New York State Board Of Regents Deems Cheerleading A Sport

[hrmjustin]

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — New York state education officials voted Tuesday to recognize competitive cheerleading as an interscholastic sport, in an effort to improve safety and coaching standards.

The state Board of Regents voted unanimously in favor of the measure a day after it was approved by one of its committees.

The Regents said the measure will help ensure that coaches are properly trained and that schools follow a common set of standards. Right now, there are no limits on the length of seasons or required practice days.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/04/29/new-york-state-board-of-regents-deems-cheerleading-a-sport/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

[bluestateguy]

1. I consider competitive cheer a sport

But it's hard to call anything a sport if there is no competition.

[JoePhilly]

2. Do you mean no "defense?"

I think cheerleading is definitely a competition.

But I tend to think a "sport" should include offense and defense. A way you obtain points, and a way opponents try to prevent you from obtaining points.

By this definition, bowling and golf, are competitions, not sports.

[bluedigger]

3. So track and field, swimming, skiing, etc. aren't sports?

To me, a sport has to be based on some sort of physical talent, whether it be scored, or judged. Competitive cheerleading, yes, chess or poker, no.

[JoePhilly]

4. So this is the real issue ...

... Any athletic event can be a sport ... But if we want to create more distinctions, you need to come up with some set of conditions.

Periodically, DU goes through an exercise try to select them.

I used "defense", I could have used, "objective versus subjective scoring".

Come up with a good set, and you can compare, more conditions met, more likily a sport.

[bluedigger]

5. I think it's a Spring DU annual event.

On the schedule for next month, iirc. These posts are just training for the finals.

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. Sounds like bad news for cheerleaders. And cheerleading.

Want to absolutely RUIN something?

Let the NYS Bd of Regents start to "regulate" it.

But they've got to so *something*, don't they?

Otherwise they're just patronage buds and homies taking up space and collecting gov't paychecks.

Which would be an improvement, actually, if that were ALL they did.

It's when they look for things to DO.... or to PRETEND to do ( like regulating cheerleading) to justify their existence ....that we should all worry.

[hrmjustin]

7. Good point. They ruin anything they touch.