Cheerleading, Cheerleading

Sports such as association football (soccer), ice hockey, volleyball, baseball, and wrestling sometimes sponsor cheerleading squads. The ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup in South Africa in 2007 was the first international cricket event to have cheerleaders. The Florida Marlins were the first Major League Baseball team to have cheerleaders. Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.

Some schools also include a freshman level of the sport in order to develop skills as the athletes mature. High School Cheerleading consists of a school spirit aspect and the competition aspect. These squads have become a part of a year round sport, starting with tryouts in the spring, to year round practice, to sporting events to cheer at in the fall and winter, and to cheerleading competitions. Most teams practice at least three days a week for about three hours a day in the summer. Many of the teams also attend separate tumbling sessions outside of practice. During the school year cheerleading is a six days a week sport. During competition season it becomes seven days with practice twice a day sometimes. The school spirit aspect of cheerleading involves cheering, supporting, and pumping up the crowd at football games, basketball games, even wrestling meets. With this they also make posters, perform at pep rallies, and bring school spirit to the other students. In May 2009, the National Federation of State High School Associations released the results of their first true high school participation study. They estimate that the number of high school cheerleaders from public high schools is 394,694 cheerleaders. http://www.nfhs.org/web/2009/05/survey_indicates_nearly_400000.aspx The competition aspect makes cheerleading its own sport. There are year-round practices, cheer camps, and competitions through the winter. There are different cheer organizations that put on these competitions, some of the major ones include a state competition and regionals competitions. Many high schools host cheerleading competitions bringing in IHSA judges. The regional competitions are the qualifiers for the national competitions, such as the UCA (Universal Cheerleaders Association) in Orlando, Florida every year Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) 2008. 7 December 2008. http://uca.varsity.com . The competition aspect of cheer can be very enduring, styles and rules changing every year make it important and difficult to find the newest and hottest up coming routines AACCA American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators. 2008. 7 December 2008. http://www.aacca.org/ . Most teams have a professional choreograph their routine in order to ensure they are not breaking any rules and they will be up to par with the other teams. For a list of rules visit AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators) All high school coaches are required to attend an IHSA rules meeting at the beginning of the season. This ensures their knowledge of rules changes and their compliance with these rules. Routines usually last around 2 minutes and 30 seconds and require cheer, dance, jumps, tumbling, and stunting portions. Not all high school cheerleading squads compete in competitions, but all support their schools. All cheerleaders dress in matching uniforms. They do this to look "together" and like a team when performing. "2008 Sun Prairie Coed ESPN Performance." YouTube. 2008. 7 December 2008. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y4jFwmIwhY.

Unlike high school cheerleading, college squads can perform difficult stunts like rewinds, 2 1/2 high pyramids, and flipping and twisting basket tosses. Most college squads don't compete, but a handful of them compete nationally. Top collegiate squads include the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville, Morehead State University, Hawai'i Pacific University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Alabama, and Stephen F. Austin State University.

The USASF hosted the first Cheerleading Worlds on Saturday, April 24, 2004.

In 1993, The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom was an acclaimed TV movie which told the true story of Wanda Holloway, the Texas mother whose obsession with her daughter's cheerleading career made headline news.

Cheerleader Nation is a 60 minute television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to nationals, of which they are the three time champions. This show also explains how cheerleading is a tough sport. This show takes place in Lexington, Kentucky. The team is on a quest to win a third national championship.

There are currently two groups applying for the position: British Cheerleading Association, and British Gymnastics.

Source: Wikipedia > Cheerleading