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“Cheerleading” is one of those activities that has gotten all kinds of mixed portrayals over the decades. It’s been stereotyped as “not a real sport,” or a snobby clique for the “popular girls.” Many movies made the vacuous and/or promiscuous cheerleader a cliche. And there are ample real-world stories of competition becoming so aggressive it can harm the participants, physically or emotionally.
The truth, as usual, is more complicated. Clearly cheerleading done right can have all the benefits of other sports. Participants learn team work and coordination. They get the many boons of physical activity: increased cardiovascular endurance, improved strength and flexibility, increased coordination and balance. Like other sports, it can help improve a youngster’s interpersonal skills, self-confidence, focus and discipline.
And for many we suspect it is particularly good way to learn resilience and how to sustain a positive mood. While the overly upbeat cheerleader is another pop culture cliche, the truth is a good cheerleader — by definition — has to learn how to be positive even when things aren’t going the way you want.
And unlike some sports, cheerleading has a wide variety of ways to participate, from a more casual performance at a high school football game to the high-powered and often complex routines of those at the top levels in team events such as the ones held at the Mohegan Sun Arena Sunday.
As Monday’s story noted, the Universal Cheerleading Association (UCA) Pocono Regional competition drew about 100 cheerleading teams to our back yard, from nearby school districts only a few miles away to participants such as Olivia Robert of Northport High in Long Island, New York, who recounted a bus ride of three and a half hours. Olivia gave the quintessential cheerleader response to the long road trip. “I just think traveling is also really fun too, going to different places.”
The duration of the overall event — from 9 a.m. until about 7 p.m. — should give an idea of how much variety cheerleading has developed. According to varsity.com, there are five junior high/junior varsity divisions, seven varsity divisions, one non-building division (no partner stunts, pyramids or tosses allowed), seven non-tumbling divisions, six traditional recreational affiliated divisions (good old fashioned “teams with the main purpose of cheering for and supporting” sports teams), and six traditional recreational non-affiliated divisions.
With numbers like that it’s easy to believe cheerleading has grown from a sideline activity to an industry generating a reported $2 billion-plus annually. And becoming a big business has led to big concerns, including an antitrust case that, according to sportico.com, was settled in March when Varsity Brands — one of the organizations involved in hosting Sunday’s event — agreed to pay $43.5 million to the plaintiffs. The U.S. All Star Federation, a Varsity-backed cheerleading governing authority, was a co-defendant, but Sportico reports only Varsity, owned by Bain Capital, is on the hook for paying the money.
None of which likely mattered to the youngsters gathered at the arena Sunday. “They’re excited, They’re super excited,” Marcie Jennings said. She coaches Canton High School, a first-time competitor at the event. They’ve been raising money and learning rules since June. “Being from a small town, you know, that’s a big deal for them.”
We are glad they got a chance to visit. We thank the arena, the UCA and Varsity Brands for bringing the regionals here. And as the old saying (first known written use in 1751) goes, three cheers for all those who competed.
– Times Leader