Talk:Cheerleading/Archive 2

Sport & POV

 * According to the Wikipedia article on Sport, Cheer qualifies. What we DO NOT need is a threatening comment in the article. This has the same effect as trolling (and attracts trolls). Yes, there is controversy about the sport-status of cheer. By and large, it is considered a sport, as referenced, and as per Wiki's own definitions. Think about it, too; Poker is now on ESPN...
 * I archived the extremely long talk page.
 * That's enough WikiDragoning and Being Bold for me for now.
 * VigilancePrime 16:56, 24 September 2007 (UTC)


 * "...most quintessential of American sports"?
 * Now come on... I agree that Cheer is a sport. I (assistant) coached Cheer. Cheer is great. But much of this article sounds like it was written by a middle school squad through text messages. This page has a lot of good information, but needs a total rewrite to remove POV, better arrange reference locations (referencing paragraphs instead of words), and I don't think the photos are quite right either. While the VAST majority of Cheerers are from schools, only one photo is arguably a school cheer team (and the photo info says nothing about that).
 * This article is good, don't get me wrong, but needs a huge overhaul and, at a very start, toning down the POV-like statements.
 * VigilancePrime 18:32, 24 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I reverted an edit that italicized the word "sport." It is edits like this that make Cheerleaders and Cheer supporters look childish and un-sport-like. It gives a "whiney" appearance to Cheerers and Cheer itself. It reinforces the stereotype. That's the same reason I took out the threatening commented-out notation of "DO NOT CHANGE FROM 'SPORT' as proper citation which meets WP:RS has been provided. Violations will be considered deliberate vandalism."
 * In order for others to take Cheer seriously and professionally, we - everyone and anyone pushing for it to be taken seriously and professionally - must act serious and professional. Threats, extreme-POV, POV-pushing, and all the like do not help the cause, they hurt it instead. It's just like any other stereotype about race, gender, region, accent, etc. If you act like the stereotype, you justify it in the minds of people who see you doing it. The only way to effectively combat a stereotype is to prove it wrong in action; words do not work.
 * I'm not trying to be on a soapbox here, but please take to heart these words so we can make this article better, more informative, and more professional in look, phrasing, and tone. VigilancePrime 02:40, 25 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I reverted it again. Please stop. If you're a proponent of Cheer, you're hurting the cause you support. If you're a vandal, I'll mark you as such. Either way, please stop. VigilancePrime 21:02, 25 September 2007 (UTC)


 * "...most quintessential of American sports" is a DIRECT QUOTE used in the correct context from the cited Newsweek Source . I have copy edited the sentence in a manner that hopefully expresses WP:NPOV better, while still maintaining the main idea of the article that this is take from. MsDivagin 03:42, 25 September 2007 (UTC)


 * That's much better. If we're quoting (especially an opinion or a subjective observation/assessment), we need to indicate so, and you did that perfectly. That's much better now and I/we thank you. VigilancePrime 21:02, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Recent edit by 75.137.121.165: "Cheerleading is now officially considered a sport."
 * By whom? The status is hotly contested and a statement like this requires a credible 'official' reference.  Also that sentence, if backed up, was ill-placed ruining the accuracy and flow of the history section.  Cheerleading definitely wasn't a sport at its beginnings in the 19th Century and only began approaching becoming one in the last few decades.Thinkbui 00:46, 26 September 2007 (UTC)

cheerleading isn't in the Olympics thus it aint a sport. Since wiki is international it would have to be considered a sport by more than americans —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.26.111.9 (talk) 19:27, 15 October 2007 (UTC)
 * That's an incredibly weak argument. For starters, one sport that isn't an Olympic sport is American football.  Secondly, it's not just in the U.S. that people consider cheerleading a sport.  Take the U.K. for example.Thinkbui 09:12, 16 October 2007 (UTC)
 * I think most people in the UK would scoff at the idea of cheerleading as a sport. Goldbringer (talk) 00:47, 30 November 2007 (UTC)

As a UK University cheerleader, I think you'll find that there is a large number of us in the UK that think cheerleading is a sport. I think you should also do some research into the growing number of cheerleaders and squads in the UK before you make off-handed comments like that. Check out the British Cheerleading Association (BCA) and Future Cheer websites. Both British cheerleading organisations. —Preceding unsigned comment added by CheerKnight (talk • contribs) 19:22, 13 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Get some perspective. Cheerleading is such a minority activity in the UK, that the vast majority of people are unaware that it even happens here.  It has about as much impact in the UK as cricket does in the US. 91.109.167.176 (talk) 23:59, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

This article appears to me to be written by a group of cheerleaders who wish to prove their point by backing it up with "proof" by having Wikipedia say it is a sport. The reason that American Football isn't in the Olympics, is because, really no other country plays the game, NFL Europe can't compete with the USA, and that is it for football abroad, so simply if by having a competition between the two, we would simply see the NFL beat NFL Europe year after year. Until some "High Authority" rules it a sport, I believe then it is against Wikipedia policy to continue to have the page rule it as a sport, as this information is incorrect as it hasn't been ruled a sport by some High Authority.--ItsYourEmpire09 (talk) 03:41, 25 March 2008 (UTC)


 * We have multiple reliable sources indicating that it is a sport. Without a reliable source indicating otherwise, the article will refer to it as such.  --Yamla (talk) 04:13, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Your sources fail to offer more than convincing proof that it is a sport. Where is a pro league of cheerleaders? I never hear about cheerleading in my local newspaper's sports section. And I never have seen a single news story on Cheerleaders winning the 'State Competition'. You have yet to prove your case, your sources are less than reliable to me. --ItsYourEmpire09 (talk) 16:25, 26 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Wikipedia works according to policies and guidelines such as WP:V, WP:RS, and WP:CITE and does not have to convince you of anything. Indeed, we have a policy against original research.  --Yamla (talk) 16:34, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

Now this this debate has appeared to be resolved (unless there is another NPOV issue) I will remove the NPOV notice. 193.171.84.30 (talk) 09:26, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Why is there four different sources pointing out that this is a sport? Isn't this a bit excessive, making this article seem like it was written by the aforementioned girls with texting? One or two should suffice. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.108.47.222 (talk) 00:08, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

"Cheerleading is a sport[1] that uses organized routines that range from 1 minute to 3 minutes made from elements of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games and matches and/or compete at cheerleading competitions. Cheerleaders draw attention to the event and encourage audience participation. The athlete involved is called a cheerleader."

The 1 to 3 min reference only applies if the team is doing a routine. Cheerleaders generally continously perform throughout entire games... Statement should be removed Psignosys (talk) 17:44, 14 April 2009 (UTC)psignosys

If you go on the theory above marching band is a sport —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.229.251.100 (talk) 15:21, 6 February 2010 (UTC)

You lot can belive what you want but the key thing about a "sport" is it is competative and involves victory and defeat, cheerleading is not a sport unless you make it a competition, the vast majorety of cheerleading is a performance, not competition. Don't try to blatently confuse the English language by manipulating it based upon personal prejudice, you don't get ballet dancers calling that a sport yet they are evey bit as fit and healthy as an athelete, furthermore ballet is no less of a worthwhile an activity for not being a sport. If you want cheerleading to be a higher form of itself you can go for "artform" like any other performing art.

Oh and also quoting a few journalists is not the only steps one takes when changing the DEFINITION of a word

Some of you are frankly missing the point of language itself, by your definition we may as well just have one noun in the english language that encompasses all activities.

