide now feel more included and get some more recognition in sports and are not just known as just support groups supporting other athletes