[PvilleCheerAlum]

Good afternoon everyone. Kentucky is a huge cheerleading state on the national level. Greenup, Dunbar, Pikeville, Madison Central, North Laurel, Tates Creek, Henry Clay, Graves County, Reidland, University of Kentucky, Morehead, Kentucky Elite etc. dominate on the national level at UCA. Also, University of Louisville, Gymtyme, DuPont Manual, etc. dominate at NCA.

Now. The reason that KHSAA does not need to make cheerleading a sport is because none of these schools will be able to compete on the national level. If you are sanctioned as a sport on the state level, national competition is no longer allowed. All of the schools listed above (minus colleges) will fight tooth and nail to prevent this from happening.

If your school wants to have a competitive cheerleading squad, fundraising is mandatory. Most of the other state sanctioned sports (football, basketball, track, etc) all fundraise. Booster clubs are created for this purpose. At Pikeville, I sold wrapping paper, candles, poinsettas, and even wrapped presents at the walmart entrance. You do what you have to do to raise all the money you need. There were plenty of girls on all of the Pikeville squads who were not rich, yet they worked hard and raised all of their money.

KHSAA created KAPOS in order for the state of Kentucky to have a regulating board for cheerleading. They are sufficent and they do their job well. I have been KAPOS certified as a judge and it is a tough process. Most squads in the state use these certified judges for their tryouts, and the judges come from other parts of the state as to prevent politics.

sport
n. 1. a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. (KAPOS, and nationally AACCA (American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators)
b. A particular form of this activity.

2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.
3. An active pastime; recreation

Sounds like a sport to me. Also, as I was told by doctors when I broke my back from cheerleading, "We get more girls in here for cheerleading injuries than we do guys with football injuries". Obviously there is some serious hard work going on here.

[phoeniXX]

How can someone that can do a round-off, back handspring, full, and land it not considered a sport. I believe this is just as good as a slam dunk. Especially when I'm a father of a cheerleader who is always competing all over including other states against some great squads. You have to be more than just an athlete to be a cheerleader. So in my opinion, it is definitely considered a sport.

[uk Cheer]

I wish i could say cheerleading was a BIG part of our school like the University of KY our cheer squad SUCKS

[Cheer]

It the state of KY, it's not a sport. Yes, it sucks but at the same time, it's a blessing. My AD and I had a long chat about this, for if it were there would be so much more red tape involved and it would flat out suck for everyone involved.

The school does consider it a sport, but officially by state standards - nada. As for monies, that is up to the school. Some AD's will contribute, some won't. Certain schools that have the elite teams (PLD) have amazing booster clubs that assist in purchasing things, which is different than just general and regular fundraising.

The best way the school & AD (even the board athletic personnel) could help any team out, especially my girls last year, would be to buy cheer floor, or at least a couple of strips. Luckily we've raised over $20K this year and we bought our own floor, so it's off my list...but that should be a state rule for all schools that have a team.

[BGHS 83]

Okay...I am a Bowling Green HS alum cheerleader who now coaches in South Dakota. SD is way behind the times when it comes to cheer. The good Varsity squads resemble our middle school squads and the others look like elementary schools. SD started sanctioning cheer as a sport about 2 years ago. It isn't a good idea. We are not sanctioned yet, so the only way my girls got to compete this year was to go to NCA and UCA comps 7 hours away. They earned bids to both Nationals...still perplexed by that, but that is bc the squads in the nearby areas are not very good. And we will be at the NCA Open Nationals in Louisville next weekend. Now...if we get sanctioned, we can never do this again! We can ONLY compete (during football season) against other sanctioned SD schools. Yes, there is a state tournament at the end, but it nothing like competing at UCA comps and nationals. Why are we doing NCA?? Because they have never competed before and I wanted them to start out without being totally overwhelmed at a UCA Nationals.
My girls have worked very hard to get to where they are. They lost two tumblers before their first comp, two of their best fliers a couple of weeks ago due to rules violations, and another flyer last night. So basically, we have a brand new flyer starting this week and our tumbling is almost non-existent! And 3 out of my 4 flyers are freshmen. Oh..and you don't cheer in SD until 9th grade! So they had never done a motion before this year and I have 7 fresh out of 16 squad members. But, they have decided to overcome adversity, revamp their routine tonight and just have fun in KY. It will give them experience competing and they will get to see some wonderful squads from KY!!
We have fundraised for everything in a low-socioeconomical town. We probably can't do that every year. If we get sanctioned, we will get some money from the school, but limited competition, and more rules than we want...no practicing after tryouts, only 4 weeklong contacts during the whole summer IF they are camps open to other schools, only 3 to club squad on one team (no clubs here), the list goes on and it is ridiculous!! No practices in the summer at all except for those 4 contact/camps. And...our season starts 2 weeks before school even starts! How in the world can you get a decent routine ready for comp in only 4 weeks...one of which is UCA camp? And when they proposed a sport cheer budget..guess how much they budgeted for a cheer routine! $100.00!! What??? More like $4500.00...hello!! And basket tosses are illegal here now! And many nit-picky state rules. Being sanctioned as a sport is okay for places like SD where there are no other state competitions, but in KY...NO WAY!! You will just hate it!! Sorry for such a long post and going off tangent.