DarkShroom (talk) 23:15, 26 March 2010 (UTC)

Photos

 * First of all, to MsDivagin, I wanted to explain why I swapped the images (and if you disagree, let me know and we can work this; it's minor difference): Seeing as how youth cheer presents the vast number of cheerleaders (and skews the gender statistics depending on the 18-year-old line... 50%-ish of cheerers above and 98%-ish below being female IIRC), I felt that the lead photo would best be of a youth-aged group. Whether from a school, public organization's cheer group (as that image is), Pop Warner, etc., makes less of a difference. The intent in moving the college photo to the schools section was so that eventually that section could be further subdivided into a MS, HS, College section set and that photo used as the prime example of college. I'm moving them back with that reasoning in mind, and because, as a side note, I feel that the general first thought when one hears "Cheerleading" is of high school and that age-era rather than college and professional (which is only arguably cheer sometimes and places). [Side note, I think your work and edits are great! Don't think anything else of my comments or edits! You are a great, great help/contributor to this page and I/we thank you!!!]


 * On a wholly separate note, the TO-DO list for this page mentions photos. Are we serious editors (of vandal opinions I/we am/are not concerned) wanting more photos, better photos, or specific photos? If the latter of the three, specifically what do we want? I have a couple and have worked recently at Wiki on getting/producing photos (see my talk page for examples). With perhaps better discussions (and hence this section on this talk page) we can get those things accomplished and drastically upgrade this article!


 * VigilancePrime 05:14, 26 September 2007 (UTC)


 * 1. Thanks for the compliment, cheerleading is my job, my love, my life and my passion...
 * 2. I am a cheerleading industry insider...coached youth rec. league, high school, and allstars; judge nationally; teams competed at worlds and final destination-won there 4 times; am personally acquainted with the people and teams you see on ESPN and in American Cheerleader (some of them are on my speed dial!) So the perception of cheerleading as a whole is very important to me.  But, as a Wikipedian, I do want to present a fair, accurate and unbiased portrayal of the topic.
 * 3. The reason that I switched the photos is the way cheerleading as a whole is being represented in the Youth Cheer photo. Although the image of young girls with pom pons in hand cheering on there team is what may pop in to the general public's mind when thinking of cheerleading (the stereotype), in the current cheer world as a whole, it is far from the reality. The reality of cheerleading is that with more than 1.8 million all star cheerleaders out of a an estimated 3.8 million cheerleaders world wide, they are currently the largest segment of cheerleading and also the fastest growing in terms of number of participants worldwide.  With the inclusion of extreme stunts and tosses, elite level tumbling skills and precision dancing all common place now, competitive cheerleadings' athleticism is the new face of cheerleading, and the driving force behind its gradual recognition as a sport.  This athleticism has in turn trickled down to the sidelines of your local school or youth league.  It is now common place to see some of these same stunts, tosses and tumbling on the sidelines at your local football game.  I feel that the first image on the page needs to appropriately reflect this level of skill and athleticism, the age & type of team being show really don't matter as much to me.  I don't want the first image that someone sees, who may have no background information on cheerleading at all, to reinforce the stereotype that the cheerleading community has fought so hard to separate itself from. (In short...give me a lead-off picture of a bunch of girls showing athleticism i.e. stunting, tossing or tumbling and I'm there!) MsDivagin 00:50, 27 September 2007 (UTC)


 * I totally agree! What we need is a good photo of youth cheerleaders in a formation or in action stunting. Something more than a cellphone camera or a Kodak disposable. A nice photo of youth cheerleaders in motion. I don't think the one necessarily reinforces negative aspects of cheer stereotypes, but I understand how a better, more active photo would be preferred. I don't have nearly the background or impetus to the be involved in the subject, but was put into the interest far more subtly. Anyway, the whole article has a long developmental road ahead of it as it stands now. VigilancePrime 01:07, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

Popular Culture
why no mention of the cheerleader from Heroes? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.26.111.9 (talk) 19:29, 15 October 2007 (UTC)


 * I don't know. Season 1 of Heroes was heavily billed under the tagline "Save the cheerleader, save the world," but the show really isn't about her being a cheerleader and more about her being one of a hand full having special powers and her background only happens to include cheerleading.  At the same time, you could make the argument that because of that popular tagline and the identification of her being a cheerleader makes her worthy of a mention.Thinkbui 09:41, 16 October 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Bringitonmovieposter.jpg
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BetacommandBot 22:31, 29 October 2007 (UTC)

NFL Cheerleading
Regarding GMSbabe73's addition concerning the New England Colts cheerleading, I can not find any reference material that says the Colts program was ever located in New England, so I've commented the addition out. If it is true and you have a source to verify it, please add the reference.Thinkbui 23:24, 4 November 2007 (UTC)


 * Found something. Baltimore Colts, not NE Colts.Thinkbui 23:38, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

Competitive v. School
I believe that we need to make seperate pages for competitive and school cheer. They're different. I would, but I do not know enough about it.Dramaticaddict18923 (talk) 17:27, 4 March 2008 (UTC)
 * I assume you mean "All-Star v. School Sponsored"? I agree that they are two different things, but based on my understanding of the two, I could only describe the differences in a few sentences and I personally feel there needs to be more than that to split the two categories.  The way I see it is that they are fundamentally the same differing only the situations surrounding execution not unlike the difference between, say, boys' and girls' hockey (style of play, governing rules, etc).  I don't know everything though.  What are your thoughts of how each page should look if we split?Thinkbui (talk) 00:00, 5 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Whoever made that types of cheer section got the point. This is exactly what I was talking about.  They got it, and did it well.  Dramaticaddict18923 (talk) 02:18, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

Here's what I know about cheerleading, as my girlfriend is a school cheerleader. All-Star Cheerleading, or cheerleading for competetive gyms, consists of boys and girls while school cheerleading is mainly girls. Allstar is also more so like gymnastics, with less cheers; but more dances and stunts and tumbling. School cheerleaders, if good enough, will compete in similar competitions against other schools, but mainly spend their time cheering on the sidelines. - Tarheelz123 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.167.245.190 (talk) 22:42, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

Psignosys (talk) 12:59, 6 January 2009 (UTC)Psignosys I dont agree with the differences in male/female count in different teams. In fact I have seen cases where the reverse to be true.

In terms of types of cheerleading there are many tiers:

School: These teams are supported by the institution (Middle School, High School, Collegiate, etc) The team's primary obligation is to support its mascot during various institutional events (as seen fit by the adminstration). They may not necesarily compete. Recreational: These are generally supported by the township (such as pop warner). Typically to support a football team. These teams generally do not compete (but are eligible to do so). Competitive: There are two major divisions which exist under this catagory. All-star and School Affiliated Divisions (predominantly HS and college in the US). All star divisions primarily consist of privately organized teams which have no affiliation with any school or sports team. School divisions have additional requirements such a proof of attendance, age (for collegiate teams), and in some competitions GPA.

Within each division there are various "levels" which cap the difficulty level of stunt/tumbling allowed to be executed on the floor. This give teams the choice to choose the level competitiveness to compete in. Psignosys (talk) 12:59, 6 January 2009 (UTC)Psignosys

Why are School and High School cheerleading separated? The highschool portion has several links which lead to varsity and it subsidiaries. Seems like a marketing scheme to me (I mean I loved being UCA staff but)... It needs to go Psignosys (talk) 13:04, 6 January 2009 (UTC) Psignosys


 * I agree that it's redundant, but after a couple of years on vandalism patrol on this page, I've lost motivation for copyeditting anything that long. See the "High School Cheerleading" topic below for more on this subject.Thinkbui (talk) 13:56, 6 January 2009 (UTC)

Merging material in...
In an effort to address POV, I'm going to merge in the relevant content from Kristi Yamaoka and redirect that article. The repercussions of the incident are much more important than who it happened to (and there's no bio data in her article anyway). MSJapan (talk) 19:29, 21 March 2008 (UTC)


 * Good addition, but way too much detail about only one incident. Please summarize.Thinkbui (talk) 19:55, 21 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Done. I don't think it can really get any shorter than that - the incident and results should be two different paragraphs. MSJapan (talk) 21:11, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

angles
angles wone 4 or 5 place in browrd —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.110.138.130 (talk) 21:19, 3 May 2008 (UTC)
 * What? Tarheelz123 (talk) 23:43, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Gymnastics
While surely gymnastics is a part of cheerleading, why is this article a part of wikiproject gymnastics? Surely cheerleading, as a large, international sport, like gymnastics, should have it's own project. 193.171.84.30 (talk) 09:29, 2 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Agreed. I think that WikiProject:Cheerleading should be created. Willthacheerleader18 (talk) 18:49, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

