what is cheerleading

Cheerleading is an activity in which participants cheer for their team as a form of encouragement, ranging from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It is closely associated with American football and basketball, but cheerleading squads can also be found in other sports such as soccer, ice hockey, volleyball, baseball, and wrestling. Cheerleading has a long history in the United States, where it was originally a formal extracurricular activity for boys in high schools, colleges, and communities across the country, related to but distinct from other spirit programs such as marching bands, drum corps, and drill teams. Cheerleading has gained recognition as a sport in its own right and often operates outside the school context altogether. Cheerleading involves stunting, pyramids, baskets, tumbling, jumps, and dance, and it is recognized as one of the fastest-growing sports in Australia. Cheerleading has many benefits, including physical skills, discipline, teamwork, goal setting, leadership, confidence, and resilience. Cheerleading is not recognized by NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA as athletics, and therefore, there are few to no scholarships offered to athletes wanting to pursue cheerleading at the collegiate level.