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Cheerleading: the newest Olympic Sport

Words of Cheer
Photo of the competition mat at ESPN in Orlando, Florida where the most prestigious competition, Che
Photo of the competition mat at ESPN in Orlando, Florida where the most prestigious competition, Cheerleading Worlds, has been broadcast every April since 1997. Photo by Rhea Good

You may have seen the t-shirts, “The Future is Cheerleading 2024.”  What is this about?

The history of organized cheerleading begins in 1877 at Princeton University when students began the tradition of chanting in unison at sport matches on campus. In 2019, cheerleading is a sport with millions of athletes word-wide, national teams, international competitions, specialized and certified coaching credentials, and professional cheerleaders, adults who literally make their living doing the sport. And, you know you’ve hit the big-time when Hollywood takes notice; first in 2000 with the original Bring It On movie, followed by Bring it On Again in 2004, and a third sequel, Bring It On: All or Nothing in 2006.

I have been involved with the sport of cheerleading since 2006, first as a “Cheer Mom” and then as a coach in later years. Now I would call myself a semi-retired coach, but I often field many questions from friends, family and newcomers to the sport. The questions are easy, but have long answers. What is cheerleading? What are cheerleading competitions? Who do you cheer for? And so on …

I decided to write this weekly column to share the interesting history of the sport of cheerleading and also to share current information about the sport as Cheer Canada ramps up its organization to be ready to send off the first ever Team Canada Cheerleading Team to the Olympics in 2024.