When people hear the word “sport”, they think of the games or competitive matches of football, baseball, golf, wrestling and basketball.

The textbook definition of a sport is an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment. Dancers and cheerleaders both must poses good stamina and energy, to help strengthen their technique so it can stay intact throughout their performances.

Competitive dancers and cheerleaders have to practice many hours to win a trophy or medal just like other sports do. They both consist of many years, training, and lessons. These two hobbies share many similarities but also differ in many ways as well. They are not qualified or even noticed in Olympics games.

A question that we can’t figure out the answer to is, “should dance and cheerleading be qualified as a sport?”

Dance is known as a performing art, which participants use their body to tell a story. Dancers practice many hours a week to help make their technique flawless, and to help strengthen their core for jumps. Many coaches or teachers use the famous phrase, “practice makes perfect.”

They practice their numbers a thousand times to help memorize the steps and make it the best it can be.

Sophomore math major and dance minor Sarah Hoffman said, “I practice dance around 20-25 hours a week. I feel dance requires athletics.”

Dance take a huge toll on the human body, dancers are always pulling their muscles and popping out their knees or ankles. Dancers have to have a healthy body, good mind set, and stamina to help them breathe during a powerful performance.

Dance is not always about just learning hard steps or turns. It also lets people express their feeling through motions during a number, and it also builds leadership and communication skills.

Cheerleading is a group of typically young women, who cheer and support their team by chanting cheers to encourage or help celebrate the team to win. It is not all about painting glitter signs and yelling cheers with their pom-poms during an event. It takes a lot of time and dedication to have a great squad.

Cheerleaders have to be physically active to be performing routines and especially when building and stunting.

Football players are lifting weights, but cheerleaders are lifting and tossing girls up in the air.

They need to practice these crazy and insane builds every day to have a clear performance for competition. Talking to cheerleaders around campus, they consider cheer as sport only at competitive level.

Wilkes University Dance minor and performing arts programs is under the direction of Kristen Degnan.

Many students are interested in pursuing and further their education in dance at a college level. Wilkes Dance Teacher, Lynne Mariana replied.

“Dance is not to be qualified as sport. It’s a fine art,” Mariana feels this way because. “Sports are infused with rules and regulations, where dance is about creativity and inspiration.”

The Wilkes dance Team may not compete but they do practice many hours a week. Dance Team President and Nursing Major Madison Myers, says.

“Since we don’t compete, I would consider us performers of the art.”

Cheering at the college level can be very competitive. Cheerleader, and English major Emily Banks, said.

“We practice many hours a week but I don’t consider it a sport.”

The NCAA does not recognize these hobbies as a sport at this time and also, Wilkes University considers them as clubs.

The research and evidence done on this topic show that, dance is an art and cheer is only known as a sport at competitive level. Dance and Cheer may not always be known as a sport but needs athletes to perform.

Dance is more a creative performing art, as cheer is more athletic strength. Will dance and cheer ever qualify as a sport? This is a question that can have a thousand different answers to it.