Merger proposal
I have never been satisfied with the Kristi Yamaoka article. It is definitely not a biographical article, and her notability is for being involved in a cheerleading accident. There's no more bio information in that article than there was three days after the incident two years ago, but it has plenty of usable information, some of which is already in the "Dangers of cheerleading" section (which I added per request). I'd like to therefore make the merge "official" by proposing that all the pertinent info from the Yamaoka article be merged into the Dangers of cheerleading section here. MSJapan (talk) 18:18, 3 August 2008 (UTC)


 * So you're thinking it should be merged based upon WP:ONEEVENT? It really depends.  I'm hardly a cheerleading enthusiast beyond school spirit and, well, thinking with a certain part of my anatomy, but if her name has become synonymous with the event much like Steve Bartman and the imfamous foul ball from 5 years ago, then a separate article could be justified, but the content on this page should be scaled back if that is the case.  Either way it would have to depend on how central or marginal she is viewed by people in general, not just cheerleaders.Thinkbui (talk) 20:54, 3 August 2008 (UTC)
 * The current level of Google hits seems to indicate biographical marginality - to be honest, there has been nothing written on her outside of accident reporting. For example, a reader of her article doesn't even get basic info about where she is from, and I'm pretty sure her DOB was extrapolated from her year in college as opposed to what any of the articles said.  Her fall was obviously notable (plenty of sources, definite impact on sport) but she as an individual clearly isn't. MSJapan (talk) 22:27, 4 August 2008 (UTC)

I believe that she deserves to keep her own page. After her fall she has been noted as a famous cheerleader; its the equivalent of taking Tiger Woods and merging him into golf or Sherapova and merging her into Tennis. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarheelz123 (talk • contribs) 22:48, 1 September 2008 (UTC)


 * I wouldn't think those are equivalent. Using your examples, Sharapova and Woods are famous for their careers, but Yamaoka is only famous for her fall.


 * Let's start looking at it this way: Woods and Sharapova definitely deserve their own pages as their notability extends to people who aren't golf or tennis fans thanks to their respective resumés with continued high performance and achievements not to mention commercial advertising and other pop culture appearances. Does Yamaoka mean anything to people who aren't either fans of her or cheerleading and does she have something other than that fall on her resumé that would be well known among these people?Thinkbui (talk) 02:40, 3 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Oppose I have been adding to the article Kristi Yamaoka which is now well-sourced and satisfactory in providing good coverage of this notable person. A merger is inappropriate as cheerleading is a huge topic and should not be overloaded with lots of detail about its many participants. Colonel Warden (talk) 08:21, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
 * Comment I do not believe the Kristi Yamaoka article yet passes WP:BLP1E, and thus I do not believe it should be kept. I would like to commend Colonel Warden for improving the Kristi Yamaoka article, but I believe it does not pass WP:BLP1E, because the information on it about Yamaoka's life outside the context of the fall is based upon one source that is offering trivial coverage.  I am not trying to start another discussion about whether the Kristi Yamaoka article should be deleted.  My intention behind this statement is merely to counter-argue the point Colonel Warden made above for the benefit of other people who are reading this section of the talk page.  I would also like to state that I am sure that not all of the info on Kristi Yamaoka's article would be transfered here if a merger occured; only info relevant to the fall would be copied over.  JEdgarFreeman (talk) 14:20, 9 September 2008 (UTC)

Famous Cheerleaders section
It seems of late that anyone and everyone's been adding to the list of famous cheerleaders. While they may be noteworthy, I'm not sure very many of them are prominent enough to be placed here rather than just the List of cheerleaders page and this section is getting disproportionately lengthy compared to the rest of the article. I suggest that it be cleaned up removing most of them and adding them to the other page if they aren't already there.Thinkbui (talk) 05:23, 12 August 2008 (UTC)
 * Agree I'm going to use the fact flag on those I can't find reference in their wiki articles.--Sultec (talk) 14:06, 30 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I checked all the names against their articles and 23 out of 41 have no mention of cheerleading activities. I suggest waiting 5 days and then removing those unsourced names. Probably should put the whole section under the cheerleader list. --Sultec (talk) 06:49, 31 October 2008 (UTC)
 * I agree, we should put the entire section under the list of cheerleaders, because even if we did find sources for every one of those people, that would be a lot of references that don’t really contribute to the main topic. --ITasteLikePaint (talk) 16:10, 2 November 2008 (UTC)
 * A surprising number of names were referenced in The Guardian and About.com. I added references to those currently on the list but not all that the references had since this section is somewhat a waste of bandwidth. --Sultec (talk) 21:37, 3 November 2008 (UTC)

I removed the section on famous cheerleaders and will add them to the separate list article. There seems to be so many that it just clutters up this article. It seems that any persons mentioned in this section should have more substantial coverage of their cheerleading contributions than just their name. --Sultec (talk) 21:25, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

Protection
I haven’t been a contributor to Wikipedia for long, but I am already sick of everyday checking my watched pages list and seeing that somebody has had to revert vandalism on this article. I believe that this article is exactly the kind of article that the protection guidelines were designed for and therefore I move that it be placed under semi-protection. —Preceding unsigned comment added by ITasteLikePaint (talk • contribs) 08:07, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Support I have placed a request for indefinite semiprotection at Requests_for_page_protection --Sultec (talk) 14:41, 15 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Request has been declined, apparently "not enough recent activity". Ah, well, gives us practice using the anti vandalism tools.--Sultec (talk) 20:00, 15 November 2008 (UTC)

High School Cheerleading
I disagree, I think that the article was fine as it was and that the added High School Cheerleading section is redundant as it doesn't say anything that you can't find in the article elsewhere. --ITasteLikePaint (talk) 06:03, 8 December 2008 (UTC)

List of UK cheerleading squad
I removed this list... It is a SPAM magnet... Its a bit short sighted to list teams just from the UK... I'm sure there are thousands of squads in the UK alone... Listing every squad in every division (school/allstar/township) in various countries is not necesary in this article... - Psignosys —Preceding unsigned comment added by Psignosys (talk • contribs) 17:25, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

UK Cheerleading
This sections violates wikipedias international neutrality policy and has been removed.. - Psignosys —Preceding unsigned comment added by Psignosys (talk • contribs) 17:28, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Picture captions changed
Wikipedia is not a site to advertise/promote any single/particular organization. Please make your captions neutral. I have removed any references to any particular school, organization, or squad.... it is a spam magnet... dont do it..Psignosys (talk) 22:24, 14 April 2009 (UTC)

Please see other sports topics soccer, golf, gymnastics, etc... note the neutrality of the photo captions, most do not caption any specific entities. Since the article it-self already has its international neutrality disputed, (photos/caption only relatign to teams in that states) please only post neutral captions.. Psignosys (talk) 00:06, 16 April 2009 (UTC)

Are there enough articles on this subject to justify an Outline of cheerleading?
Here's a discussion about subject development you might find interesting.

The Transhumanist 23:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Cheerleading as a US Sport
It really is only recognised in the US as a sport, as per the first reference cited (that it's a sport at all). This article also starts off with the disclaimer that it's about the US-style sport, and then is completely and utterly *only* about the US rules, where it's played (US schools) and so forth.

Also, while there *might* be cheerleading in other countries, note that the reference for the fact it's "played" in other countries (ref 3) is really only that other countries are competing in the "Worlds" - which are hosted by, amazingly, the U.S. All Star Federation (USASF). That sounds, to me, like a US-defined sport.

