The sport STUNT is a Nation College Athletics Association competitive sport for women that is derived from cheerleading skills. It is played at the collegiate level and offers thousands of dollars in scholarships every year. It is played between two teams with each game consisting of four quarters: partner stunts, pyramid and tosses, jumps and tumbling and group routine. Each quarter allows athletes to get playing time based on their strengths, and gives the opportunity for athletes who can tumble but not stunt, or vice versa, to still contribute and have gametime.
Oftentimes, cheerleaders, myself included, have the sentiment that we are not athletes or that people look down upon us because we only support other sports teams. STUNT removes that barrier. Our athleticism is more than just a form of entertainment but it becomes its own competition. It gives the opportunity for female athletes who have found their sport to be fully recognized as athletes, something people for so long have tried to take away from cheerleaders.
STUNT opens doors for female students who may not have felt like they had a chance in a sport because they did not start young, or were discouraged from cheer due to its extroverted nature as it is not a performance, nor are there a large number of youth teams nearby. Additionally, it gives a female sport its own spotlight in a school culture that favors male sports. When I cheered for basketball games, crowds were significantly smaller for the women’s team compared to the men’s team — even when times were changed to make women’s game times more accessible. Women’s flag football stands were never full while men’s football attracted hundreds of students.
It stands to reason that our school watches the male athletes more than female ones — but to watch a game of STUNT, attendees inherently support women’s sports without a male option. It gives more than just opportunity for athletes themselves, STUNT helps shift our school culture away from favoring male sports. Female athletes and potential athletes deserve to have a STUNT program. Currently, I am putting together a proposal for the school board and superintendent — if any female athletes are interested in doing STUNT if it is added at Aragon, please fill out the form in the initiative’s Instagram bio @smuhsdSTUNT.
Written by Cecilia Bode
