Editing Cheerleading (section)

==History==

===Before organized cheerleading===
In the 1860s, students from [[Great Britain]] began to cheer and chant in unison for their favorite athletes at sporting events. Soon, that gesture of support crossed overseas to America.<ref name="lshs.leesummit.k12.mo.us">{{Cite web|url=http://lshs.leesummit.k12.mo.us/studentprojects/0506/fall05/3rdproject/tbcheer/history.htm|title=History of Cheerleading|website=Lee's Summit High School student projects|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218124302/http://lshs.leesummit.k12.mo.us/studentprojects/0506/fall05/3rdproject/tbcheer/history.htm|archive-date=2007-02-18|access-date=2007-02-18}}</ref>

On November 6, 1869, the United States witnessed its first [[college football|intercollegiate football]] game. It took place between Princeton University and [[Rutgers University]], and marked the day the original "Sis Boom Rah!" cheer was shouted out by student fans.<ref name= "Princeton.edu">{{cite web |url=http://www.princeton.edu/~oktour/virtualtour/french/Hist14-Football.htm |title=First Intercollegiate Football Game; Princeton.edu |publisher=princeton.edu |access-date=2014-12-16 |archive-date=2018-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314203050/https://www.princeton.edu/~oktour/virtualtour/french/Hist14-Football.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Beginning of organized cheerleading===
[[File:JCampbell.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads|Minnesota Gopher]] cheerleader Johnny Campbell]]
Organized cheerleading began as an all-male activity.<ref name=ICU_History_2018>{{Cite web |title=History of The Sport of Cheer |url=https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/docs/ICU_History_2018.pdf |access-date=2020-02-02 |archive-date=2020-02-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200202212101/https://cheerunion.org.ismmedia.com/ISM3/std-content/repos/Top/docs/ICU_History_2018.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As early as 1877, [[Princeton University]] had a "Princeton Cheer", documented in the February 22, 1877, March 12, 1880, and November 4, 1881, issues of ''[[The Daily Princetonian]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18770222-01.2.12&srpos=1 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=1 |issue=13 |page=4 |date=February 22, 1877 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18800312-01.2.4&srpos=1 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=4 |issue=16 |page=1 |date=March 12, 1880 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18811104-01.2.17 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=6 |issue=8 |page=5 |date=November 4, 1881 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref> This cheer was yelled from the stands by students attending games, as well as by the athletes themselves. The cheer, "Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah! Tiger! S-s-s-t! Boom! A-h-h-h!" remains in use with slight modifications today, where it is now referred to as the "Locomotive".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.princeton.edu/football/songs.html |title=Princeton University website Songs and Cheers |publisher=Princeton.edu |access-date=2012-08-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102092442/http://www.princeton.edu/football/songs.html |archive-date=2012-11-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Princeton class of 1882 graduate [[Thomas Peebles (American football)|Thomas Peebles]] moved to Minnesota in 1884. He transplanted the idea of organized crowds cheering at football games to the [[Minnesota Golden Gophers Spirit Squads|University of Minnesota]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709224633/http://files.usgwarchives.org/mn/hennepin/bios/1923/peeblest.txt "Thomas Peebles"]. ''History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest'' Chicago-Minneapolis: The S J Clarke Publishing Co. 1923. Marion Daniel Shutter, ed. Volume III: Biographical, pp. 719–720.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://cheerunion.org/Content.aspx/History |title=International Cheer Union, Governing Body of International Cheerleading Website: History of Cheerleading |publisher=Cheerunion.org |date=1989-01-01 |access-date=2012-08-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723193811/http://www.cheerunion.org/Content.aspx/History |archive-date=2012-07-23 }}</ref>

The term "Cheer Leader" had been used as early as 1897, with Princeton's football officials having named three students as ''Cheer Leaders:'' Thomas, Easton, and Guerin from Princeton's classes of 1897, 1898, and 1899, respectively, on October 26, 1897. These students would cheer for the team also at football practices, and special cheering sections were designated in the stands for the games themselves for both the home and visiting teams.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian18971026-01.2.11 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=22 |issue=78 |page=2 |date=October 26, 1897 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://theprince.princeton.edu/cgi-bin/princeton?a=d&cl=search&d=Princetonian19001101-01.2.12 |work=The Daily Princetonian |volume=25 |issue=112 |page=2 |date=November 1, 1900 |title=deadlink}}{{dead link|date=June 2023}}</ref>