I don't have a clue, but I'm doubtful there's a proper international governing body (like, say, for soccer, cricket, etc), and not one that is just strongly tied to a US based federation.

The article itself even notes cheerleading isn't a sport in the UK, and without any federations in any other countries, or it being *recognised* in any other counties, I don't see why it is considered an international sport.

Finally, not sure of the harm in saying it's a US sport, you'd hardly call American Football anything much other than a US sport, would you?

But if it *is* an international sport, and i'm wrong, then this article is too strongly US-flavoured, and should really have, at the least, sections like "cheerleading in Ecuador" and so forth. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.198.215.206 (talk) 19:43, 8 September 2009 (UTC)


 * Normally I would have reverted the change to identify it has specifically US and asked that we complete a full discussion here first, but I stopped caring about a year ago.


 * Anyways, there are international bodies for cheerleading, but they are mostly loose in their governing since it's not an organized sport. In addition, competitive cheerleading does exist in other countries including the UK, but they're not as well known because, as you note, the US dominates and it's mostly people from the US passionate enough to copyedit here.  I suppose we could look those orgs up, but I'm going to leave that up to the editors who are cheerleaders.


 * I suppose the comparison between cheerleading and football works and is good enough reason for me for adding "US", but one thing you should note is that the only reason we call it "American Football" is because it is a spinoff of "Association Football" or Soccer while cheerleading isn't a spinoff of something else. Though to be fair, there is that relationship internally as spirit cheerleading came first and competitive cheerleading is it's spinoff.Thinkbui (talk)

From one of those editors mentioned above who is a cheerleader-There is an international governing body for cheerleading. Actually, there are two. The IASF (International All-Star Federation) is the International Governing agency for All-Star/Club Cheer. It CO-HOSTS Worlds with the USASF. The International Cheer Union is a worldwide governing body for all types of cheerleading. Countries must have a National Organization of some sort to join(the ICU will help start one) and each member receives a vote in congress. The ICU also hosts a worlds, where countries only assemble and send only one team. Cheerleading is still very new in many countries, however is becoming very prominent there. I definitely am in support of adding a section about cheering in other countries

Cheerleading in the 2012 Olympics
I call bollocks on that. What next, hacky-sack? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.198.215.206 (talk) 19:49, 8 September 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't know and I really don't care. All I will say is that judging of competitive cheerleading is similar to that of figure skating.Thinkbui (talk) 20:24, 8 September 2009 (UTC)

Sport Debate and Sterotypes
the "Sport debate and stereotypes" section is totally non-npov and should be deleted or a least heavily revised-- —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.73.176.20 (talk) 07:06, 24 November 2009 (UTC)


 * I can see how it might need work since I stopped caring about maintaining this page shortly after I put that section in there. Having the section is fine.  I undid a couple of recent edits that made the section too favorable for the "sport" proponents.  Not sure if anything else needs to be undone.  I'll take a closer look sometime next week.Thinkbui (talk) 08:12, 24 November 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't know, but a lot of the problem here is that know one can agree on any of it. It's almost like one big edit war between those who consider it a sport and those who do not consider it a sport. Some regions indeed officially label it as a sport, and there's reportedly some regions where it is not officially considered a sport. I don't know how wide spread the issue is, but I do know that there's a chainletter distributed by cheerleaders to come to Wikipedia and vandalize articles related to cheerleading and the cheerleaders' schools, and apparently this results in a lot of the "hi"s, hearts, and mentions of non-notables, and may also be the reason for the anti-cheerleading comments. Basically, a few trolls who just happen to be cheerleaders have created a botnet without the viruses; a 4chan style attack at the project for some wierd reason. Best way to handle them is to revert, block, and ignore with an occasional abuse report here and there. PCHS-NJROTC  (Messages) 20:47, 25 November 2009 (UTC)

Cheerleading as a sport
According to this article (http://cheerleading.about.com/od/skillsandabilities/a/031002a.htm) and the Women's Sports Foundation, only competitive cheerleading is considered a sport since a sport is defined as an activity with set rules that is performed between two teams in which a mass is moved. Cheerleading on the sidelines of an athletic game (to jazz up spectators) is not considered a sport since the cheerleading squad in that case is not competing against any other team. RyanGFilm (talk) 04:44, 5 April 2010 (UTC)


 * According to this ruling by a judge, competitive cheerleading is not a sport: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38347400/?GT1=43001 This makes me really mad, as I am a cheerleader. Willthacheerleader18 (talk) 22:34, 21 July 2010 (UTC)

no feminist movements opposing it?
surprised it's not anywhere in the article sourced. --212.54.219.14 (talk) 16:42, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

=aacca study= Should we really be using their study if that company is owned by Varsity75.84.166.144 (talk) 07:53, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

Cheerleading vs. Stripping
What about "sexiness" in cheerleading? At the very least in popular culture, but also in general the amount of clothing, and the type of moves, have become more sexually suggestive. Haven't they? See: The Replacements (film) --Dwarf Kirlston 16:16, 4 November 2007 (UTC)


 * As we all (hopefully) know, TV is not reality. Not by a long shot.
 * NFHS has very specific rules about cheerleading clothing and how much skin is and is not allowed. No strippers in high school cheer. While All-Star programs are generally free to do what they wish, they still must have a program in which parents willingly let their children participate.
 * Colleges have rules but also more freedom, but comparing even college cheerers to strippers I think is highly argumentative and (intentionally?) inflammatory.
 * Now whether or not "professional" cheerleaders really even qualify as cheerleading is up for debate anyway. I don't think a comparison of "pro cheer" to strippers is warranted either even if you do consider pro sport sideline and dance teams to be cheerleaders.
 * But please don't compare real-life cheer to movies... especially something like that (whereas the Bring it On movies are at least somewhat realistic...somewhat).
 * VigilancePrime 19:57, 4 November 2007 (UTC)
 * TV and Reality are different articles, that is a fact.
 * pro sport sideline and dance teams - is there a wikipedia article on those? There should at least be a link to them.--Dwarf Kirlston 20:24, 5 November 2007 (UTC)

let me quote: "The cheerleaders release an annual swimsuit calendar." - from NFL Cheerleading - seems that the two, Cheerleading and "Sensual Dancing" are somewhat related, that some sexualization of cheerleading has happened - right?

I tried to find a mention of pro dance teams but was unable to. Could someone help me?

What about cheerleading in NBA? I found no mention of it in the NBA article

--Kiyarr lls ton 01:13, 3 January 2008 (UTC)

I would like to add to the statment above that All-Star cheerleaders are most certainly NOT allowed to do anything they wish. Judges DO deduct vulgarity points for moves they deem inappropriate. Also, it is illegal to remove any article of clothing while on the competition floor for any purpose, even it it is intended to be used as s prop. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kirsten5400 (talk • contribs) 20:31, 3 April 2010 (UTC)


 * NBA Cheerleading, CFL Cheerleading, and NFL Cheerleading are more of dancers or pom squads than cheerleaders.. but to compare them to stripping is rediculous. --74.167.245.190 (talk) 21:54, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Dangerous?
I remember a documentary that covered how dangerous the aerial maneuvers could be, especially in competitive cheering. If I remember correctly cheerleading had more very serious injuries than football. A section on that aspect by sombody with good sources would be great. —MJBurrage(T•C) 04:54, 27 January 2008 (UTC)

A breakdown of the type of injuries that happen and why they happen would be good here - as well as what coaches do to prevent them. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Emma Rocket (talk • contribs) 01:36, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

The conception that cheerleading is no more than just standing on the sidelines and looking cute is very much offending to those that actually participate in the sport. More than 50% of all injuries in female sports are related to cheerleading alone. Sure, basketball players throw a ball around while cheerleaders are throwing around people who are flipping in the air and who are literaly risking their lives. In the past couple of years, cheerleading is becoming more popular and more respected because of the risks that the cheerleaders face and they risk that comes while cheering on their team. CNP93 (talk) 00:33, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

If its only 3% of Female sports at the moment, due to the dangers, then it must be LESS popular, not more.

