Judge in CT: Cheerleading not a sport

[dbackjon]

Competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in ordering a Connecticut school to keep its women's volleyball team.
Several volleyball players and their coach had sued Quinnipiac University after it announced in March 2009 that it would eliminate the team for budgetary reasons and replace it with a competitive cheer squad.
The school contended the cheer squad and other moves kept it in compliance with Title IX, the 1972 federal law that mandates equal opportunities for men and women in education and athletics. But U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill disagreed in a ruling that those involved say was the first time the cheerleading issue has been decided by a judge.

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[danefan]

This is actually a bad decision for schools with football programs. Competitive cheer squads could have been an easy and cheap way to offset football scholarships.

[dbackjon]

This is actually a bad decision for schools with football programs. Competitive cheer squads could have been an easy and cheap way to offset football scholarships.

Agreed.

Also disagree with his decision about Cross-Country/Track/Indoor Track not being three separate sports - that is whacked.

Hopefully Quinnipiac will appeal.

[danefan]

This is actually a bad decision for schools with football programs. Competitive cheer squads could have been an easy and cheap way to offset football scholarships.

Agreed.

Also disagree with his decision about Cross-Country/Track/Indoor Track not being three separate sports - that is whacked.

Hopefully Quinnipiac will appeal.

Its kind of hard to really argue between indoor and outdoor track, but cross-country should definitely count as a separate sport.

Indoor and outdoor have slightly different events, but the majority of the athletes are the same and with a small exception (e.g. weight throw) the events are just modified distances.

[dbackjon]

Agreed.

Also disagree with his decision about Cross-Country/Track/Indoor Track not being three separate sports - that is whacked.

Hopefully Quinnipiac will appeal.

Its kind of hard to really argue between indoor and outdoor track, but cross-country should definitely count as a separate sport.

Indoor and outdoor have slightly different events, but the majority of the athletes are the same and with a small exception (e.g. weight throw) the events are just modified distances.

I am not sure if the Judge's beef is that the women have XC, IT and OT, but the men only have XC, or that they are too similiar. Does QU only field distance teams in IT and OT? Because clearly a Sprinter, Shotputter, etc would not be on the XC team.

[clenz]

FWIW, I saw this article on MSN yesterday, and the photo with the story was of a UNI cheerleader.

[SunCoastBlueHen]

FWIW, I saw this article on MSN yesterday, and the photo with the story was of a UNI cheerleader.

How big was she?

[clenz]

FWIW, I saw this article on MSN yesterday, and the photo with the story was of a UNI cheerleader.

How big was she?

5'4'' 105lbs....as a complete guess

[SuperHornet]

Its kind of hard to really argue between indoor and outdoor track, but cross-country should definitely count as a separate sport.

Indoor and outdoor have slightly different events, but the majority of the athletes are the same and with a small exception (e.g. weight throw) the events are just modified distances.

I am not sure if the Judge's beef is that the women have XC, IT and OT, but the men only have XC, or that they are too similiar. Does QU only field distance teams in IT and OT? Because clearly a Sprinter, Shotputter, etc would not be on the XC team.

"Clearly," Jon? Technically, a hep/decathlete would do all of those, and I don't think anyone would look askance on an all-arounder joining the XC team.

BTW, I kinda see all your arguments about this being a bad decision in relation to other sports. I tend to agree with you. But I ALSO see this as a bad decision made out of chauvinism: as far as I'm concerned, if there's any athletic achievement to be had at all AND one can lose an ACL or crack one's head open, it's a sport. This decision, taken to the logical extreme, calls into question the viability of ANY judging-based sport, especially gymnastics. Heck, many cheerleaders come from the gymnastics world as it is.

Of course, this could inadvertently benefit track: if gymnastics goes away because of this, there could be an influx of pole vaulters. It seems that many female vaulters have a gymnastics background. I've helped out two such at the high school level this summer, and they tell me that it's a common phenomenon.

[JayJ79]

How big was she?

5'4'' 105lbs....as a complete guess

34C

(j/k, I never saw the picture)

[clenz]

5'4'' 105lbs....as a complete guess

34C

(j/k, I never saw the picture)

Ha...the last time I saw one of our cheerleaders that was over a 5'5 and a small B was back when we still had male cheerleaders....

[JayJ79]

Of course, this could inadvertently benefit track: if gymnastics goes away because of this, there could be an influx of pole vaulters.

Nothing wrong with an influx of female pole vaulters.





nsfw

[clenz]

Of course, this could inadvertently benefit track: if gymnastics goes away because of this, there could be an influx of pole vaulters.

Nothing wrong with an influx of female pole vaulters.

[JayJ79]

Nothing wrong with an influx of female pole vaulters.

part of me thinks I should feel bad for being a sexist pig.
but then I remind myself that I actually support womens athletics, which makes me better than many of the misogynists on here. so I won't lose any sleep over it.

