Wide World of Sports

Cheerleading

Cheerleading started in 1880.The first words in cheerleading during a college football game were: “Ray, Ray' Ray! TIGER, TIGER, SIS, SIS, SIS! BOOM, BOOM, BOOM! Aaaaah! PRINCETON, PRINCETON, PRINCETON!"

In 1884, the University of Minnesota adopted cheerleading. Thomas Peebles brought the cheers but it was Johnny Campbell who led the crowd in the football field. The cheerleading draws attention to the game. Whole cheerleading team started with three men not women!

Women became active in cheerleading.. One University of Minnesota cheerleaders incorporated gymnastics and tumbling into their cheers in the 1920s. Universities and high schools began using pom-pons in their routine in the 1930s.

Today both women and men do cheerleading. Most of the men hold the women in the air. There are many cheerleading groups or teams all over the United States of America. Almost all colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and sometimes elementary schools have cheerleading teams. Cheerleaing teams are involved in most basketball and football games. Cheerleading has more of a variety of dance and gymnastics routines. Each school create their own rountines. Sometimes the gymnastic routines are more difficult than others. There are more and more competition between each other.

Did you know that Deaf people can do cheerleading? Yes, some can't hear the music but they follow the rhythm of the drum through vibrations or they watch the drummer's movements. Deaf cheerleaders follow the same rules in cheerleading.

Resources

http://www.inthecomplex.com/history.htm

Written by Lily and Arielle