CHEERLEADING has been around for over 100 years, yet it’s often not acknowledged as a sport, and the dedication goes unnoticed by most. Since 1898, cheerleading has been seen as hype-girls and pom poms, but there’s a whole other level to the sport. Sideline cheerleaders were the start — dancing in front of the crowd and chanting for touchdowns. As people started noticing the energy, cheerleading started to evolve.
In 1948, Lawrence Herkimer founded cheerleading as a sport, gaining the title ‘The Father of Cheerleading.’ Not too long after, in 1974, Jeff Webb founded the Varsity Spirit Association, something that started light but ended up becoming much darker than expected.
Competitive cheerleading has become a global success. International teams have found themselves at The Summit or the World Championships in Orlando, Florida, alongside teams from across the country. High school teams are competing in bigger tournaments every year as the sport becomes more popular…