[clenz]

part of me thinks I should feel bad for being a sexist pig.
but then I remind myself that I actually support womens athletics, which makes me better than many of the misogynists on here. so I won't lose any sleep over it.

You are no more of a sexist pig than any of the teenage girls, hell even adult women, that have posters, pictures, emails, etc... of shirtless guys like Taylor Lautner, The Hoff (back in the day), A-Rod, or whoever else it is the female population finds attractive.


Female populations like to make males think they are sexual deviants for their thoughts, but research shows that females actually think about sex more than males do during the course of a day. Just some food for thought.

Whenever you feel like a pig just think of this picture




I would also like to add that I support women's athletics. I bought season volleyball tickets for UNI this year, and am waiting to see what women basketball is going to run and when the games are.

[SuperHornet]

Of course, this could inadvertently benefit track: if gymnastics goes away because of this, there could be an influx of pole vaulters.

Nothing wrong with an influx of female pole vaulters.

I agree wholeheartedly, Jay. I STILL like Stacy Dragila.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

I agree with the judge, it ain't a sport. You can't defend, not a sport.

BTW Jay, if admiring the female makes you a sexist pig then you need some help. Not as much as SH needs but some at the very least.

[BlueHen86]

I haven't researched this issue, but on first glance I wish that it was considered a sport. Seems to me that it could help with Title IX issues.

[CatMom]

While I'm on the fence about whether it is a 'sport' or not, the cheerleaders certainly have to be athletes to be one. However, there are not weekly competitions or conference standing/championships that lead to a NC. That removes it from being an 'official,' or any other kind of, viable, competitive sport. That's the difference here.
As for indoor vs outdoor track and field, they are done in 2 separate seasons with 2 different sets of schedules/meets and championships, so they become separate in my mind.
Cross Country becomes separate because you are not going to find sprinters running cross country (for the most part.)

My daughter ran track in middle and HS. She ran the 100, 200 and their relays. The one time they threw her into a 400 (due to another's injury) it liked to kill her. It's differenet sets of muscles and different training and pacing.

[SuperHornet]

There may not be any "weekly" competitions, CatMom, but there ARE nationally televised championships every year. I'm not sure about the selection process, but a championship IS conducted.

[Ursus A. Horribilis]

There may not be any "weekly" competitions, CatMom, but there ARE nationally televised championships every year. I'm not sure about the selection process, but a championship IS conducted.

As there are in competitive eating contests. If we combine Cheerleaders with hot dog eating then I'll watch. I would also like to stipulate that they be able to rat hole as many hotdogs as the can and add to their eating total.

Let's get this fuckin' winner of an idea going!

[CatMom]

There may not be any "weekly" competitions, CatMom, but there ARE nationally televised championships every year. I'm not sure about the selection process, but a championship IS conducted.

Exactly, how do those teams even qualify? I mean what makes TXST get there over MSU or any other SLC squad? See....there's nothing set down, they just seem to end up with X numbers of cheerleading and Pep squads, by some mysterious formula. Therefore, it's not a competitive sport. Seems it's more of a selective competition, based on who knows what. That.......... is not a sport.

However, if they want to implement those type rules across the board I'll elect to send our baseball team to the CWS every year.

[JayJ79]

My daughter ran track in middle and HS. She ran the 100, 200 and their relays. The one time they threw her into a 400 (due to another's injury) it liked to kill her. It's differenet sets of muscles and different training and pacing.

There is definitely differences in training and pacing and technique between sprinting and distance. But different muscles?!? How so?

(I'm not a runner, but that notion doesn't make sense to me, so I'm just curious if you could explain the physiology)

[clenz]

My daughter ran track in middle and HS. She ran the 100, 200 and their relays. The one time they threw her into a 400 (due to another's injury) it liked to kill her. It's differenet sets of muscles and different training and pacing.

There is definitely differences in training and pacing and technique between sprinting and distance. But different muscles?!? How so?

(I'm not a runner, but that notion doesn't make sense to me, so I'm just curious if you could explain the physiology)

Different groups of muscles doing different amounts of work at different times.

The muscle grouping for those used in the 100 and 200 are different than they are for the 400. However, the elite sprinters can train them to work similarly. That is why a good track coach will have different work outs to get the best performance out of each group (100 and 200, 400, hurdlers, 800, 1500+, shot put, discus, etc...)

[TigerStripe]

This is where you really have to define what you consider a sport.

I went out with a cheerleader in high school and had to go to a few of her practices and competitions.

The things that they're required to do are physically grueling and dangerous.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but bowling and golf are consider to be NCAA sports. I've played both and not very good at either one. Both do require skills. However, neither one is as physically demanding as cheerleading in my opinion.

So I think this takes us to defining what we consider a "sport".