STORM in a POM-POM

The first organised, recorded yell was performed on an American Campus at Princeton University for an 1884 football match: “Ray, Ray’ Ray! Tiger, Tiger, Sis, Sis! Sis! Boom, Boom, Boom! Aaaaah! Princeton, Princeton, Princeton!”. Fifteen years later, a student named Johnny Campbell took it to the next level, when during a football match between the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, he suddenly got up, grabbed the megaphone and set off the famous, and still used, chant: “Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-U-Mah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Minn-e-so-tah!”. Others, all men, joined in. Minnesota won the game 17-6, and Yelling — soon to be dubbed cheerleading — had been born. The college even appointed a yell marshall, whose sole purpose was to get spectators to chant the famous cheer in unison.

In the beginning, all cheerleaders were men. And they cheered for men. Women became active in cheerleading in the 1920s. Today it is estimated that 97 per cent of professional cheerleaders in the US are females.

The spread

Around the 1920s, the University of Minnesota began to incorporate gymnastics and tumbling into their cheers. The first cheerleader company was formed in Dallas, Texas, in the 1940s, and it took just 10 years more for college cheerleaders to start conducting workshops to teach fundamental skills. In 1967, the first annual ranking of the “Top Ten College Cheer Squads” was done. The year also saw the launch of the “Cheerleader All America” awards by the International Cheerleading Foundation.

Cheerleading is now one of the fastest-growing activities for girls and women, with an estimated 3.8 million participants in the US. In addition to college cheerleaders, there are also independent cheerleading groups not affiliated with schools, which compete nationally.

Companies now teach cheerleading moves, make cheer supplies (pom-poms, shoes, clothing, megaphones, hair ribbons, etc.), run cheerleading camps and hold televised competitions.

The Cheerleading Capital of the US is Texas. Texas is also where a mother was accused of hiring a hitman to kill her daughter’s rival in competition. Circulation of the American Cheerleader magazine is estimated at 200,000.

The influence

It’s considered a great honour to be picked up for the All-America cheering squad, announced during Christmas week. The squad is chosen by Gamma Sigma, a national college cheerleaders’ fraternity, with the aid of sportswriters and sportcasters. To become an Alpha and wear the All-America insignia (a shield with two crossed megaphones) is a proud moment for cheerleaders.

The winners are selected on the basis of the cheering section’s reaction; judgment in selecting the best psychological moment for a cheer; and acrobatic ability. That includes the ability to perform a complicated back flip in which a performer leaps into the air, twists her body into a horizontal arc “which she holds momentarily”, then lights on her hands, flips her feet over her head and finishes erect. Apparently, less than 30 per cent of even the Gamma Sigmas are able to do it.

The debate

Most online encyclopaedias and cheerleading websites consider cheerleading as a sport. Most former cheerleaders also consider it a sport, because cheerleaders have tough practice schedules, involving dangerous stunts. Cheerleading is considered, by some accounts, as one of the most dangerous sports/activities, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports more than 25,000 cheerleading injuries requiring emergency room care every year. The University of Nebraska cheerleading squad is no longer allowed to perform aerial manoeuvres after one of its cheerleaders was seriously injured performing one.

Several state high school associations now recognise it as a sport. In 2003, the University of Maryland became the first Division I college to sanction competitive cheerleading as a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity sport. Several colleges have scholarships for cheerleaders while many high schools now offer it as a credited course.

The big names

While showbiz celebrities are not surprisingly on the list of famous cheerleaders — including Meryl Streep, Halle Berry and Madonna — it also includes two former presidents as well as the current one. George W Bush, Ronald Reagan and Franklin D Roosevelt were all part of their university cheerleading teams.

The controversy

Many believe sexuality entered cheerleading domain when in 1972, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders turned out in hot pants, white boots and cleavage-revealing tops. Now concern over the skimpy skirts, revealing tops and “MTV-inspired” routines has spread to coaches, school administrators as well as American lawmakers. At some school districts in Georgia, policies limit suggestive gestures and outline appropriate attire for cheerleaders as well as band members, drill teams and pep squads. A national organisation has banned bare midriffs for cheerleaders. A Texas legislator even tried to pass a law prohibiting suggestive performances by cheerleaders, drill teams or dance teams. The proposal was referred to by some as the “cheerleader booty bill”.