By Fran Maye

The decision by a federal judge last week that competitive cheerleading is not an official sport that colleges can use to meet gender-equity requirements is a setback to cheerleading squads nationwide.

"Competitive cheer may, some time in the future, qualify as a sport under Title IX," Judge Stefan Underhill of United States District Court in Hartford, Conn. wrote. "Today, however, the activity is still too underdeveloped and disorganized to be treated as offering genuine varsity athletic participation opportunities for students."

Disorganized? Underdeveloped? Clearly, Judge Underhill hasn’t seen the progression of cheerleading in the past decade. Even at the high school level, cheerleaders are extremely athletic and competitive. In fact, some of their routines rival some complex athletic maneuvers..

Cheerleading is entertainment. But so is football, basketball and baseball. And to compete, cheerleaders must be in shape and practice often, the same as athletes in mainstream sports must do.

The federal judge’s ruling undermines all the strides made in the past 10 years to make cheerleading a certifiable sport. Today, many of the collegiate cheerleading squads have men, and competitions take them far distances.

Sen. Andy Dinniman is right. If it smells like a sport, it is. Let’s hope this decision won’t have any ramifications here in Chester County. Whether it’s at the high school level or college level, cheerleading takes talent, stamina and dexterity. Doesn’t that sound like the qualifications of any major sport?