[superstarcheer]

Yes, cheerleading is definately a sport at Pikeville. It has the most state championships of any other sport!!!! Way to go Panthers!!!

[kidatheart]

I was wondering what thewiz does with their time. Every thread that this person is on, they have only negative things to say. Cheerleading is a SPORT even if it isn't recognized by the khsaa. Cheerleaders bust their butts in practice and at games and NEVER get recognized. To cheerleaders everywhere, good job and keep up the hard work. Don't listen to anyone that says what you are doing is not a sport.

[jsa]

No

[neerfan]

The people who say cheerleading is not a sport are incorrect in that fact. All though the KHSAA says it is not I have a daughter that cheers and a son that plays football. They both pay athletic fees , they both practice, they both run, they both compete. His is a much shorter season, she has had more injuries than he has had. II do not understand why they pay an athletic fee, yet get nothing from the school for the fee they pay. I believe someone should pursue this to a new level. Maybe in the court system, that would get them fair and equitable representation from the school system that they support at all the major athletic games.

[phs1986]

no its not, as defined by KHSAA. not a sport.

nobody cares about cheerleading, people come to watch the basketball and football games not to see cheers

Here's you a little something to chew on for a while... although KHSAA does not consider cheerleading a "sport" it does govern bi-laws and criteria that cheerleading has to follow. In other words, cheerleading has rules to follow just like every other "sport" KHSAA governs, yet they are not considered a sport. THIS is addition to, both boys and girls cheer and Title IX would not be a factor for debate. Cheerleading offers scholarships (rather good ones may I add), cheerleaders are generally more athletic than particpants of some other sports, and cheerleaders DO have a "dead period" like other sports governed by KHSAA. So, with that being said.... I personally feel this is a double standard aimed directly at the SPORT of cheerleading.... You have told us all your opinon, now here is some FACTS for you to ponder on!!! :Thumbs:

[OffTheHook]

You go PHS!

[Panther Thunder]

Here's you a little something to chew on for a while... although KHSAA does not consider cheerleading a "sport" it does govern bi-laws and criteria that cheerleading has to follow. In other words, cheerleading has rules to follow just like every other "sport" KHSAA governs, yet they are not considered a sport. THIS is addition to, both boys and girls cheer and Title IX would not be a factor for debate. Cheerleading offers scholarships (rather good ones may I add), cheerleaders are generally more athletic than particpants of some other sports, and cheerleaders DO have a "dead period" like other sports governed by KHSAA. So, with that being said.... I personally feel this is a double standard aimed directly at the SPORT of cheerleading.... You have told us all your opinon, now here is some FACTS for you to ponder on!!! :Thumbs:

That Guy KILLS me. I wish he would take a permanent posting vacation.

[phs1986]

You go PHS!

That was for you OTH.... LOLOL...

[HazardPerry]

Some would argue that it is THE SPORT at North Laurel. Down and week this year due to injuries but they are still fanatics!

[HORNET POWER]

Here's you a little something to chew on for a while... although KHSAA does not consider cheerleading a "sport" it does govern bi-laws and criteria that cheerleading has to follow. In other words, cheerleading has rules to follow just like every other "sport" KHSAA governs, yet they are not considered a sport. THIS is addition to, both boys and girls cheer and Title IX would not be a factor for debate. Cheerleading offers scholarships (rather good ones may I add), cheerleaders are generally more athletic than particpants of some other sports, and cheerleaders DO have a "dead period" like other sports governed by KHSAA. So, with that being said.... I personally feel this is a double standard aimed directly at the SPORT of cheerleading.... You have told us all your opinon, now here is some FACTS for you to ponder on!!! :Thumbs:

I take it you musta been a cheerleader................luv u PHS1986

[phs1986]

I take it you musta been a cheerleader................luv u PHS1986

Ummm....... Ya think???? LOLOL.... Love ya too HP

[OffTheHook]

What kills me is that KHSAA doesn't recognize it as a sport. BUT, they still imposed the same rules and infractions on them. "That don't make no sense." ( I said that like Pete form O' Brother Where Art Thou" by the way)...LMBO!

