<p>Hi everyone! I just finished 9th grade and will be attending Andover next year, but I was a little taken aback by the absence of cheerleading in most boarding schools. I cheered at my current school in 9th grade and loved it (and it's way more than just dancing and calling out cheers - with jumps, stunts, and tumbling), so I was wondering if there is a reason why no boarding schools offer it?</p>
<p>Andover does have a SLAM team, where they do step dances to cheer the crowd up, but it doesn't bear much similarities to cheer. I knew this when I was committing so it's not a huge disappointment, but I was just curious. </p>
<p>You will notice that a lot of the activities at prep/boarding schools are aimed at lifetime participation. While sports like football, lacrosse and baseball generally end at age 18 or 22 they are so ingrained in American culture most schools across the U.S. have teams (public and private). But the ancillary activities like marching band or cheerleading don’t get the same emphasis as they would at a public school. </p>
<p>My guess:</p>
<ul>
<li>History: most coed BSs were originally all male. Boys leading cheers w a megaphone was part of the culture. The boys living like monks could only fantasy about girl cheerleaders w short skirts and pom poms (watch The Dead Poets Society)</li>
<li>Competitive cheerleading as an athletic pursuit is a relatively new phenomenon</li>
<li>No prep school interscholastic competitive cheerleading exists where u spar against other school every Wed and Sat.</li>
<li>Leadership perception: there is emphasis on girls being the main event, rather than an ancillary event on the sidelines.</li>
<li>BS families are higher socioeconomic class vs most public schools. Richer parents tend to push their daughters into competitive sports.</li>
</ul>
<p>Interesting article about how high socioeconomic class parents push their daughters into soccer and not dance:</p>
<p><a href=“How Parents Pick the Sports Their Daughters Play - The Atlantic”>How Parents Pick the Sports Their Daughters Play - The Atlantic;
<p>Well, Andover has the blue key heads who are kind of like cheerleaders who cheer at every sporting event and pump up the school. The BKHs are mixed gender though so it isn’t just girls @bmyfeyonce </p>
<p>BKHs cheer, but they don’t do the sport of cheer. </p>
<p>Is cheer a sport? 
</p>
<p>@mrnephew Competitive cheer is, waving around pom poms is not. I’ve been in school with a competitive cheerleader my whole life, I would know. It’s actually considered the most dangerous sport. </p>
<p>^^^ anyone who says competitive cheer isn’t a sport can get away from me because it so is. And if you still didn’t say it was then just look up competitive cheer on YouTube lol. </p>
<p>You’ll learn.</p>
<p>Isn’t competitive cheer just song?</p>
<p>@mrnephew, where have u been?
<a href=“- YouTube”>- YouTube;
<p>Not exactly the most interested in cheerleading, you know… Although I’m sure it’s fascinating.</p>