It was not until 1898 that University of Minnesota student Johnny Campbell directed a crowd in cheering "Rah, Rah, Rah! Ski-u-mah, Hoo-Rah! Hoo-Rah! Varsity! Varsity! Varsity, Minn-e-So-Tah!", making Campbell the very first cheerleader.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Male Cheerleaders |url=https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/Male_Cheerleaders |access-date=2021-04-15 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021214727/https://cheerleading.lovetoknow.com/Male_Cheerleaders |archive-date=2020-10-21 |website=cheerleading.lovetoknow.com}}</ref>

November 2, 1898, is the official birth date of organized cheerleading. Soon after, the University of Minnesota organized a "yell leader" squad of six male students, who still use Campbell's original cheer today.<ref name="ICFHandbook">{{Cite book | last1=Neil | first1=Randy L. | last2=Hart | first2=Elaine | title=The Official Cheerleader's Handbook | publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] | year=1986 | edition=Revised Fireside Edition 1986 | isbn=978-0-671-61210-8 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/allnewofficialch00neil }}</ref>

===Early 20th century cheerleading and female participation===
[[File:Early women cheerleaders at UW Madison (2246608893).jpg|thumb|left|Cheerleaders at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in 1948]]
In 1903, the first cheerleading [[fraternities and sororities|fraternity]], Gamma Sigma, was founded.<ref name="ACFeb2003">{{Cite journal|last=Walker|first=Marisa|date=February 2005|title=Cheer Milestones|journal=American Cheerleader|volume=11|issue=1|pages=41–43}}</ref>

In 1923, at the [[University of Minnesota]], women were permitted to participate in cheerleading.<ref name="pedia.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.cheerleader.pedia.com/ |title=CheerleaderPedia - the Cheerleader Encyclopedia - Home Page |access-date=2014-11-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120718053056/http://www.cheerleader.pedia.com/ |archive-date=2012-07-18 }}</ref> However, it took time for other schools to follow. In the late 1920s, many school manuals and newspapers that were published still referred to cheerleaders as "chap", "fellow", and "man".<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, pp. 17–18.</ref>

Women cheerleaders were overlooked until the 1940s when collegiate men were drafted for [[World War II]], creating the opportunity for more women to make their way onto sporting event sidelines.<ref>Golden, Suzi J. Best Cheers: How to Be the Best Cheerleader Ever! WA: Becker & Mayer, 2004, p. 5.</ref> As noted by [[Kieran Scott]] in ''Ultimate Cheerleading'': "Girls really took over for the first time."<ref>Peters, Craig. ''Chants, Cheers, and Jumps.'' Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2003, p. 16.</ref>

In 1949, [[Lawrence Herkimer]], a former cheerleader at [[Southern Methodist University]] and inventor of the [[herkie]] jump, founded his first cheerleading camp in Huntsville, Texas. 52 girls were in attendance.<ref name="popwarner">{{cite web|last=Balthaser|first=Joel D.|date=2005-01-06|title=Cheerleading – Oh How far it has come!|url=http://www.popwarner.com/articles/phenomenon.asp|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071113104613/http://www.popwarner.com/articles/phenomenon.asp|archive-date=November 13, 2007|access-date=2007-01-11|publisher=[[Pop Warner Little Scholars|Pop Warner]]}}</ref> The clinic was so popular that Herkimer was asked to hold a second, where 350 young women were in attendance. Herkimer also patented the [[pom-pom]].

===Growth in popularity (1950–1979)===

In 1951, [[Lawrence Herkimer|Herkimer]] created the [[National Cheerleaders Association|National Cheerleading Association]] to help grow the activity and provide cheerleading education to schools around the country.<ref name=":1" />

During the 1950s, female participation in cheerleading continued to grow.<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 3.</ref> An overview written on behalf of cheerleading in 1955 explained that in larger schools, "occasionally boys as well as girls are included", and in smaller schools, "boys can usually find their place in the athletic program, and cheerleading is likely to remain solely a feminine occupation".<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 25.</ref> Cheerleading could be found at almost every school level across the country; even pee wee and youth leagues began to appear.<ref>{{cite web|title=Being a Cheerleader - History of Cheerleading|url=http://www.varsity.com/event/1261/being-a-cheerleader-history.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201182310/https://www.varsity.com/event/1261/being-a-cheerleader-history.aspx|archive-date=2017-12-01|access-date=19 November 2017|website=Varsity.com}}</ref><ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 20.</ref>