[cc cheer]

it is just considered an "extra curricular activity" at Clay County and most but the principal hates cheerleaders soo...

[GHScheercoach]

Hi. I too am from South Dakota and coach sanctioned side-line cheer. However, our principal will not sanction competition cheer. He is not saying I can't do it, he is just saying I will need to do it on my own. I'd love to chat with you sometime about this... and how you went about getting a comp squad started/ advice/ etc.

[dstc_99]

Our school doesn't consider us much at all. They do "attempt" to buy us new uniforms every few years which is nice but everything else we must do on our own. It has it's upside and its downside. Right now we are fighting for the right to take the girls to a gym out of town for tumbling and stunting because there is no gym in our county. YEP I said it there is NO gym in our town!!!

We use a elementary basketball court for practices and have our own mats but the girls have no where to go to practice or further their skills.

[nky]

Yes it's a sport and should be sanctioned by KHSAA and hold a tournament in the spring. If bowling is a sanctioned sports cheer leading should be also

[MrsSportsFan]

I don't think that my daughter ever thought of it as a sport, but there sure was competition. To sit through hour's of competition and sit back and wonder how judges scored the way they did, certainly made you feel like you were getting homered in a sporting event.

[guard]

fyi......khsaa are going to be considering cheerleading as a sport I am not sure if there is a time specified when that is to happen, but I am sure it is going to. So cheer up buttercups!!

[Sportsnutt]

What makes a "sport" a "sport"?? What I am asking is...what will make the KHSAA change their minds and consider it a sport now?

[cksportsfan]

As we speak, the KHSAA and KAPOS are talking about basically merging KAPOS into KHSAA. Cheerleading would be considered a full-fledged KHSAA sport; HOWEVER, KAPOS would be disbanded (at least on the high school level, KAPOS could still monitor middle school and elementary cheerleading).

There are hangups:

1) WHAT SEASON WILL CHEERLEADING BE?
Every current KHSAA sport is defined by a limitation of season. If you're a fall sport, it means July-November. Winter sport means October-March (and no cheering at football games or practices any time before). Spring would mean February-end of school. So while it may not be a big deal for serious cheerleaders, if cheerleading becomes a winter sport (and possibly include UCA nationals, see below) ... cheering at football games would not be happening for those girls. The coach of the football group and the money involved (paying for coach, uniforms, travel aka bus to and from games, food) would have to be two separate entities.

2) THE UCA/NATIONALS DEBATE.
While the KHSAA does not "forbid" nationals/out of state competition, per se, the UCA/nationals event at WDW/Orlando is a HUGE sticking point for some cheer coaches, parents, boosters and cheerleaders themselves because they see UCA and not KAPOS as the end-all, be-all. But what sport has nationals BEFORE the state competition (The 2012 UCA nationals were held BEFORE KAPOS state at Diddle)? None that I can think of. Plus, the KHSAA does have a rule -- in all sports -- that no regular-season events can be held once the postseason starts. UCA/nationals is NOT considered a recognized postseason event by the KHSAA (or the NFHS, which governs the KHSAA). So there's a HUGE scheduling issue to work around. So if you want to be a "real" sport, you might lose UCA nationals.

3) THE SCORING.
Only one other KHSAA sport, diving, uses human judges. And that's only one small part of swimming (there are like 14 events per gender, diving takes up two). Plus in diving, you know what your score is/was before the next diver hits the water. They announce it to the crowd and put it on the big scoreboard for everyone to see. Cheerleading (and marching band, drill team, dance team) likes to wait until the very end and then make one big announcement. KHSAA wants that changed. Heck, even in figure skating, Kristi Yamaguchi knew less than 10 minutes after she got off the ice if she got screwed (scoring wise) by the judge from Finland or Norway or whatever). So if KHSAA takes over cheerleading, no more wait-until-the-end scoring. It would likely be announced before the next team takes the floor (that way they know what they need to score; same thing in diving that Diver B knows he/she needs a XX.XX to beat Diver A). The postmeet team/squad holding hands in a circle/group would go the way of the dodo bird.

