Suits first states that in order for an activity to be considered a sport, it must have the four characteristics of a game: it is goal directed, it has rules, it has rules that make the goal harder to attain, and the rules are accepted in order for play to take place. The goal of cheerleading is mainly to win the competitions. There are other goals that go along with that, for example having a complex routine and performing it faultlessly. There are also rules in competitive cheerleading. Some rules are that the performances have a time limit, and that they must have a verbal cheering portion

According to Suits’ definition of a sport, cheerleading meets all the characteristics. Also, Suits would clearly consider cheerleading a judged performance because there are judges, the performers are judged against an ideal, they rehearse, and the rules apply to the performers while out of the arena.

Cheerleading competitions are judged as opposed to refereed. The squads perform in front of a panel of judges who score them against an ideal “10”. Also, the rules regarded in cheerleading competitions apply mostly to the performers when they are out of the arena, such as the use of steroids, time limitations and such. There is no officiator on the mat during the competition calling out the shots, stopping the performance to assign penalties to a cheerleader who fell from a tower. The performance goes straight through without interruption. This is very different than in a refereed game, such as basketball. In basketball, there is a referee or two on the court during the entire game. They enforce the rules as the game plays through. Also, the teams compete head to head and the winner is the team who scores higher than the other team by the end of the game. They are not judged against an ideal. Cheerleading competitions do not meet the requirements to be considered a refereed game at all. They are clearly judged performances.

In order for an activity to be defined as a sport, it must also require physical skill. Cheerleading at the competitive level requires maximum fitness. Flexibility is a must, along with d

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