Cheerleading boasts increasing international appeal
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[December 14, 2016]
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -
Cheerleading, which received provisional recognition as an Olympic
sport last week, is an increasingly international activity by no
means restricted to its North American birthplace, according to the
man who has driven its growth over four decades.
Jim Webb has helped transform cheerleading from sideline
entertainment at American football and basketball games to the sport
that was granted recognition by the International Olympic Committee.
Cheerleading will now be able to tap into some IOC funding and take
part in a number of programs, including athlete development and
anti-doping.
At the end of their three-year provisional recognition period, they
can apply to become part of the Olympic Games sports program.
While cheerleading's strong youth appeal was clearly attractive to
the IOC, widespread international participation is also key to
taking the next steps toward a place at the Summer Games.
With over 100 national federations registered with the International
Cheer Union (ICU), Webb is certain the competitiveness of the sport
would not be confined to just North America.
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"When we first started our world championships there was a big gap
between the U.S. and Canada and now there is a lot of parity with
countries from Europe and Asia that win medals and that sometimes
beat the U.S. and Canadian teams," he told Reuters.
"Thailand has some great cheerleading. Japan has outstanding
cheerleading. Some of the countries in Europe, Norway, Finland,
Germany, the UK has outstanding cheerleading. It's developing
everywhere."
The addition of cheerleading and the Thai martial art of muaythai
last week takes the number of recognized Olympic sports to 37, only
28 of which were part of the program at the Rio Olympics earlier
this year.
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![](../images/121416pics/sports59.jpg)
Cheerleaders of German first division team FC Cologne perform before
a Bundesliga match of their team in Cologne, western Germany, March
19, 2016. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
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"One of the problems for the Olympic Games is there are just so many
sports and that could change," Webb added.
"But when somebody goes in, somebody has to go out and of course
we're not interested in creating any enemies. There's so many sports
being formed now that it's tough, it's a crowded space and they vet
you very, very thoroughly."
Webb, who founded his cheerleading promotional company Varsity
Sports in 1974, is very clear on what the sport can offer the
Olympic movement.
"One of the key components of what we do that makes it very
different is that visual effect of so many people doing these
different stunts and skills at the same time that make it very
appealing to watch," he added.
(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru, editing by Nick
Mulvenney)
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