It makes logical sense that high school sports typically mirror the collegiate counterpart. Every athlete dreams of playing their sport in college or at a professional level. The progression from the high school level to the college level makes sense for the sports themselves, not just the athletes. High school sports rules are very similar if not identical to the college rules governing each sport. The growth of acrobatics and tumbling at the collegiate level will create hundreds of new scholarship and athletic opportunities for female athletes. As a direct result, it also makes sense for high schools to migrate competitive cheer towards acrobatics and tumbling.
Currently, about half of the 50 states recognize cheerleading as a sport. Of the 25 or so states that do, none govern or administer the sport the same way. There is no universal standard for the governance of competitive cheer as a sport at the high school level. Perhaps this a direct correlation to the lack of safety and resulting high injury rates in cheerleading. Another issue at the high school level is the blurred line between a team whose purpose is to support the school's athletic programs through crowd leading and the more demanding and intense focus on competing. The result is a hybrid team in the middle of a wide spectrum of types of cheer teams which are often disarrayed with their administration's expectations.
Acrobatics and tumbling is the answer to many of these issues. Once adopted by the NCAA as a sanctioned sport,the growth at the college level will inspire growth at the high school level. The automatic standardization and uniform governance of the sport that will be required by the NCAA will be mirrored at the high school level as well. In fact, acrobatics and tumbling requires a higher level of safety certification and professional accountability than the leading national cheerleading safety certification organization which works closely with the National Federation of High Schools to certify cheer coaches. Background checks of all coaches and officials are required in acrobatics and tumbling where it is only recommended or not even considered by the leading national safety certification. High schools following in the footsteps of acrobatics and tumbling's college model will undoubtedly provide a safer, regulated and properly governed environment for athletes to continue to develop in this sport.
By offering both an acrobatics and tumbling team at a school, athletes are now given another choice that was not previously available. Those who want to focus on the competitive sport and skill set can choose to join acrobatics and tumbling teams while athletes who prefer to focus on crowd leading and game-day cheerleading can join the traditional sideline team. Having both teams and even in different seasons can allow for athletes to do both. The benefit is that additional opportunities are being created that meet the interests of student athletes. More students can be involved on two teams than on one.
No matter which side you're on of the debate over cheerleading as a sport, acrobatics and tumbling essentially ends the discussion by removing all the reasons against the sport. Acrobatics and tumbling is the evolution of only the sport elements of competitive cheer. Take those elements and mold them into a format that meets all the same administrative and structural components in all other NCAA sports and there's no denying this is the true sport model cheer athletes have been needing to end the argument.
If the philosophy behind sports at high schools and universities is to provide opportunities to develop and enrich the athlete's lives and to do so through activities that interest those athletes, then acrobatics and tumbling is simply a great choice for high schools to explore. The sport answers the tremendous popularity and interest in the competitive aspects of cheerleading and offers schools the ability to preserve the traditional forms of cheerleading, engage competition focused interest and ultimately offer more opportunities and choices for athletes. This choice could be one that makes a dream of competing for a college team a reality.
Currently, about half of the 50 states recognize cheerleading as a sport. Of the 25 or so states that do, none govern or administer the sport the same way. There is no universal standard for the governance of competitive cheer as a sport at the high school level. Perhaps this a direct correlation to the lack of safety and resulting high injury rates in cheerleading. Another issue at the high school level is the blurred line between a team whose purpose is to support the school's athletic programs through crowd leading and the more demanding and intense focus on competing. The result is a hybrid team in the middle of a wide spectrum of types of cheer teams which are often disarrayed with their administration's expectations.
Acrobatics and tumbling is the answer to many of these issues. Once adopted by the NCAA as a sanctioned sport,the growth at the college level will inspire growth at the high school level. The automatic standardization and uniform governance of the sport that will be required by the NCAA will be mirrored at the high school level as well. In fact, acrobatics and tumbling requires a higher level of safety certification and professional accountability than the leading national cheerleading safety certification organization which works closely with the National Federation of High Schools to certify cheer coaches. Background checks of all coaches and officials are required in acrobatics and tumbling where it is only recommended or not even considered by the leading national safety certification. High schools following in the footsteps of acrobatics and tumbling's college model will undoubtedly provide a safer, regulated and properly governed environment for athletes to continue to develop in this sport.
By offering both an acrobatics and tumbling team at a school, athletes are now given another choice that was not previously available. Those who want to focus on the competitive sport and skill set can choose to join acrobatics and tumbling teams while athletes who prefer to focus on crowd leading and game-day cheerleading can join the traditional sideline team. Having both teams and even in different seasons can allow for athletes to do both. The benefit is that additional opportunities are being created that meet the interests of student athletes. More students can be involved on two teams than on one.
No matter which side you're on of the debate over cheerleading as a sport, acrobatics and tumbling essentially ends the discussion by removing all the reasons against the sport. Acrobatics and tumbling is the evolution of only the sport elements of competitive cheer. Take those elements and mold them into a format that meets all the same administrative and structural components in all other NCAA sports and there's no denying this is the true sport model cheer athletes have been needing to end the argument.
If the philosophy behind sports at high schools and universities is to provide opportunities to develop and enrich the athlete's lives and to do so through activities that interest those athletes, then acrobatics and tumbling is simply a great choice for high schools to explore. The sport answers the tremendous popularity and interest in the competitive aspects of cheerleading and offers schools the ability to preserve the traditional forms of cheerleading, engage competition focused interest and ultimately offer more opportunities and choices for athletes. This choice could be one that makes a dream of competing for a college team a reality.
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