Whether it is a sport or not, if the school has a requirement for grades and you know that going in.. then I think you have a choice either to meet the grade requirement or not try out. Cheerleaders have requirements, which clubs do not, practices, games, and are expected to represent the school.

thats dumb. she should spend more time in school and less time suing.

This is an interesting discussion.

I voted "yes" cheerleading is a sport.

Now, before I get going on this topic, I will be the first to say (or second, Nelson was first), what is this mother doing? Why would any mother fight for a child that is not achieving at least a 2.0 in high school? This mother should want this child to stay home and focus on the academics. The last thing this mother should be doing is fighting for her child to get involved in a school activity that takes an extreme amount of time (spanning over 8 or so months.)

However, this could be an issue worth researching. I am not saying go to court over this, I think it could be resolved at the attending school or even the school district level.

If we were to think of high school cheerleading as a club, this activity would be on the same level, as leadership, dance teams, drama club, school musicals, ethnic clubs, etc. Is there any type of restriction as far as grades are concerned? I honestly don't know. Can someone answer this for us? How about other requirements like mandatory attendence?

Now, I truly believe cheer is a sport. No doubt about it! This is one sport that is in the school's public eye more than anything else. The standards for a cheerleader are extremely high. These student athletes are the representatives of the school. These athletics are practicing endless hours for several months, they are there to support other athletics, make school rallies fun and exciting, volunteer at just about every high school fundraiser, and yet make sure their school grades are up above standard.

I would love to hear how the school and above handles this situation. Keep us posted.

This was a difficult question.  I asked our cheer coordinator.  She said that it is considered a sport and we all know we work our BUTTS Off.  However some school districts do not consider it a sport they consider it a club.  This is interesting..  I do feel bad for this girl.  MY BF has a "Mod" i am not sure what it stands for however she has a learning disability and she gets c's and d's but because she has a learning disability she still is eligible.  I dont get A's but i do my best.  I dont think we should tell someone that because the grades are low they should not participate.  It is cheer that motivates me to work hard.  Since we dont know the total issue with the grades them we should not judge the mother.  I am so sorry this happened to her.  Best wishes. It is really not fair because football players always get bad grades but if they are the star someone always bends the rules for them.

Our school does consider cheer a sport in the sense of grades and having to pay the sports "fee" to participate but they definitely treat it as a second class sport unfortunately.  As far as our school is concerned, you have to have a 2.0 AND no F's in order to participate in ANY school sponsored activity.  If you are on the ineligible list you cannot participate in any sports activity or go to any dances or traveling trips (ie senior trip, or class trips) .  Basically you can not do any afterschool social activities.  But, to be ineligible you have to have not had a 2.0 or an F for two consecutive report cards.  So you really have no excuse, you are on probation if it happens in one grading period and then ineligible after the second grading period.  Therefore, you have plenty of warning and time to bring it up.  Unfortunately it affects many athletes in every sport as there really is no room for negotiation. 

If this girl's school is like ours I think the mother needs to let her sit out this year and understand why she is sitting out.  It is a hard lesson to learn, but in the long run she will understand that it is up to her if she cheers or not the next year.  She can always join an allstar program to keep improving her skills and tryout again the following year. 

Cheer is why my kid even goes to school. Let's just make that clear. If it weren't for cheer, she wouldn't really care too much. School is boring and starts way too early for a teenager. Basic teenology tells us all that they don't function before 10 am and can't sleep before 11pm. That's first day stuff.

Cheer is a sport and we all know that. That goes unsaid. BUT if you want to be on a level 5 team, you have to have what is REQUIRED to do so. So, should I start suing cause my kid didn't make the level 5 team even though she doesn't have a full?

Unfortunatly I believe that this parent is thinking that this sport is a club, and should she be allowed to participate, she's in for a rude awakening. I would let this parent know why there are rules AND what is required to be a cheerleader. If the kid can't keep up the grades, then how can she spend the hours of practice, games, travel, expenses, etc?????

I can only go by what happens at my daughters school. And all I can tell you is, I've already gone door to door selling car wash tickets, flown her from San Jose to Orange County a day early than we were suppose to be home so she could wash cars at a MANDATORY fundraiser, sold 5 gold cards as another fundraiser, driven her to practice after practice AND IT'S ONLY MAY. Yea, if she can't keep up the grades, how is she ever going to even START to put in the time and effort that is required? I wouldn't want her OR her parent on our team. Sorry....

I was the parent involved in this, I do not wish a reply, but
did want the facts to be correct.  I was NOT trying to get her
on the team, I was concerned about the tryout procedure abd
the advisors, and this confirms the fact as the person who 
started this topic does not have the facts correct nor does
he/she have all of the facts.  But after speaking with the
school administration, they did feel an investiagtion was
justified.
 

-- Edited by 4jesus at 12:24, 2007-05-22

What ever you meant one thing is clear your not happy of the outcome. Two things to keep in mind when it comes to most schools grades are usually a prioity and should be for any activity in my opinion. On the other hand if your daughter wants to cheer and is very good but had a hard time with requirements at school then might I suggest all star cheerleading most Gyms do not focus on the grades as much. Just a thought

Here is the definition of a "sport", as defined on www.dictionary.com:

"An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively."

OC Mom - I think you're correct! This topic is interesting.

If we look at the definition as stated above, HS cheer for the most part is NOT a sport.

However, if that HS cheer team decides to compete then the activity becomes a sport. Confusing!

It definitely doesn't matter if all the facts of the original post is correct. We do get the jist of what was said here. It's unfortunate that it hit a nerve with a parent out in the cheerworld. I am sure this parent is not alone. I'm sure this effects lots of parents/students trying out for cheerleading.

-- Edited by Cheer411 at 22:43, 2007-05-22