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How Cheerleading Has Evolved

When people think of cheerleading, they usually think of the old days with a squad of girls dancing around waving their arms in the air. Today, competitive cheerleading has evolved into something more than just that. Competition has evolved in the world of cheerleading - it is not about how good looking someone is or how popular they are. Competitive cheerleading is scored subjectively based on many things including, but not limited to, the cheer itself, the dance section, pyramid, stunting, tumbling, and more. The "aesthetic build" of the cheerleader is also looked at, but of course one with a weak build would not be able to do all of those things. In order to prevent injuries, there are certain rules that cheerleading teams have to follow according to their level (high school, all star, or college). According to the Encyclopedia of Sports Medicine, there are two purposes of cheerleading - to cheer on the sidelines for other athletes and to be a "highly skilled competing athlete."

Cheerleading may seem like a light-hearted activity to some, but the injuries that can come from practice or a competition can be severe if the athlete is not properly trained. There have been many catastrophic injuries from cheer, especially from gymnastics and stunting. Because of the lack of studies on injuries in competitive cheerleading, many injuries happen that could be avoided. Most of the studies in sports medicine that have to do with cheerleading are concerned with whether it is a sport or not.