Playing sports takes training, memorizing, and hard physical work, not to mention being able to work well with a team. All these requirements of being on a team can also be found in the cheerleaders who stand on the sidelines of these sports games. This begs the question: why isn’t cheer counted as a sport?
Among other things, to be considered a sport a team must take part in competitions dedicated to their activity, per the Encinal athletic directors. While there are cheer competitions in the bay area, Encinal’s cheer team is unable to participate due to lack of funding.
This matters because, like many other high schools, Encinal has PE credit on the list of graduation requirements. However, some students choose to play a sport in lieu of taking a physical education class. A student who takes two seasons of an offered sport at Encinal avoids needing two years of PE credit; they only need one. Because cheer doesn’t “count” as a sport, cheerleaders are required to take the full two years of PE.
Cheer requires poise and precision in the dances, including exercises and training that require much physical strength. And all of this must be done perfectly in sync with the other many cheerleaders performing.
Cheerleading captains Jolene Brantley (12) and Kaelani Hunter (12) were enthusiastic about the subject on PE credit and the cheer team’s work.
“We sweat, we do a lot of physical activity. We condition just as much as anyone else,” says Brantley.
During a sports game, it’s the cheer team’s job to keep the audience spirited. Running different routines and chanting different cheers is a big part of cheerleading. Keeping rhythm, staying in sync, and not to mention the constant memorization of dances.
In October 2015, Governor Brown approved Assembly Bill 949 in the state of California, classifying competitive cheerleading as a sport. This meant that a high school cheer team that competed with other schools was to be counted as a sport. However, because Encinal’s cheer team is not competitive, it cannot be referred to as a sport.
“Anything that has to be considered a sport at a school has to be sanctioned by the North Coast Section,” says Mr. Gorham, Encinal’s athletic director for the last 21 years. “Regular cheer is not. Competitive cheer is.”
But what would have to happen for cheer to be considered a sport at Encinal? Through the North Coast Section, the athletics department would have to transition our school’s cheer team. The Encinal cheer team only does sideline cheer and, per rules made by the NCS, therefore cannot be given PE credit. And because of the previously mentioned tight budgets, Encinalis unable to offer competitive cheer.
Credit or no credit, the cheer team continues to show up every single day.
“We have to lift girls up in the air and stuff like that,” cheer captain Hunter says, “and we do the same exact kind of conditioning. We run laps…and we do put in a lot of work for sure.”
Encinal’s cheerleaders attend both home and away football games, as well as occasional men’s and women’s basketball games. They practice after school like other athletes: they exercise, run, and stretch and are just as dedicated.. Their commitment is appreciated but undervalued.
