I've never been a cheerleader , but grew up next to a family of girls that were in highschool than a couple in collage.

and why shouldn't it be competitive ?

the amount of training they put in ? it's a sport ! the practice ? I'd like to see a futbol or similar sport do it . the flexibility isn't that far off gymnastics .

if we can call water polo and synchronized swimming for example sports ? Cheerleading is a sport.

Ripley8- You are so right!! The reason he is such the expert is because he owns pretty much all of the cheer industry. If cheer becomes a sport, then real enforced rules and regulations are possible so what that means for him is he is not in control of everything and will lose money. It's all about the money. The coaches are not properly trained since one of his 30+ companies trains the coaches and that is why the injures have increased so much. He fights so it's not a sport which would put it in another category plus he doesn't train properly. They are not trained as well as the training one gets for gymnastics, although he has coaches teaching it. It's one cluster you know what. If you get a chance, watch a show on showtime called Penn and Teller and it tells you why it's so corrupt. It was information I already knew so it is true. A few minor mistakes due to last minute changes but the truth is there. The only little mistake was the team they followed at one point were competitive cheer and not sideline (or high school i should say because they are getting dangerous and quinnipac college has a cheer squad since i know people that cheer there and i was there for a competition once but not to compete against the college but the competition was just held there) but the training if a bit different for high school and private competitive so on the show it was a private gym when they said what the training requirements were but that was the only last minute mishap but it's not a big deal since the private competitive is just as dangerous due to lack of good training (by other company of his) so it doesn't matter. The point is there and it's extremely informative. Anyone that has a kid who cheers should really watch it. Penn and Teller are kind of comedian types but they were the only ones that did not hold back or care what people thought. The media for all the articles that come out and people think they are too harsh, they are so wrong, they downplay everything due to liability sake. I know since the media has done stories on me and they say afer how sorry they are for having to cut certain things out due to the editors and liability. They are all afraid of telling the gods honest truth and these guys although some might look at them as whack jobs, and Varsity is hoping for that but what they said it the truth. It's more than anyone has had the guts to come out and say, except for the people in it, and other on the internet that are bashing varsity, and aacca, and usasf and i could go on and on. Also, if your state tells you that they do not go by them, they go by the spirit rules, which is NFHS and then for college it's NCAA, well, they do not own those but lets just say they "help" them out. Also the spirit book and accaa manual are almost identical. I wish I knew he was going to be there, since I'm not that far away. I've love to meet the creep and tell him a few things. He's no better than the tobacco companies that took years before people realized and would accept how bad they were knowing all along and lying that cigarettes were safe when they knew how dangerous they really were. I'd like to see Jeff Webb in jail where he belongs.

lifeallstar...i saw the same P & T episode and it was a real eye-opener. I didn't realize that Cheerleading wasn't a "sport" and what the ramifications were if it isn't. Cheerleading is NOTHING today like it was when I was in school (i didn't cheer but our school had a squad).

Living in Texas, we have lots and lots of clubs now that do competitive cheer and these little girls do moves that are out of this world. However, I think we need to do some sort of monitoring to make sure no one gets hurt (w/o over regulating the sport). But to have some man from Varsity say that it isn't what it is, is wrong.