A little clarification-That 3% only applies to high school athletes be because those are the only teams that have to produce records. Cheerleaders make up only 3% of high school female athletes. Which makes sense if you think about it. A 20 person cheerleading squad vs. a 40 person track team. But, that 3% produces 50% of all injuries. All-Star is very fast growing with an ESTIMATED 1.5 million participants and more joining every year. But there's no way to know exactly how many All-Star cheerleaders there are or how they compare to say, female club soccer players, travel softball players or competitive swimmers as you can do with state regulated high school teams Kirsten5400 (talk) 20:55, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Internationalisation and History
This article presents the view that the concept of standing in front of a crowd of spectators and leading a cheer was first invented in America in modern times. It might merely be that the authors wished to portray the history, specifically, of American cheerleading, and neglected to use the word 'American' in the relevent titles.

I am adding a link to the article pertaining to Japanese Ōendan, as this is the form of cheer leading that I do, and thus know about. Unless you have studied Japanese culture in rather a lot of depth, and are thus already familiar with the word "Ōendan", you will need a link from this page to locate it, and there should be a link anyway, because it is cheerleading.

There might be a great many interesting and varied forms of cheerleading around the world, but they are not written about on this page. Ampitheatres, anyone? --

The disambiguation is just a link, now, assuming it will become a page once editors from other countries discuss their own nation's cheerleading traditions.

"U.S. style cheerleading" might be better phrased with a more technical term? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 218.47.214.214 (talk) 07:01, 16 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Making a disambiguation page might be beneficial to differentiate competitive cheerleading to the more traditional sideline cheerleading/entertainment. Ifc-international (talk) 04:57, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

Cheerleading World Championships
Is this a big event? There is no mention about this competition in the article. - Lapinmies 14:08, 18 November 2007 (UTC)
 * An entry has now been included for the Cheerleading World Championships (CWC)Ifc-international (talk) 05:13, 12 October 2010 (UTC)

It is THE cheerleading event! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.24.198.10 (talk) 01:25, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Worlds doesnt mean anything if you are a collegiate cheerleader (This article may require differentiation between various competitions)... UCA/NCA college nationals would be THE holy grail for any college team... This would also be true for co-ed partner stunters. Psignosys (talk) 12:20, 6 January 2009 (UTC) Psignosys
 * The Cheerleading Worlds is a huge deal for high school and allstar teams, especially all star cheerleaders. --74.167.245.190 (talk) 21:55, 12 August 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from 24.138.52.128, 14 October 2010
There is no mention of the young women who have suffered death or paralysis from this sport.

24.138.52.128 (talk) 02:30, 14 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Red question icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please be more specific about what needs to be changed. Thanks, Stickee (talk)  02:58, 14 October 2010 (UTC)

I think that cheerleading is a sport. It doesn't matter if you don't compete in competitions. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Krashlandon (talk • contribs) 01:22, 7 December 2010 (UTC)

Edit request from Woody4040, 14 October 2010
under all star divisions, one division needs to be added per the USASF divisions guidelines. the "special needs" division needs to be added. this can be verified on their website www.usasf.net, click on safety tab then go to age grid.

Woody4040 (talk) 05:27, 14 October 2010 (UTC)
 * Done. Hopefully correctly. :-) If not, please suggest specific wording to change. Thanks. -Atmoz (talk) 00:14, 15 October 2010 (UTC)

Inconsistency on sport issue
The beginning of the article is confusing because at first it says that cheerleading is a physical activity, and is sometimes considered a sport, the introduction later says "The growing presentation of the sport to a global audience" this clearly contradictory statement undermines the article. This not meant to open the discussion on whether cheerleading is a sport but the article needs to have internal consistency —Preceding unsigned comment added by Awgames (talk • contribs) 23:45, 12 November 2010 (UTC)
 * Clarified. Fat&amp;Happy (talk) 16:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Just a suggestion to add into the sport section, how about the definition of sport. sport /[spawrt, spohrt]/ noun.- an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. source: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sport. I feel by adding this, it can really open up a discussion that would raise up more question of other actvities that maybe considered a sport or may not be that should be. Jn09 (talk) 08:10, 16 March 2011 (UTC)
 * The purpose of Wikipedia is not to "really open up a discussion", but it is somewhat surprising that there was no internal link to the sport article. Fixed. Fat&amp;Happy (talk) 16:24, 16 March 2011 (UTC)

Wikiproject
I think it would be reasonable for Cheerleading to have it's own wikiproject instead of being part of wikiproject gymnastics.. any opposed? --Willthacheerleader18 (talk) 23:49, 24 November 2010 (UTC)

Category:WikiProject Cheerleading

I have to agree with you, since many do say they are two completely different activites. Each also requiring different skills..it would make sense for each to have their own wikiproject. Jn09 (talk) 16:59, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

Edit request from Jn09, 21 March 2011
edit semi-protected

There is on going stereotype that cheerleading is a feminine sport, which would mean either all girl team or gives the aspect that any male cheerleaders would be of gay sexual orientation. That is not likely the case, just for being a male cheerleader does not mean a male is not straight. Male cheerleaders actually bring a lot of skill onto the teams, and push the team to higher skill levels. "Male cheerleaders are more than just a group of guys shouting cheers on the sidelines. Guy cheerleaders are actually what help cheerleading squads have more skillful stunts, higher baskets, and top notch pyramids" http://www.cheerleading.org/ Jn09 (talk) 17:30, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Jn09 (talk) 17:30, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

There's really not a specific edit request in your comment. Possibly indicate exactly what you propose adding, and where? (If your intent was to add the quote included, it seems pretty random and would most likely require some additional context if included anywhere.) Fat&amp;Happy (talk) 18:20, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

edit request
It says "growing in rapid numbers". Need I say more?

Please edit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.167.54.37 (talk) 22:52, 14 June 2011 (UTC)
 * ✅ Fat&amp;Happy (talk) 03:59, 15 June 2011 (UTC)

Historical innaccuracy
There was not a U.S. draft going on in 1923, see Interwar draft.

This article implies there was with the sentence: "Cheerleading started out as an all-male activity, but females began participating in 1923, due to limited availability of female collegiate sports and men being drafted for war."

I am removing the part about the draft.

Can anyone provide link to the cited article? Roger6r (talk) 16:55, 25 June 2011 (UTC)
 * "but females began participating in 1923, due to limited availability of female collegiate sports." Women were not allowed to participate in collegiate sports but that is not the same as the causal implication provided in the article.  Roger6r (talk) 17:09, 25 June 2011 (UTC)

Title IX, unbalanced view
The current Title IX debate needs work to be considered a balanced view.

The issue should be described more thoroughly and neutrally. The current form is akin to "viewpoint x says this, viewpoint y says that" when there are more than two views for this issue. Roger6r (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 17:33, 25 June 2011 (UTC).

Edit request from Hcxocheer14, 29 June 2011
Hi! I found this picture and thought you could use it! It's a really good spike, and would look excellent on this page! It's an all girl stunt at Harnett Central High School just in case you need information.http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1624382023275&set=a.1550557217701.72910.1648240668&type=1&theater

Hcxocheer14 (talk) 19:46, 29 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done Please see WP:UPIMAGE in order to upload a picture. It must also comply with WP:NFCC Jnorton7558 (talk) 02:19, 30 June 2011 (UTC)
 * Also the picture did not even load for me. Jnorton7558 (talk) 02:20, 30 June 2011 (UTC)

Making the article better
Hi everyone, I just recently made improvements to this page on cheerleading, and if anyone has any suggestions on how to make the page better, please speak up. If we all work together I'm sure that we can make the page better. Please share your ideas!

