Thursday, March 14, 2013

Cheerleading Uniforms In Relation To Sporting History

By Anne Kelley


A popular organized activity that is related to sports wherein participants cheer, yell and shout to motivate the attendees of most sporting events is known as cheer leading. Professionals claimed that this certain activity is a sport of its own. Those who are members of a cheering squad makes use of cheerleading uniforms that are appealing while they bust their dance moves in court.

Cheerleaders are typically present in a lot of events related to sports whether it is a professional game or ones that are played in schools. As cheerers perform, they are able to execute moves that are quite complicated demanding a lot of their physical strength. There are people who believe that this activity can pass on as a sport. However, some also defend that it should not be considered one because it does not really require a lot of effort as compared to other sports activities.

The history of sports in the United States of America is highly related to the history of cheer leading. It was during the football game that took place in a university located in New Jersey when cheering was first performed. The football game was between Rutgers University and Princeton University in the year 1869.

Some years after that, male Princeton students were able to make a group consisting of males that cheered in unity by yelling and chanting. They did those actions in supporting their rugby team. The action produced a positive result as their team eventually won the game.

Thomas Peebles, a Princeton graduate traveled to the University of Minnesota and taught the cheering concept to the students there. In the same year, there were two more students who used the concept by yelling louder to motivate their rugby team. The way they cheered became an instant hit afterward.

Eventually, more cheers, school yells and fight songs developed in many educational institutions by the year 1889. However, the two consecutive losses of the team in Minnesota paved way to a series of changes. Students tried a different way to pump up the crowd by using a megaphone.

It was a smart move for them to do so because their team eventually won. Due to that, more changes and additional fame followed. Cheer leading became as popular as other sports. After the popularity that it gained, newer skills and techniques were added until it reached its current form.

At first, the activity was made only for males. However, all female groups sprouted in 1923 coming from the same university. During the World War Two, the activity was dominated by females because the guys have to go to the battlefield.

As techniques changed, so as the cheerleading uniforms that were worn. Acrobatics, tumbling and fight songs were added while signs were used at present. Cheering clinic were also opened for those who are interested although critics believe that aspirants should not try to push themselves too hard physically.




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