Your school team is down two points in the final minutes of the basketball game. Everyone is on their feet as the cheerleaders shout and wave their pompoms. Does the cheering essentially help the team shoot the scoring basket?

According to the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF), it does. They believe cheerleading supports the crowd as the cheerers lead in group cheers, bringing unity the school. The WSF also speaks about the details that make an extracurricular activity a sport. The act of forcing a mass in the air, competing against/with an opponent, having a set scale of rules, and competing for the reasons of skill comparisons all play into the role of a qualified sport.

Morgan Stockheimer, a WRHS cheerleader, stands with the fact cheerleading is an actual sport. “Cheerleading is a lot of hard work.” Says Stockheimer, “You have to put a lot of effort in and really practice to get what you need done. It’s not easy do to.”

The controversy of cheerleading being a sport has been around for a long time. While some believe it is a sport, others do not think so. Veronica Moscariello says that cheerleading is nothing more than a distraction to spectators. She believes the cheering does not alter the scores of a game, but causes more pressure to the players. Like Moscariello, others say there is not much physical activity involved. Some say that getting your hair and make-up done for a two and a half minute routine is more of a salon day than a competition.

In a poll of 20 students, it was found that 15 students agree with WSF and Stockheimer while 5 students disagree that cheerleading is not a sport. So is it true, is cheerleading a real sport? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!