In the 1950s, professional cheerleading also began. The first recorded cheer squad in [[National Football League]] (NFL) history was for the [[History of the Baltimore Colts|Baltimore Colts]].<ref name="lshs.leesummit.k12.mo.us" /><ref>Peters, Craig. ''Chants, Cheers, and Jumps.'' Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2003, p. 18.</ref> Professional cheerleaders put a new perspective on American cheerleading. Women were exclusively chosen for dancing ability as well as to conform to the [[male gaze]], as heterosexual men were the targeted marketing group.<ref name="Hanson, Mary Ellen 1995, p. 55">Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 55.</ref>

By the 1960s, college cheerleaders employed by the NCA were hosting workshops across the nation, teaching fundamental cheer skills to tens of thousands of high-school-age girls.<ref name=ICU_History_2018/> Herkimer also contributed many notable firsts to cheerleading: the founding of a [[cheerleading uniform]] supply company, inventing the [[herkie]] jump (where one leg is bent towards the ground as if kneeling and the other is out to the side as high as it will stretch in toe-touch position),<ref>{{cite web | title=Cheerleading Jump Herkie | url=http://cheerleading.about.com/cs/jumps/g/herkie.htm | access-date=2007-08-06 | archive-date=2011-01-15 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110115171919/http://cheerleading.about.com/cs/jumps/g/herkie.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> and creating the "Spirit Stick".<ref name="ACFeb2003" />

In 1965, Fred Gastoff invented the vinyl [[pom-pom]], which was introduced into competitions by the International Cheerleading Foundation (ICF, now the World Cheerleading Association, or WCA). Organized cheerleading competitions began to pop up with the first ranking of the "Top Ten College Cheerleading Squads" and "Cheerleader All America" awards given out by the ICF in 1967.

The [[Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders]] soon gained the spotlight with their revealing outfits and sophisticated dance moves, debuting in the 1972–1973 season, but were first widely seen in [[Super Bowl X]] (1976). These pro squads of the 1970s established cheerleaders as "American icons of wholesome [[Sexual attraction|sex appeal]]."<ref name="pedia.com" />

In 1975, Randy Neil estimated that over 500,000 students actively participated in American cheerleading from elementary school to the collegiate level. Neil also approximated that ninety-five percent of cheerleaders within America were female.<ref>Hanson, Mary Ellen. ''Go! Fight! Win!: Cheerleading in American Culture.'' Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ. Popular, 1995, p. 26.</ref>

In 1978, America was introduced to competitive cheerleading by the first broadcast of [[Collegiate Cheerleading Championships]] on [[CBS]].<ref name="ICFHandbook" /><ref name="ACFeb2003" />

===1980s to present===
[[File:Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders perform aboard USS Bainbridge (CGN-25), in 1983 (6370287).jpg|thumb|The [[Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders]] performing in the USO show "America and Her Music" on the deck of the nuclear-powered guided missile cruiser {{USS|Bainbridge|CGN-25}} in 1983]]
[[File:Defense.gov News Photo 041203-D-2987S-025.jpg|thumb|Then [[United States Secretary of Defense|U.S. Defense Secretary]] [[Donald Rumsfeld]] posing with [[Army Black Knights]] cheerleaders in December 2004]]
The 1980s saw the beginning of modern cheerleading, adding difficult [[stunt]] sequences and [[gymnastics]] into routines. All-star teams, or those not affiliated with a school, popped up, and eventually led to the creation of the [[U.S. All Star Federation]] (USASF). ESPN first broadcast the National High School Cheerleading Competition nationwide in 1983.

By 1981, a total of seventeen Nation Football League teams had their own cheerleaders. The only teams without NFL cheerleaders at this time were New Orleans, New York, Detroit, Cleveland, Denver, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and San Diego. Professional cheerleading eventually spread to soccer and basketball teams as well.<ref name="Hanson, Mary Ellen 1995, p. 55" />

Cheerleading organizations such as the American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), founded in 1987, started applying universal safety standards to decrease the number of injuries and prevent dangerous stunts, pyramids, and tumbling passes from being included in the cheerleading routines.<ref name="AACCA">{{cite web | title=About the AACCA | url=http://www.aacca.org/about.asp | archive-url=https://archive.today/20061206110741/http://www.aacca.org/about.asp | archive-date=2006-12-06 | access-date=2007-01-11 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2003, the National Council for Spirit Safety and Education (NCSSE) was formed to offer safety training for youth, school, all-star, and college coaches. The [[NCAA]] now requires college cheer coaches to successfully complete a nationally recognized safety-training program.

