San Luis Obispo High School students go out to watch sports games every week. Whether the students are playing the sports or going out to cheer on their peers at the games, SLOHS is a very spirited school. Many of this spirit comes from the cheerleaders, who train two days a week. They cheer for the football games on Fridays. The cheerleaders lift their teammates in the air and support them as they put their flexibility to the test. 

  Expressions set out to interview varsity and junior varsity cheerleaders on what they thought about cheer not being considered a designated sports team at SLOHS.

Expressions: How long have you been cheering? Why are you doing it? 

Freshman Mia Fraysier: Since about the middle of summer. I started because it seemed like fun.

Freshman Kaycie Ernstrom: This is my first time doing cheer, but I have a background in gymnastics. I started cheer because I knew people who did it and it sounded like a fun way to get connected to the school. 

Junior Quinn Williams: I have been cheering since I was three years old. I joined cheer because I was in gymnastics and my mom used to be a cheerleader.

Expressions: Why do you think cheer is not a sport at SLOHS?

Fraysier: We don’t cheer against other cheer teams. 

Ernstrom: We don’t compete against other cheer teams and we are cheering on another sport. I know one school that has it as an elective but tryout times are different which does not work with the SLOHS cheer schedule because we wouldn’t have enough time to prepare to cheer for the other sports. 

Williams: I’m not quite sure why it is not considered a sport, I think it is because we work just as hard. 

Expressions: What would it take to make cheer a sport at SLOHS?

Fraysier: It would take parents and students of SLOHS to bring it up and advocate for it if we wanted it to become a sport. Not only SLOHS but other schools as well. 

Ernstrom: I think it would take a lot of time and persuading from students and teachers, not only at our school, but others in California. It’s not only our school that does not consider cheer a sport. 

Williams: I don’t know there’s so much support already, I think it could be a sport. We would have to do something with the district office if we wanted it to become one.

Expressions: Would you and your team be willing to take those steps so cheer could become a sport at SLOHS?

Fraysier: Yes, I think we all would make it a sport if we could. 

Ernstrom: Yes, I do think my cheer team would be up for that [becoming a sport]. 

Williams: Yes, one hundred percent. Just because we all work really hard, it’s frustrating to practice as much as we do after school and not be able to get practice time during school.

Expressions: Do you think that cheerleaders work as hard as other sports?

Fraysier:  We do because we condition in the weight room and we lift and throw people while stunting. 

Ernstrom: Yes, because we work out the entire summer working on different kinds of cheers and physical activity of throwing other humans. 

Williams: Yes, we work as hard and it’s still a team sport. It should be a sport.