Page 6 - Edge Issue 3

“Sport” Status What is considered a sport? Story and photos by Maisa Doan
Are cheerleading, dance, and bowling real sports?
The word “sport” means an activity involving physical movement and skill or teams competing against each other for entertainment.
Cheerleading
In Brevard County, cheerleading is not considered a sport. Some cheerleaders, however, think it should be reclassified. Many think anyone can learn a routine and yell into the crowd to become a cheerleader, but there is a big difference between firing up a crowd at
a game and competitive cheerleading. Since competitive cheerleading requires a lot of practice and years of skill, more people consider this a sport than sideline cheerleading.
“People might not consider sideline cheer as a sport because
it mainly consists of sitting down and yelling even though there is more to it,” said Jennifer Gearin, 8.
Although sideline cheering is not competing against anyone, they still cheer for the team they are rooting for and might do some cool stunts. They also prepare a routine to perform during halftime and make the crowd enthusiastic. To be a sport you have to compete against other teams and since sideline cheer does not, it is hard to consider it a sport.
Competitive cheerleading, on the other hand, goes against other cheerleading teams. They perform a lot of stunts for the judges and win trophies.
This topic is debated a lot whether it is a sport or not but both sides think that cheerleading could use some more funding.
Bowling
Bowling is fun to play with a group of friends, but there is also a competitive side. While some may not consider bowling a sport, it involves dedication, hours of practice, and the ability to work as a team to compete, just like any other sport.
“Most people do not consider bowling a sport because they are not running around or sweating,” said Anna Duncan, 10.
Although bowlers are not running around, they are still competing against other teams and it requires
a lot of skills. Bowling depends on a high level of hand-eye coordination and is in decent shape is
fundamental for keeping up the stamina to bowl. It can be considered as a sport since bowlers accomplish
flawlessness in their toss, swing of the ball, position, and some other procedures utilized for accomplishing a
strike. Bowling is not just throwing a ball, they have to consider oil patterns, ball speed, and approach of the lane. Bowling does not lack funding, but it does lack the respect of being considered a “sport.”
Dancing
When most people think of dance, they first think that it is a hobby and would never think of it to be a sport. Both sports and dance, however, require a large amount of endurance, athleticism, and strength. Dancers compete against other dancers being judged to see who performed the best. Dance also requires high artistic skills, flexibility levels, and physical skills.
“People do not realize the amount of artistic skill and coordination it takes to keep up with the music,” said Megan Nguyen, 9. “And the amount of stamina we need to get through the whole program, as well with all the training and pain we go through.”
A lot of dancers are in studios 5 to 7 hours a day or more, working on routines and techniques. If dancers are injured when performing, they have to pretend like nothing happened even if they are in pain and they have to keep the performance going on. Since dance is being overshadowed by other sports, it is not being funded enough. Most dancers believe that dance should receive more attention because it can be really expensive as competitions have high entry fees along with the cost of equipment. If dance is considered a sport, this may help to secure the funding that they need.
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