Each year during football season, it is the cheerleaders–not the players themselves–who are putting themselves in more danger. According to a 2008 report by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, cheerleading made up 65.1 percent of all catastrophic sports injuries among high school females over the past 25 years.

I find the current status of cheerleading, particularly high school cheerleading, in serious need of improvement. Why are diligent, athletic girls risking their future well-being only to be relegated to the sidelines of a bigger show? Why are these potential stars sacrificing so much only to be left off the field when society has fought so hard to bring them onto it?

There is no doubt cheerleaders can be amazing athletes. But with the current status of cheerleading, these guys and girls are not reaching their potential.

Cheerleaders go through classic routines with the same arm movements and clichéd cheers each year. They put Vaseline on their teeth in order to plant smiles on their faces, even when the team they are cheering for is down 49-0. They look at the crowd with these fake smiles, when the crowd isn’t even looking at them.

Why do cheerleaders with giant egos work so hard to try to be on the squad, constantly in fear of losing a spot or making a mistake in front of a crowd? Why are these young girls wearing skirts in freezing weather and wearing no protective gear when they are participating in gravity-defying stunts?

The underlying point is that the current goal of cheerleading–to raise the spirits of the crowd and try to help the football team win–is misguided. Cheerleading, especially in high school, does not focus enough on competitions. It definitely has great potential to be an amazing activity for young girls and boys, but today cheerleading is not where it should be.

Instead, today’s high school cheerleading is an activity of athletic girls and some guys, showcasing the same old routines and yelling the same cheers, which ultimately accomplishes as much for the football team as the vendors selling hot dogs in the crowd.

Cheerleading was put in place to get girls involved when girls weren’t active in sports and enable them to excite audiences in order to help teams win. Nowadays, we don’t just have women competing for teams. We have women owning teams. Nowadays, we don’t just have women surviving in sports. We have women thriving in sports. Nowadays, we don’t just have women athletes. We have genuine heroines.

Despite the great social progress that women’s sports have made in recent years, however, controversy remains. Just yesterday, U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill ruled that competitive cheerleading is not a college sport because of the underdevelopment of cheerleading.

The ruling was in response to a case brought by Quinnipiac University volleyball players and a coach because the university replaced volleyball with competitive cheerleading. According to the university, the switch is in compliance with Title IX, a 1972 federal law that mandates equal educational and athletic opportunities for students of both genders.

Underhill, however, rejected Quinnipiac’s reorganization on the basis that competitive cheer isn’t yet a proper sport in the same way as volleyball.

I agree with one part of his statement and disagree with the other. I disagree that competitive cheerleading is not a sport and believe that it is a sport–one of the most difficult sports, at that. It is truly amazing to see a team of athletes perform giant acrobatic stunts. However, I couldn’t agree more with Underhill’s assertion that cheerleading is undeveloped and needs improvements.

There is no doubt that improvements have been made to the sport of cheerleading. With the addition of men providing solid foundations for pyramids, cheerleading has become safer. The adoption of certain requirements, such as a certain GPA and community service hours, has encouraged cheerleaders to be active in their school or community as leaders, not just followers. It is fantastic that competitive cheerleading has gained popularity and that it has become significantly more co-ed. Also, many cheerleaders have become extremely influential leaders in society.

However, there are just too many cheerleaders, especially in high school, who are not accomplishing what they can and should. Advancements could help cheerleading to be seen as a legitimate activity of its own–whether it’s a “sport” or not–and less of sideshow for something else.