I recently received an email from two cheer athletes from Tampa, Kayla and Taylor, who are upset about a federal judge’s decision indicating competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38347400/)

I explored this issue with several local cheer athletes last month who are currently in college but don’t receive the same scholarships other athletes earn because of the status of their sport.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1owbOoylfDU)

While Kayla and Taylor are still in elementary school and years away from college scholarships, they are hoping others will begin to recognize their sport in the same way they see cheering.  These cheer athletes say cheering is just as physical, competitive and dangerous as any other sport.  What’s more, the stereotype cheerleaders only cheer “on the sidelines” is simply not accurate.  Their letter struck me, as these elementary students show a strong passion about setting the record straight:

Dear Alicia and News Channel 8,

We ask you to take the time to talk about the topic of cheerleading by reading this letter, we have taken the time to type and print this. Cheerleading is a sport and we have proof! You see we are cheerleaders. To some people, we are just random girls standing there yelling out weird rhymes and cheers on the sidelines, but some of us train hard every day to accomplish our goals-getting flips and trying to twist and flip while flying through the air. We think that everyone should know that cheerleading is a sport, and it IS more dangerous than football- by far! These are the reasons that cheerleading is a sport.

1.You can break any bone, pull any muscle, and get hurt very easilyif your not trained to do the skill!

2.It is the most dangerous sport, not even football can pass it!

3.You can almost die from it(how can parents stand watching us)
From,
Kayla and Taylor

Kayla and Taylor, it is because of athletes like yourselves that one day, hopefully soon, the NCAA and other collegiate organizations will take steps to equalize the opportunities available to ALL athletes.  In the interim, communicating your views in this manner is a positive example of the freedom and responsibility we all have to share our views in collaboration for a better tomorrow.

If Kayla and Taylor’s letter “hit home” for you, I encourage you to post your comments and thoughts on this issue and their proactive expression for change.  Imagine the possibilities if we all took a stand for something we believed in?