Cheerleading quickly spread from colleges to high schools. Today most American high schools include cheerleading among their student athletic activities. Thirty percent of the high school teams enter cheerleading competitions. These cheerleaders must be in good physical condition. They must be able to jump high, turn circles in the air and lift each other.
Some teams train all year long.
As many as twenty-thousand girls attend cheerleading camps in the summer to improve their skills and learn new moves. Some people say cheerleading is not a sport because it does not have unified rules. Rules for competitions among cheerleading teams are different depending on the group organizing the contest. Experts do agree, however, that cheerleading is an athletic activity requiring physical skill. They also agree that cheerleaders add to the excitement of an athletic event. .