Cheerleading debate focuses on classifications of activity

In the September/October issue of American Cheerleader magazine, 25-year-old actress Ashley Tisdale told readers “to anyone who thinks cheerleading isn’t a sport, I can definitely tell you that it is.” Tisdale plays a cheerleader on the CW show “Hellcats,” which premieres tonight, but her declaration on the spirited sideliners contradicts a recent federal decision.

In late July, a federal judge in Connecticut ruled that cheerleading funding can not be used to satisfy the U.S. Title IX law, which requires the number of men’s and women’s sports teams at public institutions to be equal among other standards. In essence, cheerleading can not be considered a sport under the law.

“Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX,” District Judge Stefan Underhill wrote. “Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students.”

His ruling created two distinct divisions – those who favor cheerleading as a sport and those who do not; however, some people familiar with the activity are speaking up about the difference between recreational cheerleading and competitive cheerleading, providing yet another aspect to consider in the growing debate.


Defining the groups

Jody Melton, one of the owners of Cheer Athletics, Inc. in Garland has been teaching cheerleading for more than 20 years and is also on the board of directors for the United States All-Star Federation, the governing body for all-star cheerleading in the United States. He divides cheerleaders into three essential activities that all go by the name “cheerleading,” but nonetheless vary in format and difficulty.

The first category, recreational cheerleading or “sideline” cheerleading, consists of a group of people at sporting events directing the crowd with chants and cheers. These organized cheerleaders are most commonly seen at high school and college games, and as a visible presence in the community, most cheerleaders get lumped into this category.

Cheerleading has evolved and grown over the years to also include “professional” cheerleading and “competitive” cheerleading. Professional cheerleaders are closer to drill team dancers, because they perform choreographed routines at professional sporting events. Examples include the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, Dallas Mavericks Dancers, Texas Legends Dancers and the Allen American Ice Angels.

While sideline and professional cheerleaders may audition for a spot on the squad, they do not compete with other cheerleaders in the traditional sense of the word. The sole purpose of “all-star” cheerleading teams, or competitive cheerleading, is to win in a judging format similar to gymnastics or diving.

“This is where teams of athletes perform routines, typically 2 – 2.5 minutes in length, where they are judged on both athletic and performance elements,” Melton said. “Occasionally, there are high schools and colleges that compete in this format as well.”

Melton said that this aspect of cheerleading has show tremendous growth in popularity over the last 20 years, but despite its recognition, competition cheerleading has not received the kind of exposure that sideline or professional cheerleaders receive.


Recreational cheerleading

Outside of school, many area cities have created a recreational cheerleading program to support their other recreational sports activities. Plano Sports Authority is one example, which offers cheerleading from pre-kindergarten to eighth grade. Although the PSA website says the purpose of the cheerleading program is “to provide cheerleaders for the PSA football program,” PSA volunteer cheerleading director Cindy Tannehill said the activity has multiple purposes.

“I do not believe that this sends the message that cheerleading is only useful when combined with another sport,” Tannehill said about the cheerleading program’s description. “We are a recreational league that cheers for our football teams. There are many great competitive squads out there, and those girls I consider to be athletes.”

Christy Huck of Prosper has an 8-year-old daughter enrolled in Prosper Youth Sports cheerleading, but she agrees that if her daughter wanted to take it to another level, they would have to look at joining a competitive gym.

“I think if you’re really going to move forward with it, you’re going to need a lot of training,” Huck said. “You may not get as much individual focus that you get in a gym.”

Huck said that recreational cheerleading does develop a sense of pride in the community, where cheerleaders are forced to relate to people on a different skill level. She described it as the fun side of cheerleading.

“With the Prosper cheer, it’s very community based, whereas competitive cheerleading is all about the gym,” she said.

Kayla Pair, 13, cheers on the sideline as an eighth-grader for Brandenburg Middle School in Garland. From her perspective, cheerleading involves a lot more than just clapping and yelling in front of the stands.

