is cheerleading considered a sport? After all, most sports only have one season, cheerleading has two: football and basketball. Like cross-country we run, like football we toss, like soccer we kick, like a track and field we jump. We even risk our lives in pyramids like Egyptians. We have injuries and tryouts like all other sports. The fact that we don't tackle our opponents to the ground for a ball does not mean that we are not athletes. We work just as hard as "real athletes" work. What is it that qualifies an activity to be a sport? Is it the ball? No, wrestling is a sport and it doesn't contain a ball. Is it the sweat? It can't be the sweat, cheerleaders sweat. Is it the practice? Nope, our practices are sometimes just as intense than many other sports' practices. The audience? No, can't be that either, audiences at competitions out number those at many ball games. A sport can be defined as an activity involving physical exertion and skill on a competitive level. Cheerleading unquestionably involves physical exertion. Real cheerleaders exist to cheer on the team and raise the spirit of the crowd. Cheerleading takes just as much dedication and skill as any other sport, sometimes more. In most schools, the line between sports and clubs is often fuzzed. In some schools cheerleading is considered a sport and is given all the rights that other sports have. Other schools call it an activity or a club and it doesn’t fall under the same guidelines as more traditional sports. Cheerleading is athletic and cheerleaders need medical care, use of mats and other safety devices, and ample practice space. The problem is that other athletes have no idea what it takes to be a cheerleader. We make it look so easy, we fly through the air with grace and we catch our teammates as though they are feathers floating from the sky. They don't understand the technique and time it takes to master such skills. Cheerleading is a s...