There is more to cheerleading than most people may think. Cheerleading is not only used as a part of entertainment and support for a team, it is a sport in itself. It takes stamina, agility, balance, spirit and energy to be a cheerleader. It is a lot of practice and highly competitive. Cheerleading is much more than performing a simple cheer.

It’s dated that the first cheerleading club was created in the 1870’s at Princeton University. With the following decade the idea of cheering became quite popular. The first “yells” and “fight song” were created during this period. As the years passed and cheerleading became more defined and popular the first fraternity was created. Known as the Gamma Sigma, it was organized in the early 1900’s. Interestingly, it was not until the 1920’s that women started to take an active role in cheerleading; and soon after in Minnesota, cheerleaders began to use tumbling and gymnastics as an added touch to the cheering.

With the coming of WWII, women really took over cheerleading. When the men returned they assisted with the gymnastics but it was the women who did most of the movements and the dancing. This brought in a whole new trend – Dance teams.

As the years progressed so did cheerleading. There were always new additions such as batons and ribbons. Cheerleading is apart of almost every high school and University. It is a highly competitive sport that is appreciated through out America.