There are other minor issues, too.

STATS
Are there any that can be printed by the media OTHER than average competition score? EVERY other team sport has stats that can be broken down (even the newly acquired bowling). For the media, who you want on your side, stats are a GOOD thing. Yet, they seem non-existent in cheerleading.

ROSTER/UNIFORM
It's not hard to take a photo of a soccer, baseball/softball, basketball, volleyball kid and figure out who they are (because there are rosters which have their numbers). Swimming and track kids are assigned to specific lanes (or specific orders for relays), and track and cross country kids wear bibs. Cheerleading would be the one "sport" where identifying a competitor (for a writer or photographer covering the competition) is way too hard than it needs to be. Something needs to be done to rectify it, either by putting last names or jersey numbers somewhere on the uniform or giving them competition numbers on their hands (like track and cross country).

Let me say, personally, that cheerleaders are athletic as all-get-out (certainly more so than the bowlers I spent all winter giving plenty of coverage to). Cheerleaders work their tails off. And has been stated before, there are more cheerleading injuries "per capita" than any other high school sport.

Just like cheerleading, JROTC drill team, dance team, marching band (which has huge crowds like cheerleading, too, and puts in plenty of practice hours) have existed FOR YEARS without the need of having to be thought of as a "real sport."

That all being said ... is all the jumping through hoops and red tape REALLY worth it to be considered a sport?

[outsidein]

I believe it is a sport... having daughters that cheered it is demanding but let me ask that why they have so many divisions and so many champions. and so many different national champions... You could be a squad and be national champion but you didn't compete against no one??? no one was in that class.... Now to me that really hurts cheerleading and why no one takes it as a sport because sometimes you win but you didn't compete against no one....so lets set it up like basketball or football all schools compete in districs then regions and the top 16 to state.. do away with this one squad in one class and your state champs (that's a joke) --- now just because they work hard and it's demanding does it make it a sport? Maybe the kids involved think it should be. I think cheerleading is a sport but they have to get out of this 1 squad competing against only themselves...

[cksportsfan]

I believe it is a sport... having daughters that cheered it is demanding but let me ask that why they have so many divisions and so many champions. and so many different national champions... You could be a squad and be national champion but you didn't compete against no one??? no one was in that class.... Now to me that really hurts cheerleading and why no one takes it as a sport because sometimes you win but you didn't compete against no one....so lets set it up like basketball or football all schools compete in districs then regions and the top 16 to state.. do away with this one squad in one class and your state champs (that's a joke) --- now just because they work hard and it's demanding does it make it a sport? Maybe the kids involved think it should be. I think cheerleading is a sport but they have to get out of this 1 squad competing against only themselves...

I didn't go there, but I do agree.

Take Elizabethtown and LaRue County for example. Region rivals in EVERY team sport. In the same class in football, track and cross country. Yet they're in different divisions in UCA Nationals in Florida .... wait, what?

I think I counted 37 different "national" champions on the UCA results PDF from WDW. And that doesn't even get into the other cheerleading organizations.

Plus, it is NOT a shock so many KY teams do well at UCA nationals:

1) A ton of them go down (upwards of 15+).

2) California, Arizona, Vegas, Detroit, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Texas teams can't afford the travel costs to compete in "nationals" in Florida. It's less "Nationals" and more of a big southeastern get-together with scattered other teams thrown in. And how many PUBLIC schools from far-away states can afford the travel? I don't want to hear about KY being far; I've left KY for Panama City before and been home before dinner in a van. Done the Orlando (and Tampa) drive before in less than a day ... an easy drive compared to other areas (St. Louis, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, Indy, Chicago, Cleveland, Kansas City, Oklahoma City).

If it is "truly" a "national" competition, I'd like to see how many states sent five or more teams from their states ... big shock that most that are are close to Florida (and it's not like Alabama and Kentucky have more teams than New York and California).

I'm being honest here: There will be MORE states represented in the 12-year-old Ohio Valley Regional Baseball Tournament -- and more teams represented, too -- my city is hosting this summer than some of the divisions in the UCA "nationals".

That's 100 percent messed up.

[Megget]

it is just considered an "extra curricular activity" at Clay County and most but the principal hates cheerleaders soo...

Granny Bear is watching you

[Granny Bear]

You do realize that I wasn't a moderator SEVEN years ago when that was posted.

Or maybe you don't.

[frankjong]

no