Twenty-one colleges in the Division III sector of U.S. colleges have some sort of cheerleading team at their schools. Of these 21 schools, 16 of them have competitive cheerleading, meaning cheerleading is considered a sport to those respective colleges. Blackburn is among the 21 that have cheerleading, but far away from the 16 who consider it a sport.
Blackburn Cheer has been coached by two volunteers, Director of Financial Aid Jane Kelsey and Fancy Feet Dance Studio owner Connie Morin. The captains for the last season were myself and fellow senior Shandra Pearson. The team started the season with 14 members and ended with 12. We practiced an estimated 112 hours during our past season, meeting every Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9-11 p.m. from September to mid-February. That’s 112 hours of work and practice without even getting a physical education credit. You might be wondering why we practice late at night? Because we are not considered a sport, we are not allowed to reserve the gym during certain hours. In addition, our coaches make a living by working until almost 9 p.m. some nights. But our practices in the gym are never certain because if an athletic team wishes to practice during our reserved gym time, it’s only polite to let them do so. In all fairness, some coaches and athletes do leave when our scheduled time arrives and we are grateful for those efforts.
Our practices start off by stretching, something that I hear regular athletes do. But what would I know about that? We then go over all of our sideline cheers. Afterwards we move to stunting. Stunting is where two to four “non-athletes” lift or throw another “non-athlete” in the air, over their heads, hold the stunt, release the stunt and place the individual back on the ground safely. Is it dangerous? My face has been kicked, punched, elbowed, slapped and sat on more times than I haven’t attended my 8 a.m. classes my entire collegiate career. I’ve gotten bruises on my chest, face, hands, arms and back and countless fat lips and bloody cheeks. Our flyers, the ones thrown in the air, have had numerous squad members catch, grab, throw and touch God-knows-what body parts. They are also, you know, flying though the freaking air, but what would we know about athleticism?
Cheerleading at Blackburn is listed as a club, therefore the money used for poms, uniforms, shoes, bows and other materials is supplied by Student Senate and our own fundraising. A complete uniform costs around $200, not including shoes or bows. How fair is it to ask Student Senate for almost $3000 for a 14-member club? As a club we also have to follow the NCAA rules and our coaches established rules. We are not allowed to drink 24 hours before a practice or game for the safety of the team and insurance purposes. With practice three times a week and games two to three times a week, sometimes a 21-year-old can’t drink for months, even after waiting for 21 years. For real.
I understand that making cheerleading a sport is nearly impossible because we have to have the same number of male and female sports. My suggestion is two words: men’s volleyball. I understand why cheer isn’t a sport at Blackburn, but I don’t understand why we are constantly being treated unequally and pushed aside or ignored. We hardly get a “thank you” and have been left out or uninvited from certain events *cough, Homecoming, cough*. We just want some credit where credit is due, maybe even .5 of a PE credit for 112 hours of practice. We are extremely grateful to get to cheer on the men’s and women’s basketball teams, but the frequent discouraging comments, mocking and disrespect from peers, staff and faculty does take a toll on the group.