SJ Sports: Cheering IS A Sport

Let’s go Sixers, let’s go Flyers, E-A-G-L-E-S, Phillies. These cheers for Philadelphia’s finest indicate the pride burning inside the fans of this sports-crazed area.

Think about it. You’re sitting in your usual seat at a Sixers game and a full timeout is called on the floor. P.A. announcer Matt Cord comes on and says “Give it up for your own 76ers Dance Team.” Moments later, you find yourself cheering, watching and even appreciating the talent of these young women. Most of these professionals grew up cheerleading in your town, your high school and even for your team.

The cheerleading squad at Washington Township High has taken themselves to the next level. After becoming the Olympic Conference Grand Champions for the fourth consecutive year, the 25 team members went on to compete at the NJCCA Cheerleading and Dance State Championships.

Over the past 20 years, society has changed the face of cheerleading. Now, the primary function of cheerleading is to participate in competition. Cheering at games and exuberating the most school spirit has become an important, but secondary function. Over 64,000 girls across the nation are involved in these contests, some even in our own backyard.

On March 2, New Jersey’s best cheerleaders came together in Trenton’s Sovereign Bank Arena to find out where they rank among the state. For the first time in school history, under the guidance of head coach Apryl Ferri and choreographer Lauryn Atkinson, the Washington Township Girls Cheerleading team challenged New Jersey’s best. After performing their two-and-a-half minute routine, the judges were left speechless.

“The stunts we pulled off were unbelievable,” said senior team member Alyssa Conicelli. “The variations were unreal.”

Their style, strength and complex maneuvers prevailed and Washington Township won first place in the All-Girl Mega Varsity Cheer/Dance Division.

“They make it look so easy,” Ferri said. “Only because they work so hard.”

Considering the length of their season, cheerleaders need to be dedicated. Their season starts in the summer before football, extends through basketball season and ends in the spring after the cheerleading competition is over. Like every other high school varsity sport, the squad makes the full commitment to practice day in and day out.

“We practice six days a week,” said Conicelli. “We cheer at games, we compete on weekends and we’re usually the last team to leave at night.”

At Washington Township, practice is no joke. As a warm-up, everyone is expected to run a mile before practice even starts. Everything from push-ups to lunges are expected from every single member of the team. But, most importantly, they all need to stay focused while learning their routines.

“All 25 girls have to be in the same motion, on the same level, with the same timing,” Ferri said.

In order to pull off a routine, these girls must exhibit the strength of a football player, the grace of a dancer and the agility of a gymnast.

“These little girls are lifting people in the air, holding up one foot and keeping their own balance at the same time,” Ferri said of the squad. “It’s amazing what they can do.”

So, how can some people not consider cheerleading as a varsity sport? Well, many believe that cheerleading is not a sport because there are no actual results. No score. No goals. No baskets.

“If you know anything about cheerleading, you would know that there are definite ways of scoring and standing out,” Ferri said.

Also, according to Webster’s Oxford Collegiate Dictionary, “sport” is an activity requiring more or less vigorous body exertion and carried on according to some traditional form or set of rules whether outdoors or indoors.” Cheerleading meets all of these requirements.

Unless there is another way to define “sport” hiding from all of us, federal policy makers will soon be forced to recognize their mistake. Starting with the lines of Title IX, cheerleading proponents will continue to push for more opportunities to be recognized as a sport. These individuals are dedicated to the success of athletics as a whole. Their undying commitment unites their entire school.

Content provided by South Jersey Sports Club.

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Author: SJ Sports Club-Pilar Prassas