is cheerleading considered a sport?

In a dictionary you may find the word "sport" defined as a "physical activity that is
governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively."
That only makes considering cheerleading more difficult. According to the
Women's Sports Foundation the following criteria has to be met to be considered
a sport:
·                A physical activity which involves propelling a mass through space or
overcoming the resistance of a mass
·                A contest or competition against or with an opponent
·                Is governed by rules which explicitly define the time, space and purpose
of the contest and the conditions under which a winner is declared
·                The acknowledged primary purpose of the competition is a comparison of
the relative skills of the participants

Cheerleading is meeting all these requirements. According
to Teen Ink all the guidelines above are met. So cheerleading is a sport. But
is it all cheerleading teams? The answer is no, only competitive cheer teams
are considered a sport; those are the teams that are meeting the guidelines. So
the sidelines cheerleaders'is to entertain the crowd and lead them with team cheers, which should not be considered a sport. On the other hand, competitive cheerleading is a sport. Competitive cheerleading includes lots of physical activity. Like gymnasts, cheerleaders must learn to tumble. They perform standing back flips, round flip flops, and full layout twists. Cheerleaders also perform lifts and tosses. This is where the "fliers" are thrown in the air, held by "bases" in different positions that require strength and
cooperation with other teammates. Just like other sport, cheer has guidelines for competitive play. The whole routine has to be completed in less than three minutes and 15 seconds and the cheerleaders are
required to stay within a certain area and the way to be considered the winner is to have the most difficult stunts, tumbling, jumps, etc. so according to these guidelines and Teen ink cheerleading is considered a sport. And coming from a cheerleader's point of view I believe cheerleading takes a lot more than what people expect they only see us when we perform and when we try to make it look so easy, but they don't
see us behind screen when we are learning all the stunts and performing new tumbling skills. Cheerleading takes a lot and meets all the guidelines so I also consider cheer a sport.