Cheerleading as a Sport: The 68th Annual Westchester County Cheerleading Invitational
Is Cheerleading a sport? For too long many have made the argument that it is not. A Federal Appeals Court in August 2012 determined, in adjudicating a suit filed against Quinnipiac University, that cheerleading “does not meet the standards of a sport" under federal Title IX statutes. In 2014 the NCAA affirmed its belief that Cheerleading would not be recognized as an intercollegiate sport.
Opinion began to change that year when the American Medical Association officially declared Cheerleading to be a sport and recognized within the practice of Sports Medicine. Also in 2014, the Regents of the State of New York joined with 34 other States to declare Competitive Cheerleading as a recognized interscholastic sport. And, most recently, in December 2016, the International Olympic Committee at its meeting in Lausanne Switzerland granted provisional recognition to Cheerleading as an Olympic sport.
On January 25-26, 2017, the athleticism, precision and structured teamwork of Competitive Cheerleading was on display at the 68th Annual Cheerleading Invitational, sponsored by the Westchester County Parks Department and held at the Westchester County Center.
Welcomed by County Executive Rob Astorino, thirty-two high school teams competed for bragging rights as the best Competitive Cheerleading sports teams in the region in front of an enthusiastic crowd. In fact, if awards were given for cheering crowds, this audience would certainly have walked away with a trophy.
Walking, or should we say leaping and tumbling away with tournament trophies as Champions were:
1st Place New Rochelle High School
2nd Place Yorktown High School
3rd Place Ursuline High School
Co-Ed Division Champions
1st Place R.C. Ketcham High School
2nd Place John Jay High School
3rd Place Arlington High School
Jr Varsity Champions
1st Place New Rochelle High School
2nd Place Ursuline High School
3rd Place R.C. Ketcham High School
Look for full coverage, results, and in-depth interviews in the upcoming March-April 2017 issue of MetroSports Magazine. Be sure to sign up on our mailing list so that you won’t miss an issue. MetroSports Magazine is always free and online at www.MetroSportsMag.com. Follow-us on Twitter @MetroSports_Mag
