Cheer Facts that still surprise many people in Europe
There are at least six million cheerleaders across 38 countries world-wide. Squads are supporting sports
teams and schools in :- America; Australia;
Austria; Balarus; Belgium; Brazil;
Canada; Chile; Columbia; Costa
Rica; Cuba; Czech Republic; Denmark;
England; Finland; France; Germany;
Ireland; Italy; Japan; Luxembourg;
Malaysia; Mexico; Netherlands; New Zealand;
Norway; Panama; Poland; Russia; Scotland; Singapore; Slovenia; South
Africa; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine
and Wales.
A Century Of Cheerleading
Cheerleading
is almost 100 years old! Johnny Campbell lead the first cheerleaders at a Minnesota University American
football game on November 2, 1898. Originally cheerleaders were
all men. It was not until the 1920's that women became involved. Paper poms were introduced in the 1930's and the modern
vinyl pom was invented by Fred Gastoff around 1965.
Cheerleaders Are Athletes
Cheerleading involves
cheers, chants, jumps,
dance, tumbling, gymnastics, partner
stunts and pyramid building. Cheerleaders are
not just dance entertainers at games, they have to master difficult and demanding athletic techniques and be effective crowd
leaders, often training longer hours than the players they cheer for. During a typical gridiron game players may get
breaks, but cheerleaders go flat out for three and a half hours in all weathers.
Famous Cheerleaders
Many famous and talented people
were cheerleaders. Former US President Dwight D. Eisenhower;
actors Jimmy Stewart and Kirk
Douglas; actresses Meyrl Streep, Raquel
Welch, Cybil Sheppard and Terri
Hatcher.
Competitive Cheerleading
Already accepted
as an athletic discipline in its own right in many countries, international
cheerleading championships have up to 210 squads competing and attract
over 12,000 cheerleaders family and friends. Some are televised on Prime Time sports channels. With a regular
schedule of regional state and national competitions across America cheerleading could arguably be considered a fully fledged
sport.
Cheerleading 'Stats up
97% of all cheerleaders are female, however almost 50%
of collegiate cheerleaders are male. 12% of
cheerleaders are aged 5 to 13 years, and 12% are dancers.
The largest growth area is Juniors. 83% in school squads hold
leadership positions in school organisations, and 83% have 'B' grades
or better. 62% are involved in a second sport. (American
Sports Data Inc.)
British cheerleading has more than 11,000 participants, across over 300 clubs from Guernsey to Thurso.
Cheer Facts that still surprise many people in Europe
