Annotated Bibliography of Cheerleading- Why it should be a sport

"AACCA.org - Cheerleading as a Sport." AACCA.org - Cheerleading as a Sport.

2009. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
This source explained much about the origin of cheerleading, for cheerleading
was started in 1898 by a male, Johnny Campbell. The increased athleticism of
cheerleading has given cheerleading an entirely new definition. The source also explains
the definition of a sport and why cheerleading is considered a sport. The website also
explains how cheerleading is mainly referred to as an athletic activity rather than a sport.
The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Administrators is a
national organization that is dedicated predominantly to cheerleading. The association
certifies coaches and educates them on the safety precautions of cheerleading. The
Association is also asked constantly on the status of whether cheerleading is a sport or
not, so the association gives their opinion on the matter.
This Association website was very helpful when researching cheerleading and
whether it is a sport or not. Having been a cheerleading for 13 years, this student still
learned new information from this website. This student would desire more information
on the history of cheerleading.

"Cheerleading Ranks First in Catastrophic Sport Injuries." United States Sports
Academy. US Sports Academy, 08 Apr. 2011. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
US sports Academy is a helpful website in which examines the statistics related to
injuries in cheerleading. This source explains that cheerleading is the number one female
sport and the number 2 in catastrophic injuries compared to all sports. The only sport it is
behind is American football. The source explains that the sport does not have than many
safety regulations and coached training because it is not always recognized as a sport
nationwide.
US Sports Academy is the largest sports university in the world. It is a university
in which awards bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees. Over 75% of the graduates
worked in sports. The academy was established in 1972 in order to train coaches in
sports related injuries and how to prevent them.
This source was beneficial in the research of cheerleading and why it should be a
sport. This student learned that there was an academy directly related to sports.

Drehs, Wayne. Athletes Are Cheerleaders, Too." ESPN Page 2. ESPN Internet
Ventures, 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
Athletes are Cheerleaders, Too is a valid source, which explains the athleticism
of cheerleading. The article speaks of a college cheerleader from UCLA. The
cheerleader has had many injuries and has competed through a torn ACL. The ESPN
article also explains how college cheerleaders usually do not get a scholarship for
cheerleading or it is a very small amount. College cheerleaders do just as much as many
other collegiate sports. The article also explained how much cheerleading as a sport has
grown. There is a lot more gymnastics and dangerous stunts added into cheerleading
now then ever before.
ESPN is a sports television program that also has their own website. ESPN is
involved in many different sports and athletic programs at the international level. The
author of Athletes are Cheerleaders, Too is Wayne Drehs. He is a senior writer for
ESPN and has been with the company since 2000. Drehs is a three-time Sports Emmy
Award Winner.
This source was very helpful and understanding the different levels of
cheerleading and everything that goes into the sport. It was especially useful for those
who do not understand cheerleading, for Drehs compared cheerleading to other sports
and sports injuries.

Helms, Rachael. Personal Interview. 1 Apr. 2014.
There was a lot mentioned from Rachael Helms about the dedication one must
have in cheerleading. She explained the amount of time put into the sport along with the
difficult tasks involved when working for certain skills. Rachael explained with
excitement how most cheerleading gyms run their team practices at least three times a
week for two to three hours at a time. In addition to their normal team practice, all
cheerleaders are expected to attend at least one tumbling class a week, a conditioning
class, and a flexibility class. Many of her athletes are at the gym at least 15 hours a week.
Rachael Helms is a former gymnast and UNCC cheerleader. She was a gymnast
from age 7 until an injury in her freshman year of high school occurred. After being a
gymnast, she played high school football for a short time. Following her career in
football, she went to college and tried out for cheerleading. She was captain of the
UNCC cheerleading squad her senior year and co-captain her junior year. She has been
coaching gymnastics and cheerleading for 15 years. Helms is a well known cheerleading
and tumbling coach throughout Charlotte, NC. Rachaels excitement when talking about
cheerleading exhibits her love for the sport.
The personal interview conducted with Rachael Helms was very intriguing, for
she made things simple and easy to understand. All of her information was extremely
useful. She gave all of her information from the point of view of a coach, which also
made her easy to understand.

