Just because you may have cheerleader stereotypes embedded in your head, those of just little girls jumping around, doing little cheers, and looking pretty, it does not mean that is what we cheerleaders do. There is strength, flexibility, conditioning, endurance, and stamina involved. They have to stunt, tumble (that is what gymnists do), and also cheer. There are many different aspects of cheerleading. They must lift weights, do jump exercises and gymnastics training. They must be able to perform for 4 full quarters (regardless of whether offense or defense is playing). Ask that of a football player, and he most definately will whine.

It's about time that people wise up and realize that cheerleaders and cheerleading are and is a sport. Cheerleading takes dedication, sweat, tears, and heart just like any other sport. They are tired of being judged for doing something they love. All cheerleaders are tired of it. What many do not realize is that cheerleading comes with responsibilities. You represent your school/team whenever you tell someone you are a cheerleader, or wear a piece of clothing that says you cheer. You have to act appropriately, and in many schools you also have to have the grades to make the team.

Cheerleaders are not those preppy little girls anymore. They are a whole other breed of athletes. They go to tiering competitons to compete for titles like State or National Champs. These "competitions" are no walk in the park. They are up to 4 days long, start early in the morning, and end late at night. Apparently, cheerleading is not at all what people say it is.

As well as women, men also compete as cheerleaders. Now don't go thinking that all male cheerleaders are homosexuals because thats not true at all!

Now here are some cheerleading statistics:
83% of cheerleaders carry a B average or above in high school.
62% are involved in a second sport
80% of schools in the US have cheerleading squads. The most popular sport for cheerleading is football.
The estimated number of cheerleaders in America:
Ages 6-11: 1.2 million
Ages 12-17: 1.6 million
Ages 18-24: 0.4 million
Ages 25-34: 0.2 million
The percentage of cheerleaders who participate in competitions: 15%