Cheerleading Ruled an Olympic Sport

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has ruled that cheerleading is a sport.

After years of no recognition, cheerleaders around the world can rejoice in the decision made this past week by the IOC.

Cheerleaders have never been given the opportunity to compete at the Olympic level despite their great athleticism and in past years have been restricted to competing with international teams through the ICU, or the International Cheer Union (ICU).

With this recognition from the IOC, cheerleading is given the option to petition to compete at the highest level internationally, creating Olympians out of cheerleaders all around the world.

The ICU, which is headquartered in the United States, began its appeal process to the IOC 11 years ago, receiving provisional recognition, or partial recognition, in 2016.

This 2016 ruling helped propel cheerleading to its full instatement and recognition and helped the sport gain international credibility.

Team USA Cheer most recently won 12 world championships at ICU’s 2019 international competitions, bringing the grand total of medals earned by the US to 83.

This is an incredibly important day for the Olympic Movement, cheerleading and our governing body. Read more here:https://t.co/kBXclPPCpr #icucheer #usacheer #olympics #cheerleading pic.twitter.com/mA6N9UzrFj

— USA Cheer (@usacheer) July 20, 2021

Many members of the Team USA Cheerleading Team throughout the history of the team have been either current or former members of the University of Kentucky Cheerleading Program, as Kentucky consistently attracts some of the most elite athletes in the sport.

Cheerleading most recently took the stage at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea in 2018. Kentucky Cheer was chosen to represent the USA at those Olympics, performing in front of an international crowd and competing in exhibitions against other international squads.

Although cheerleading will not be featured in this year’s Tokyo 2020 games, fans of the sport can hope to see these future Olympians in action soon.

If cheerleading is there, it is fair to assume that Kentucky will show out and compete with success following the school’s 24 UCA National Championships, the most in the country.

Here’s to hoping to see even more blue and white on the Olympic podium.