“You have to really be in shape,” Pair said and brought up the stunting aspect, which involves base cheerleaders holding or tossing another cheerleader into the air. “It’s really dangerous. If you’re not completely focused and synchronized, there are so many things that can go wrong.”


Competitive cheerleading

For many, the first glance at competitive cheerleading came from the 2000 movie “Bring it On,” where Kirsten Dunst starred in a comedy about a high school cheerleading squad going to the championships. As competitive cheerleading has developed, classes now prepare every age group from pre-school to college-aged for national and even world championships.

“Competition cheerleading involves set teams competing against other similar cheerleader athletes,” Melton said.

Patrice Chattergoon has two daughters at Pro Spirit in McKinney, a competition gym specifically for cheerleaders. She said her girls are at the gym a minimum of three times a week for the two-hour team practices, but she also has them enrolled in private lessons with coaches. Her youngest, a 7-year-old, takes flying lessons, where she learns stretches and techniques for getting tossed in stunts. Her 9-year-old daughter learns gymnastic skills like back hand springs during tumbling lessons.

“It’s a great way to build a support system,” Chattergoon said. “They understand commitment.”

Competitions are synonymous with high ponytails, glittery eye shadow and the gym’s temporary tattoo placed high on the cheekbone. Pro Spirit teams have competed all across Texas from San Antonio to Denton, and during last year’s season, the older girls went to Atlanta, Ga. for the National Competition. With around seven competitions a year, the cost of competitive cheerleading is comparable to having a child in hockey. For parents, this means spending about $10,000 a year per girl.

For girls in elementary school, competitive cheerleading offers the chance to get a head start for middle school cheerleading tryouts. Brenlee Wright, 10, a fifth-grader at Gunstream Elementary in Frisco takes at Pro Spirit to improve on her stunting and tumbling.

“It’s harder than people think it is,” Wright said. “You have to be really flexible and strong.”

Mia Garcia, 15, a sophomore cheerleader at McKinney Boyd High School, explained the difference between cheering for a high school and cheering for a gym.

“Girls that cheer competitively are braver,” Garcia said about the time difference between sideline chants and the structured two and a half minute routine the cheerleaders complete at competitions. “You’re not just going through the motions – you have to go full out. Not everyone can be a cheerleader. You have to be talented, mentally and physically, and you have to have determination.


Cheerleading as a sport

When Judge Underhill was not persuaded that cheerleading was a sport, he was referring specifically to the cheerleading squad at Quinnipiac University and its participation in college cheerleading competitions. Melton said he does not think the judge was referring to cheerleading as a whole, but rather to see if that specific team met the legal Title IX requirements.

“I think that cheerleaders should be careful what they wish for in this particular case,” Melton said. “Being classified as a Title IX-compliant sport and following specific NCAA guidelines certainly comes with some benefits, but there are drawbacks as well.”

Those benefits include increased scholarship opportunities for female cheerleaders, but they could come at the expense of other collegiate scholarships. Also, the NCAA guidelines could potentially put serious limitations on cheerleaders in college as it becomes more regulated.

Still, Melton is reluctant to abandon the idea that competitive cheerleading, different from halftime dance routines or sideline chants, should be considered a sport in the traditional sense of the word.

“The subset of ‘cheerleading’ that includes all-star cheerleading and competition teams at schools like the one in the court case, do actually compete against each other under a specific format with set rules and guidelines,” he said. “If gymnastics, diving, ice skating, power tumbling and the majority of the events at the X Games are sports, then competition cheerleading should certainly be considered a sport as well.”

Melton said it’s easy to see why people are reluctant to see cheerleading as a sport, if they have only ever been exposed to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders or cheerleaders on the sidelines of football games.

“Those cheerleaders can be incredibly talented and what they do can be incredibly difficult, but without a competition element, you can’t really consider those aspects to be sports,” Melton said.

Chattergoon explained competitive cheerleading as another aspect of gymnastics, where a cheerleader does not have to compete individually, but instead, has the support of 20 other girls beside her.

“They’re performing the same skills that a gymnast would do,” she said. “It is definitely a sport; it’s just team gymnastics.”

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