Legacy, Mandi. Personal Interview. 30 Mar. 2014.
Mandi Legacy explained a lot of the physical aspects of cheerleading and her
opinion on competition season. She told of the physical demand cheerleading had on her
when she cheered and on her athletes. When Mandi was in college, she explained that
two practices a week were added in addition to the ones they already had. Her athletes
have mandatory extra practices for competitions as well. Many of the boys and girls she
coaches are in great shape because they are always in the gym working hard.
The credentials that Mandi Legacy have are of great standard. She was a former
cheerleader at the University of Massachusetts. She won two national cheerleading
competitions in her time there. After college, she began coaching and has now been
coaching cheerleading for twenty years. Mandi is also a third grade teacher and knows a
lot about discipline. She is an awesome resource when learning the ins and outs of
cheerleading.
This source was helpful when researching cheerleading because Legacy seemed
to know a lot about cheerleading and coaching. She was very informative, and one could
tell that she enjoyed the sport and all it had to offer. Most of the information obtained by
her was all new.

Ling, Lisa, and Arash Ghadishah. "Most Dangerous 'Sport' of All May Be
Cheerleading." ABC News. ABC News Network, 4 Jan. 2010. Web. 27 Mar.
2014.
Most Dangerous Sport of All May Be Cheerleading is an article form
abcNews about the dangers of cheerleading. The article begins by talking about a girl
who will never walk or talk again because of a cheerleading accident. Her only means of
communication is through blinking; she blinks once for yes and twice for no. The article
also explains how cheerleading has grown so rapidly. All the athletes want to try new
stunts and skills that they see online or at a cheerleading competition. A coach
interviewed in the article explains that some of the athletes become upset with her
because she does not want them to get hurt. In addition to cheerleading growing, this
source also shows the statistics in cheerleading related to injuries.
AbcNews is a nationwide news network in which gives information on many
different things in the news. One can get national and world news through abcNews.
They have exclusive interviews with world-renowned people.
This source was beneficial because it explained a lot about cheerleading. It also
taught new statistics on the injury rates of cheerleading. It was intriguing to understand
ways that would prevent many injuries if cheerleading was deemed a sport.


Selke, Lori A. "Reasons Why Cheerleading Is a Sport." LI VESTRONG.COM.
LIVESTRONG.COM, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
Reasons Why Cheerleading Is a Sport, is an article by Lori A. Selke that gives
reasons as to why cheerleading is a sport. It explains four reasons why cheerleading is a
sport: physical exertion, training, coaching, and competition. The article also explains
how the days of pompoms and handclaps are long over. Competition cheerleading is
now the substitution for pompoms. There are examples of people that claim cheerleading
is a sport. One example the article highlights is that of a University of Kentucky
cheerleader. Maurice Grant is a UK cheerleader who has played football and ran track.
He believes, I think cheerleading is definitely a sport. You work just as hard as anyone
else.
LiveStrong.com is a website sponsored by livestrong.org. LiveStrong.com is a
website all about sports, food, health, and a healthy lifestyle. The website discusses
different sports and fitness aspects of those sports. It also helps guide those who want to
lose weight in the right direction. Lori A. Selke is a professional writer and editor. She
has been writing on many different and diverse topics for 15 years.
This source was helpful in understanding the reasons as to why cheerleading
should be a sport. It made cheerleading terminology easy to learn and understand.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Doctors Say Cheerleading Needs More Safety Rules
TIME.com." Time. Time, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2014.
Doctors Say Cheerleading Needs More Safety Rules, is an article that explains
the dangers of cheerleading. It explains about the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP) and its findings on the severity of injuries in the last decade alone. The article
shows the different types of catastrophic injuries that occur. The AAP believes that
cheerleading should be made a sport in all states to make sure there are trained coaches
and better access to injury surveillance. It also believes that cheerleading stunts and
tumbling should only be performed on foam spring floor or foam mats.
Time magazine is an American news magazine that is published in New York.
The magazine is distributed weekly around the United States. Nancy Gibbs is the
managing editor and has been with Time since 2013. The latest stories around the US are
covered in Time magazine. The magazine consults the most important people and
companies in order to obtain the most accurate and up to date information.
This source was helpful because it explained the dangers of cheerleading and
ways to solve some of these dangers. It was the only source that mentioned ways to
resolve the dangers and catastrophic injuries of cheerleading.