That’s how ‘sport’ is defined at dictionary.com. When reading that line, most people think about racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling or wrestling, but no one ever considers cheerleading to be a sport since cheerleading is often defined as "a person who leads spectators in tradition or formal cheering, especially at a pep rally or athletic events" (dictionary.com).

No one ever takes the time to look into what cheerleading really means or what the sport consists of doing. Instead, they just base it upon its name.

According to the Woman’s Sport Foundation, in order to be eligible to be considered a sport, the sport has to be:

-A physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or overcoming the resistance of a mass.

-A contest or competition against or with an opponent.

-Is governed by rules which explicitly

define the time, space and purpose of the contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared the acknowledged primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of the relative skills of the participants.

This foundation would seem to make cheerleading a real sport. Cheerleading consists of gymnastics and people do consider gymnastics a sport.

So if it is considered a sport, and it is incorporated into cheerleading, wouldn’t cheerleading then be a sport?

Whether they perform at games or competitions, cheerleaders will always throw a round off back handspring, a tuck or maybe even put these things together and, at the end, spin a single or double out of it.

In each team, the girls form into groups of four or three, and position themselves into "main base, side base, back spot, and/or front spot."

In the middle of them, there’s another

girl who is called the flyer. The flyer is the one who gets thrown up into the air and performs stunts.

Whether it is a "half, liberty, arabesque, tick-tock" or any of the numerous other tricks they do, going up in the air and

flying takes a lot of skill, motivation and especially determination; not just anyone can pull those things off.

The flyer is also dependent on the girls below her who threw her, because without them she wouldn’t be able to get the height, actually be thrown and be safely caught.

All year long, the cheerleaders practice on their stunts and what some may call their "gymnastics side," which includes back handsprings and tucks, in order to go into competition and be the best out there.

Varela Cheerleading Coach Judy Kubit feels that is important how cheerleading

is defined.

"Yes, it does matter because if people do not consider it a real sport then they won’t take it seriously," she said.

The skills involved in cheerleading leave no doubt that cheerleaders are exceptional athletes.

To perform their activities, they must be as strong as any other football player,

poised as any dancer and as flexible as the best gymnast.

They are athletes by every definition of that word, which also makes cheerleading a sport.