I think that we should mention how cheerleading is also in TV shows. For example, in the show Codename: Kids Next Door cheerleaders are shown. I think that should definitly be mentioned. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Firestart237 (talk • contribs) 20:15, 29 November 2011 (UTC)


 * Some copyediting might be good. I haven't had any real issue with the way it's written, but some sections feel like they've become too cluttered.  Trimming things down without losing the content may be in order.
 * As far as your suggestion about TV shows, there already is a section for cheerleading in pop culture here and a section of fictional cheerleaders and squads on the list of cheerleaders page.Thinkbui (talk) 23:43, 29 November 2011 (UTC)
 * As far as your suggestion about TV shows, there already is a section for cheerleading in pop culture here and a section of fictional cheerleaders and squads on the list of cheerleaders page.Thinkbui (talk) 23:43, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

UK Cheer
Can we also have referance to the UK cheer page. Or have it almogomated as a subsection of this page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheerleading_in_the_United_Kingdom — Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.116.199.187 (talk) 10:59, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

Princeton Cheer
constant deletions of the obvious antecedents of the University of Minnesota cheer do not make this article beter. Pep clubs, yelling cheers, formed in the late 1870s, the earliest recorded cheer from the stands is from 1882 and these were common at many colleges including Minnesota before 1898. The difference is the megaphone from the field, rather than from the stands. That is a seminal moment and should be highlighted, but it is not when cheerleading was founded. Stop deleting every mention of this! vsevolod4


 * Yes there were cheers befor Minnesota form it's cheerleading squad, but most organizations view Minnesota's as the first because it was the first sanctioned team. This does not preclude adding Princeton before Minnesota and emphasizing Minnesota less, but if you're going to make such a change, please have a discussion here first rather than just a post.Thinkbui (talk) 22:36, 31 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I disagree. I think that should vsevolod4 should be bold and if you don’t anybody doesn't like it then you can start a discussion here. --ITasteLikePaint (talk) 00:01, 1 February 2012 (UTC)


 * The issue I have with it is that major cheerleading organizations recognize Minnesota as cheerleading's birthplace, though to be fair to vsevolod4's perspective and Princeton Cheer, the Princeton information show very strong connections. At this point, I'm looking for clarification for what vsevolod4 is making.  In the links I saw, I only saw indications that specific cheers predated Minnesota's team, not the Princeton team itself.  Is vsevolod4 making the case that the origin of those cheers should be interpreted as Princeton being much more influential to the creation of cheerleading than this article indicates and than Minnesota has or did Princeton have a sanctioned cheerleading team that has slipped under the radar?Thinkbui (talk) 02:56, 1 February 2012 (UTC)


 * I took a closer look at the edits and they're actually really good. I do have questions on the amount of emphasis Princeton should receive, but I like the edits enough to reverse my position and bring them back.Thinkbui (talk) 04:00, 1 February 2012 (UTC)

Source about the history of cheerleading
Hi! I found a source about the history of cheerleading: WhisperToMe (talk) 15:06, 1 February 2012 (UTC)
 * "The evolution of cheerleading." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday January 31, 2012.

Is cheerleading a sport?!
Cheerleading is a sport. Cheereleaders dance, lift people, and compete. It takes strength, endurance, and determination to be a cheerelader. Cheerleaders do more physical activity than most other sports do. The competition part of cheerleading is what most people do not see. They just think cheerleaders jump up and down and cheer for other sports. They are wrong. Cheerleaders do major stunts and tumbling that take real athletes to do. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nlmaurakis (talk • contribs) 04:23, 7 November 2012 (UTC) I think cheerleading is not a sport because they do just jump up and down also they scream words at you. As well as they having sloppy toes and legs they may do tricks but they are not as hats as gymnastic tricks. Gymnastics is the worlds hardest sport so cheerleading is not a sport :) ;). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Prince$eslol (talk • contribs) 14:36, 2 January 2013 (UTC) Look, Cheerleading is not a sport. it is not legally one in the US and to say otherwise would be absurd. You can prove and it has been proven that it is not, not because they scream world and do tricks, but because the vast majority don't compete. While there are some competitive checkers tournaments, having some checkers competitions doesn't make it a sport. Also, just because there are some chess tournaments doesn't make it a sport. Likewise, just because there are some cheerleading tournaments, cheerleading doesn't become a sport.155blue (talk) 20:04, 10 March 2013 (UTC)155blue

The Benefits to Cheerleading
There are many benefits to cheerleading. Through this activity people gain strength, endurance, responsibility,confidence,and life-long friendships. The girls/guys through stunting, tumbling, jumping, and dancing, learn hard work and its payoffs especially at competition. All the hard work put in at the gym for many hours a week gives the cheerleader endurance and strength. Through stunting you lift up flyers who are at least one hundred pounds, this gives you incredible amounts of muscle and strength. The flyer must stay flexible and strong to be able to hold their body in postitions for varied amounts of time. Having to show up to all practices, in order to better yourself and your squad, teaches the cheerleader responsibility. Cheering in front of large crowds gives the cheerleader confidence. The life-long friendships come from spending so much time with people and all sharing the same goal, to win.Tbird727 (talk) 01:53, 17 December 2012 (UTC)


 * 1 question, if not all cheerleading competes, how is their mutual goal to win?

Add International Cheer Union (ICU) to Associations, Federations, Organisations section
The International Cheer Union (ICU): Founded in 2004, the ICU is the international governing body for world cheerleading. Including participation from its 103 member National Federations reaching 3.5 million athletes globally, the ICU continues to serve as the unified voice for those to dedicating cheerleading's positive development around the world.

Moduck2013 (talk) 20:26, 25 February 2013 (UTC)

How to Refer to Cheerleading
Should we refer to cheerleading as a sport, an activity, or try to use neither term and use "it" and "cheerleading" or "cheer" when referring to it in order to remain completely neutral? Personally, I prefer the third option.155blue (talk) 21:10, 13 March 2013 (UTC)155blue?


 * If you want to copyedit it to "cheerleading" or "cheer", that shouldn't be an issue and would be accurate.
 * Don't take any of the reverts some of us have been doing personally. Some of us are veterans of the sport/non-sport war that took place here a while ago before the page got semi-protected.  It took a long time before we could find a good balance and some of us, myself included (for some bizarre reason), get touchy whenever we perceive that being too far in either direction.Thinkbui (talk) 04:08, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Fine, but we shouldn't have originally had the page have 63 uses of "sport" and 0 of "activity". This was what it was before the more recent edits which were put into place.155blue (talk) 12:24, 16 March 2013 (UTC)155blue

Splitting "Cheerleading in Canada"
As with the Cheerleading with the United Kingdom page, it may not be fit to list all of Cheerleading in Canada in the Cheerleading article. If this continued and cheerleading in every country was discussed, we would have a very lengthy article.00:56, 10 April 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 155blue (talk • contribs)

Edit request on 2 May 2013
Cheerleading is now recognized as a sport... I was wondering if you could correct that is a "physical activity?" Thank you for your consideration.

72.92.102.70 (talk) 02:41, 2 May 2013 (UTC) AS we have discussed above, cheerleading cannot be recognized as a sport without controversy. Due to POV reasons, it needs to be called an intense physical activity. If NCAA and the IOC considered it a sport as well as federal courts, there would be no reason to prevent us from calling cheer a sport. Sorry.69.118.168.2 (talk) 01:32, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Edit request on 11 October 2013
Please correct the following error under the heading "Dangers of Cheerleading":

Currently reads: "Cheerleading has been added to the list of activities being studied by Dr. Dawn Comstock of Ohio State University through the high school Injury Surveillance System.[63]"

should read: "Cheerleading has been added to the list of activities being studied by Dr. Dawn Comstock of the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program of the Colorado School of Public Health through the high school Injury Surveillance System.[63]"

Dr. Comstock left OSU and joined the Colorado School of Public Health in January 2013 - see http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/about/Pages/organization.aspx. Also http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/departments/Epidemiology/About/Faculty/Pages/ComstockD.aspx.

