BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Cheerleading isn’t always recognized as a sport, but it could soon become one of sports athletes compete in at the Olympics.
Kaylee Carlson has been cheering since she was just four years old. Now, at 17, her passion only continues to grow.
“I love the teamwork and how everybody’s just so excited to be there. Everybody wants to be there, and it’s just so cool to meet other people from different schools,” she said.
She says the sport is not easy— it takes a lot of hard work and dedication.
“It takes time to learn new things,” Carlson added. “A lot of the stunts take time to learn, and technique. You can’t just whip something out because it’s very unsafe. You have to learn from a lower level and progress up.”
She trains at Champion Force Athletics in Byron Center.
“A lot of our athletes graduate from Champion Force, that started with us at four [years old], and graduate and they go on to cheer in college, as well,” Champion Force Athletics Michigan Program Director Lisa Connor said. “We have a lot of our athletes after college continue, maybe for an adult team with USASF.”
From there, cheerleaders can go on to compete in Nationals or even World Championships, but soon, they could go on to compete in the Olympics.
“It’s great that they are able to now utilize all those skills and go further with it instead of just doing the normal, like, sideline cheerleading. I love that,” Champion Force Athletics Assistant Cheer Program Director Sierra Tank said. “I think this is a milestone. I think this is really, like, a huge steppingstone within the industry itself.”
Back in 2021, the International Olympic Committee recognized cheer as a sport. Earlier this year, the sport became eligible to petition to be included in the Olympic games.
Many athletes believe that becoming an Olympic sport will make a difference in how cheerleading is viewed overall.
“I think that cheerleaders have worked really hard for it and, like, have tried to prove that it’s a sport, even when people are like, ‘that’s not a sport. It’s easy stuff, like, I can do that in my sleep,’ like, it’s really not that easy, and I think that it being put into the Olympics proves that it’s not, like, all that simple,” Cora Paauwe, a cheerleader, said.
“I think it’s a new opportunity for so many individuals looking to go forward with their career. I think it just gives everybody a new chance and a new beginning,” Carlson added.
