Last summer, the South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) discovered its schools had a problem. Its newly formed Girls Sports Study Committee, made up of athletic directors, principals, and superintendents from across the state, reported that for the past 10 years, one-third fewer girls than boys were participating in sports. In response, the SDHSAA has announced that it will sanction competitive cheerleading and dance starting next year, complete with state championships and the opportunity to count the participants in Title IX proportionality numbers.
The state association based its decision on a student interest survey conducted to gauge which sports girls wanted to participate in. Cheer, dance, softball, and soccer topped the list. "We've been asked why we didn't add a more traditional sport like softball or soccer--we're the only state in the nation that doesn't sanction soccer," says Ruth Rehn, Assistant Executive Director at the SDHSAA. "Softball and soccer are actually being looked at for future implementation, but cheer and dance can be added fast since some high schools already have teams in place. And there are no obvious male counterparts to cheer and dance like baseball for softball, so our numbers will start to even out right away."
Existing cheerleading and dance teams that switch over to state association rules next school year will have some adjusting to do, however. As with all state-sanctioned sports, the usual practice, coaching, and traveling restrictions will apply, which these squads have not been subject to in the past.
Perhaps the biggest change will be the shortening of the teams' seasons. The official season for both cheer and dance will be in the fall--practices start the first week in August and the season ends with a state championship the second week in November. Previously, both teams started practicing in August and would perform all the way through the fall and winter sports seasons.
"Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing, the amount of time the kids and coaches put in will obviously decrease," says Randy Marso, a member of the Girls Sports Study Committee and Activities Director at Brandon (S.D.) Valley High School, which will implement official cheerleading and dance teams next year. "On the positive side, it will allow athletes who want to play basketball, volleyball, or gymnastics in the winter to do so. Also, there isn't as much of a space crunch for gym time in the fall."
Diane Gosmire-Gilbertz, Brandon Valley Head Cheerleading Coach for the past nine years, says that although her squad will see a shorter season, she is excited about providing them more opportunities to compete. Sanctioned teams can compete in as many as 10 (and as few as two to qualify for the state tournament) competitions during the season and up to three out-of-season. "The first year will be a trial-and-error period," she says. "The only concern I have is the amount of time I'll have with the girls. I'm worried I won't be able to do things like attend a summer team camp with them."
Gosmire-Gilbertz may have to worry about coaching restrictions when it comes to the winter season, too. Brandon Valley still plans to offer sideline cheer in the winter as a club activity, and Marso will have to figure out whether Gosmire-Gilbertz will be over her coaching limit if she continues to coach the winter team.
The question of whether cheerleading and dance count toward Title IX compliance has been a debate for years. According to the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), to count as a sport under Title IX, the primary purpose of an activity must be competition.
"The OCR has rightfully said that while sideline cheer and dance performances are physical activities, competition is not their primary purpose," Rehn says. "That's why we've added the state championships as well as a set season with beginning and end dates. With the usual sport rules in place, we feel comfortable counting the competitive cheer and dance teams as sports under Title IX."
The American Association of Cheerleading Coaches and Advisors (AACCA), however, says it would rather state associations not adopt cheer as a sport. It has stated that while cheerleading has been established as a sport in terms of physical activity, the primary purpose is to "raise school unity through leading the crowd at athletic functions." The AACCA's position paper on the subject says it would prefer to see cheer classified as an "athletic activity" so teams won't be subject to state association transfer rules, limited practice time, fundraising restrictions, and limits on travel and national competition.
To view the guidelines the SDHSAA has put together on implementing cheer and dance, visit: www.sdhsaa.com.
The AACCA's position paper addressing the issue of cheerleading as a sport is at: www.aacca.org/sportposition.html.
To read a past Athletic Management article on competitive cheerleading, go to: www.AthleticManagement.com and type "Change in the Air" into the search window.