Many thanks.

Sbrandspigel (talk) 18:30, 11 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done:. Thank you for providing this update. I would have made the change, but in fact neither the original source nor the two that you provided support the claim that cheerleading was included in the study. I have therefore simply removed the statement "Cheerleading has been added to the list of activities being studied by Dr. Dawn Comstock of Ohio State University through the high school Injury Surveillance System", which was cited to:  (In passing, note also that the citation incorrectly listed Dr. Cornstock as the author of that page.) --Stfg (talk) 11:28, 12 October 2013 (UTC)

Cheerleading is included in the study. See http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Pages/Study-Reports.aspx. It has been included from 2009/10 school year to 2012/13 school year. Cheerleading injury data is included in this report: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/research/ResearchProjects/piper/projects/RIO/Documents/2012-13%20Convenience%20Sample.pdf. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sbrandspigel (talk • contribs) 17:09, 14 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Yes check.svg Done. Thank you. Those are excellent sources. --Stfg (talk) 18:43, 14 October 2013 (UTC)

Thank you! May I request a small addition to include the name of the principal investigator and the study to increase the accuracy of the addition - to say the following:

"Cheerleading (for both girls and boys) was one of the sports studied by Dawn Comstock, PhD, of the Pediatric Injury Prevention, Education and Research Program of the Colorado School of Public Health in the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance Study 2009/10–2012/13.[63] Data on cheerleading injuries is included in the report for 2012–13.[64]

I very much appreciate your help. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sbrandspigel (talk • contribs) 19:17, 14 October 2013 (UTC)


 * I'm going to leave this open for a couple of days to see what other editors say. My own view is this is a step too far in an article about cheerleading. Comstock is identified in your first source as the Principal Investigator and in your second source as the first-named co-author, meaning that her name appears in the citation to that source (footnote 64). I think that is sufficient credit in an article that is not about her field of work. Do you have any particular reason to request that? --Stfg (talk) 21:37, 14 October 2013 (UTC)


 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: On careful reflection, I'm going to decline this one. This is an article about cheerleading, and what strikes me is that there's nothing in this edit request that says anything specific about cheerleading. The article is just being used as a hook on which to hang a plug for the study and even for a person. What would have been good is to have a paragraph summarising the findings of the second reference, and cited to it. The citation would be mention enough. I may have already done too much. If anyone wishes to remove the paragraph and transfer FN64 to the external links section, I wouldn't oppose it, although creating the suggested summary paragraph would be even better. --Stfg (talk) 07:55, 15 October 2013 (UTC)

Thanks and apologies if my request was inappropriate (I'm a wikipedia newbie). Fine to leave off the author name - convention in public health research is to reference the study name as it is more precise than the program name, so that is why I was requesting additional detail, but understand that may be too wordy for this article. I like your idea of a paragraph summarizing the findings of the report on injuries in cheerleading - and will suggest such a paragraph for your consideration soon. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 140.226.53.134 (talk) 17:52, 15 October 2013 (UTC)

"Intense physical activity" - edit suggestion?
Reading this talk page, I think I can see why the lead describes cheerleading as an "intense physical activity". It seems to be because of controversy regarding the term "sport".

However, when I came to the article cold to learn more about cheerleading, it seemed like a really odd description. For starters it's very vague. "Intense physical activity" covers everything from sex to punching a door to having a heart attack.

Also, my first impression (reassessed now I've read the talk page!) was that it was non-POV and almost a bit defensive. I wondered if an editor had been annoyed by people belittling cheerleading and wanted to really drive home how "intense" and physically challenging it was.

Possibly this has been considered before, but can I suggest the more specific phrase "athletic discipline"? I've seen reliable sources (including the BBC) refer to cheerleading as an athletic discipline, so it could certainly be cited. An athletic discipline is by definition intensely physical, and the phrase seems much more enlightening and specific. Señor Service (talk) 01:19, 3 November 2013 (UTC)

Definition
The definition is totally inadequate. The statement that "Cheerleading ranges from yelling to intense physical activity for sports team motivation, audience entertainment or competition based upon organized routines" may be partly correct to describe activities of a cheerleader, but it does not say what cheerleading is. I know little of the activity, but wouldn't it be more accurate to describe it as a "Organised supporters of a sports team, primarily young women, undertaking choreographed routines to entertain or motivate an audience".Royalcourtier (talk) 06:02, 5 May 2014 (UTC)

Women joining cheerleading at what date?
The "History of Cheerleading" source from iSport.com says its 1923, but we also got a poster with what looks like a female cheerleader from 1906. It would thus be nice if someone more knowledgeable could figure out which one is correct. Belorn (talk) 22:06, 9 May 2014 (UTC)

The postcard shows a woman attending a game in team colors; it does not clearly show a "cheerleader." The postcard does not support the change you suggest.--Svaihingen (talk) 05:02, 23 May 2014 (UTC)

Female cheerleading has long been accused by certain feminists as being sexist and degrading. The article probably should have a section discussing the accusation that cheerleading is by it’’s very nature sexists and degrading. This accusation has been levied against profession sports cheerleaders particularly (especially NFL cheerleaders) .There is also a different point of view held by some feminists and others that female cheerleading is not inherently sexists or degrading. Both of these points of view probably should be included in the article. Here are some article describing the controversy: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/24/cheerleading-schools-sexist-girls-sport http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/25/sport/nfl-cheerleaders-minnesota-vikings-mvc/ http://www.motherjones.com/media/2014/05/nfl-cheerleader-lawsuits-sexism http://thesagonline.com/2012/01/cheerleading-reflects-a-sexist-culture/

If no one has a good reason not to include the controversy in this article then I would be willing to try and write up at least a short section not he issue of cheerleading and sexism/degradation. --74.95.207.205 (talk) 22:57, 8 September 2014 (UTC)

Student user requesting access to edit
I am a undergrad student at the University of California, Santa Barbara learning to contribute to wikipedia. Currently we are editing Wikipedia articles to improve them as part of a project. I have gathered credible sources and content to contribute to this article. I specifically want to improve the history section, including information about cheerleading before it became an organized activity and add information about cheerleading being affected by World War I and World War II. I also want to include citations for the youth cheerleading section. Along with that I'd like to add more content to professional cheerleading and include how it has contributed to a changing view of cheer, why they were brought to professional sporting events in the first place, and including information about pursuing pro cheer as a career. I noticed NCA (National Cheerleaders Association) and UCA (Universal Cheerleading Association) were included but USA (United Spirit Association) which is also a Varsity Brand organization was not, so I would like to include that. Finally, the Popular Culture section says that there are no citations and I would like to help improve its credibility by finding sources for it.

Cheerstar13 (talk) 20:58, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Hi, welcome to Wikipedia. Since the article is semi-protected you have two options. 1) Wait until you're autoconfirmed (make 10 edits, wait 4 days). 2) Detail what changes you want to make on the talk page and someone will respond. If you have any questions please let us know. --Neil N  talk to me 21:05, 13 November 2014 (UTC)
 * Actually your account is more than four days old so make about five more edits and then you should be able to edit this article. --Neil N  talk to me 21:07, 13 November 2014 (UTC)

Cheerleading and sexism
Female cheerleading has long been accused by certain feminists as being sexist and degrading. The article probably should have a section discussing the accusation that cheerleading is often sexist and degrading. This accusation has been levied against profession sports cheerleaders particularly (especially NFL cheerleaders) .There is also a different point of view held by some feminists and others that female cheerleading is not inherently sexists or degrading. Both of these points of view probably should be included in the article. Here are some article describing the controversy:

The Guardian - Is cheerleading in schools sexist?

CNN - NFL cheerleaders: Gratuitous sexism or all-American fun?