Even with its athletic and competitive development, cheerleading at the school level has retained its ties to its spirit leading traditions. Cheerleaders are quite often seen as ambassadors for their schools, and leaders among the student body. At the college level, cheerleaders are often invited to help at university fundraisers and events.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.varsity.com/event/1147/fundraising_ideas_cheerleading|title=Being a Cheerleader – Fundraising|website=Varsity.com|access-date=19 November 2017|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201044339/https://www.varsity.com/event/1147/fundraising_ideas_cheerleading|url-status=live}}</ref>

Debuting in 2003, the "Marlin Mermaids" gained national exposure, and have influenced other MLB teams to develop their own cheer/dance squads.<ref>Christine Farina and Courtney A. Clark, ''Complete Guide to Cheerleading: All the Tips, Tricks, and Inspiration''  (Beverly MA: Voyageur, 2011), 12. {{ISBN|9781610602105}}</ref>

In 2005, overall statistics show around 97% of all modern cheerleading participants are female, although at the collegiate level, cheerleading is co-ed with about 50% of participants being male.<ref name="popwarner" /> Modern male cheerleaders' stunts focus less on flexibility and more on tumbling, flips, pikes, and handstands. These depend on strong legs and strong core strength.<ref name=":1" />

In 2019, [[Napoleon Jinnies]] and [[Quinton Peron]] became the first male cheerleaders in the history of the [[National Football League|NFL]] to perform at the [[Super Bowl]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=2 NFL Male LA Rams Cheerleaders Will Make Football History in Super Bowl Game : NPR|newspaper=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/02/03/691058231/two-rams-cheerleaders-set-to-be-first-men-in-nfl-history-to-perform-at-the-super|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114115533/https://www.npr.org/2019/02/03/691058231/two-rams-cheerleaders-set-to-be-first-men-in-nfl-history-to-perform-at-the-super|archive-date=2021-01-14}}</ref>

=== Safety regulation changes ===
Kristi Yamaoka, a cheerleader for Southern Illinois University, suffered a [[fractured vertebra]] when she hit her head after falling from a [[human pyramid]].<ref>{{cite web|date=8 March 2006|title=Injured Cheerleader Defends Dangerous Stunts |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1699301&page=1|access-date=19 November 2017|website=ABC News|archive-date=1 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040915/http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1699301&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Cheer Bans continue|work=Athletic Management|issue=August/September 2006 |url=http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2007/02/13/cheer_bans_continue/index.php|access-date=May 5, 2010|archive-date=December 3, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203110609/http://www.athleticmanagement.com/2007/02/13/cheer_bans_continue/index.php|url-status=live}}</ref> She also suffered from a concussion, and a bruised lung.<ref name="CWT">{{cite web|title=Cheerleader worried for team, not herself|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11699607/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421083010/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11699607|archive-date=2006-04-21|access-date=2007-09-29|website=[[MSNBC]]}}</ref> The fall occurred when Yamaoka lost her balance during a basketball game between [[Southern Illinois University]] and [[Bradley University]] at the [[Scottrade Center|Savvis Center]] in [[St. Louis]] on March 5, 2006.<ref name="CWT" /> The fall gained "national attention",<ref name="CWT" /> because Yamaoka continued to perform from a stretcher as she was moved away from the game.<ref name="CWT" />

The accident caused the [[Missouri Valley Conference]] to ban its member schools from allowing cheerleaders to be "launched or tossed and from taking part in formations higher than two levels" for one week during a women's basketball conference tournament, and also resulted in a recommendation by the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] that conferences and tournaments do not allow pyramids two and one half levels high or higher, and a stunt known as basket tosses, during the rest of the men's and women's basketball season.<ref name="aacca.org">{{cite web|title=Cheerleading programs going all-out for safety|url=http://www.aacca.org/CollegePressRelease.doc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20080414065849/http://www.aacca.org/CollegePressRelease.doc|archive-date=April 14, 2008|access-date=2006-12-19}}</ref>  On July 11, 2006, the bans were made permanent by the AACCA rules committee:
<blockquote>
The committee unanimously voted for sweeping revisions to cheerleading safety rules, the most major of which restricts specific upper-level skills during basketball games. Basket tosses, {{frac|2|1|2}} high pyramids, one-arm stunts, stunts that involve twisting or flipping, and twisting tumbling skills may be performed only during halftime and post-game on a matted surface and are prohibited during game play or time-outs.<ref name="aacca.org" />
</blockquote>