Make Cheerleading a Sport

Until I became the parent of a cheerleader, I thought as most people did; cheerleading isn't a real sport. That is until my daughter's best friend, a cheerleader, invited her to go to a practice, got hooked on cheer, and begged her father and I to sign her up the very next season (as it was too late to do so then). Our opinions quickly changed shortly after. Where we thought it was just being cute, cheering on the football team and performing a few moves, we soon discovered that not only is cheering competitive, but challenging, tough, and dangerous as well. These girls are not only required to do the same conditioning as other participants in other sports, such as gymnastics, track, basketball, and many others, they are also suffer injuries of those similar to full contact sports as well; the lifting and stunting of an individual as tall and heavy as themselves, suffering broken bones, bruises, cuts, etc. I can only describe it as watching female football players, the only difference being the uniform, lack of protective gear, and the impact angle of a full-force hit. We know first hand the injuries that can result from a stunt that isn't executed perfectly, as our daughter has suffered both a hairline fracture of the elbow and index finger. Being a flyer, they must have the same concentration as that of a gymnist, and the fortitude to be held up only at the ankle and make it seem as if it's the easiest thing in the world, smiling and calling cheers, while trusting fully in the abilities of those supporting her from below. I have since become an assistant coach for my daughter's squad, and being fully involved in our team, have the honor of being in the presence of great teams such as ours. I can sum it up best the realities of cheerleading, over-heard by a young man age 13 at his sister's state competition (a young man who has been involved in many sports, including football, and had also cheered for a year on his sister's squad): "I've been in almost every sport I can think of, but cheer has been the hardest I had ever done."
As my husband has said many times, if trampoline jumping has become an Olympic sport, why hasn't cheerleading been considered one at all? We must help our cheerleaders, both male and female, by allowing them to enjoy their sport and keeping them safe with the same standards as all sports children are involved in. This petition is a great start. :)