Mother Jones Magazine - Jiggle Tests, Dunk Tanks, and Unpaid Labor: How NFL Teams Degrade Their Cheerleaders

The Sagamore Online - Cheerleading Reflects a Sexists Culture

If no one has a good reason not to include the controversy in this article then I would be willing to try and write up at least a short section not he issue of cheerleading and sexism/degradation. --74.95.207.205 (talk) 22:57, 8 September 2014 (UTC) High School cheerleading is the best. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.4.31.35 (talk) 19:10, 21 October 2014 (UTC)
 * The first link is good. The people quoted are professionals in education, the article comes from a reliable source, and it shows arguments that aren't from emotion.  I like your second article also.  3 appears factual at face value but I've never really considered motherjones an objective source personally, so it might not be received well.  4th is a plain opinion piece (and an anonymous one too).  I'd prefer more sources like the first 2 here than the latter 2, but I'd say go for it if you ever come back (or someone else wants to take this on).  Perhaps find the stuff the motherjones article mentions at more credible news sites? --Padenton (talk) 04:15, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Peer Review #1
I think the lead section gives a perfect detail about cheerleading. The sections are named perfectly, however I am also familiar with cheerleading and know that Cheerleading receives a lot of sexism and also called a "non sport". I think there could definitely be a section with that in it. The article is relatively neutral, I think some of the sections could be split off into separate articles because there is already so much content. For example, the "cheerleading in canada and the UK" sections. There is a sections that does not have a citation and in perspective, I don't think it even needs to be there, its a lot of useless information and general knowledge of cheerleading for representation. Some of the references I do not think are reliable enough, especially ( "History of Cheerleading | iSport.com". Cheerleading.isport.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01. ). The place where the the source is sited is also a little "iffy" and could have something double checked. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cassie909 (talk • contribs) 02:02, 13 April 2016 (UTC)

Evolution
I think the opening line to the section regarding the evolution of cheerleading throughout the years that it has been in existence is a bit demeaning. To say that usually people think of the old times where girls ran around with their arms in the air is not giving the credit that cheerleading origins deserve. Even in those days there were cheers performed and routines of some kind. The work was always put in to provide entertainment to the crowds at these sporting events and while they may not have been executing the same complicated routines that incorporate stunting and tumbling today, they did include basic formations, cheers, and jumps on a regular basis.

This is the classic cheerleading that many may think of when asked to define the term, but I do not think cheerleading in this form was any less than it is today, just different. We need to explain in this section that cheerleading has gone under many transformations which usually resulted in new components to the sport being added as both dance and gymnastics were incorporated in the 80's. But we need to reiterate that the very basic fundamentals of cheerleading that were there from the start remain a huge part of the sport today. HannahGillis (talk) 12:30, 29 October 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review #2
I think in the opening sentence the word yelling should be changed. I was a cheerleader for many years, and the term yelling may be considered offensive. Maybe something like intense cheering would be better in replace of yelling. Cheerleaders really have to use their diaphragm to get their deep loud voices out so the crowd can here. Overall there is a lot of information on the aspects of cheerleading. Maybe there could be a section on how people do not look at cheerleading as a sport. When I was in high school and on the cheerleading team, many people did not respect us as real athletes and many people did not consider it a real sport. Many cheerleaders start out in pop warner leagues very young, maybe that could be incorporated into the middle school section. Children as young as 6 can be involved pop warner cheerleading as well as competitions. Those competitions start within specific counties and winners travel to Florida to compete nation wide. Competitions are really the main focus of cheerleaders, maybe you can discuss what the team/school benefits from winning competitions. Samantha Fratus (talk) 17:29, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

To say that people fail to consider cheerleading as an actual sport and cheerleaders as athletes, we would require reliable sources on the subject. It may be true, but editors' personal experiences are not sources.

Probably a good idea to cover the entry age for cheerleaders and place more emphasis on competitions.

The article has sourcing problems and entire paragraphs have no source. Dimadick (talk) 09:02, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

Outdated
The statistics section on death and injuries mentions "22,900 minors being admitted to hospital with cheerleading-related injuries in 2002".

That is a statistical fact that is nearly 15-years-old and there is no mention of either older or newer trends in injuries. Also it mentions "minors". Do we have data on the injuries of college-aged cheerleaders? Dimadick (talk) 09:22, 10 November 2016 (UTC)

Update to information
Upon reading and reviewing the article I find that there may be some information that could be updated to better explain the sport itself. As time progresses the number of cheerleaders in the U.S. may have been altered. The article seems to cite the number of cheerleaders currently, however seems to provide wording that may be confusing to readers.The statistic provides confusion with the number only being in reference to the U.S. or the entire world including other countries.

The section on the all star cheerleading also references The Jam Brands. Within the last year The Jam Brands has become one with Varsity. The section should be updated to reflect the Varsity Ownership of the previous Jam Brands as it was a major all star cheerleading update.

The article also puts a major focus on the U.S. cheerleading and at times seems to overshadow the widespread cheerleading around the world. I do believe the article could expand on information for cheerleading in other countries. Miranda.Baranchak (talk) 22:52, 18 January 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 6 February 2017
I have a bit of new information to be added under the section of ICU World Championships.

As of the 2016-2017 season, the ICU has introduced that there will be a Junior aged team to compete at the Cheerleading Worlds because cheerleading is now in provisional status to becoming a sport in the Olympics. For cheerleading to one day be in the Olympics, there must be a junior and senior team that competes at the world championship. The first junior cheerleading team that was selected to become the junior national team was Eastside Middle School, located in Mount Washington Kentucky and will represent the United States in the inaugural junior division at the world championship.

More information can be found by following this link. http://www.usacheer.org/usa-cheer-announces-junior-national-team Deztylerr (talk) 18:49, 6 February 2017 (UTC)
 * ✅, and thank you for your contributions!  Paine Ellsworth   u/ c  19:40, 8 February 2017 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 27 March 2017
Remove the statement'There is no official governing body for Canadian cheerleading." to "The official governing body for Canadian cheerleading is Cheer Canada. It was founded in 2011 after several provincial governing bodies for cheerleading came together for an initiative to create a proper National Sports Organization for cheerleading. In addition to Cheer Canada, each province has their own Provincial Sports Organization that regulates cheerleading in that province. Most of these organizations put on large competitions and offer bids to the ICU University Cheerleading Cup World Championships, the ICU World School Cheerleading Championships, and the IASF/USASF Cheerleading Worlds."

Here is the link to the Cheer Canada webpage for citing: http://www.cheerleadingcanadainc.com/ Here is a link to all of the PSO's in Canada that put on competitions and regulate cheerleading in our country: http://www.cheerleadingcanadainc.com/associates/

Remove this comment: "Cheer Evolution is the largest cheerleading and dance organization for Canada." It is only partially true as this is a for-profit company and there are large cheerleading Associations in each province in addition to large companies in Quebec and B.C. 2001:56A:F398:4D00:F06E:CE05:6D37:DF2C (talk) 20:00, 27 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. The sources you provided are primary sources and per policy are not reliable sources. &mdash; KuyaBriBri Talk 20:33, 11 May 2017 (UTC)

Reputation
Something this article doesn't cover as well as it should is the poor public reception of cheerleaders. A lot of people at most schools, including my school, think that cheerleaders are mean, self-centered, and stupid, and I used to think that too, but I've learned that if you are nice to them most of them are very caring and nice. I suppose every school is different, but they're really not mean at all at my school. At least at my school at least, the less popular people aren't nice to them and sometimes even like to do hurtful things to cheerleaders because TV shows like Glee give them a poor reputation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 172.58.12.212 (talk) 04:26, 14 May 2017 (UTC)

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Atlanta 1996 Olympics
Among world wide exposure of cheerleading was the opening ceremony of Atlanta Olympics in 1996. http://www.cheerelite.com/cheerleading-history-1994-1996/ Above is the link to the facts and video of Atlanta 1996. Surely this event made cheerleading known to the world. It could just be added on the opening paragraph among the list of movies and events. --Redspork02 (talk) 16:28, 26 July 2017 (UTC)