Blog
Sporting Achievement Should Never Be Derided
Today I have found myself disgusted by the lack of support and credit given to the York Hornets; the Cheerleading Club which did fantastically in a regional competition over the Easter holidays, winning their division. An article was posted on the Nouse website about the achievement of the Hornets, who won the level 2 category of the University and All Star division of the BCA Midlands competition. They beat 18 other squads in their division to secure their top position, which is clearly something to be proud of.
However, when the seemingly uncontroversial article detailing this success went on-line a tirade of comments began. Unfortunately, many of these were not the congratulatory comments that the Hornets have worked so hard to deserve, but instead questioned whether Cheer deserved to be called a sport and were derogatory to members of the squad. This behaviour cannot be condoned and instead of being able to celebrate their victory, the cheerleaders have found themselves being antagonised for no reason. I read the comment thread earlier with increasing anger that anyone would victimise any York Sport Club in the way the Hornets were targeted, especially given the article was highlighting a terrific achievement.
After 73 comments, a moderator added “Most discussion points have now been covered and as such commenting is now closed for this article.” This seemed perhaps the only way to put an end to the relentless stream of attack and counter-attack that was unfolding at the bottom of the article.
Some of the comments scoffed about which division the Hornets were competing in, but consider if a BUCS team won their league – would people say that because they weren’t competing in the Premier league their victory means nothing? I think not. When any York team does well we should all be able to congratulate them, not throw petty insults at them.
I was so proud at Roses how all the York teams and clubs got behind each other and supported every victory we got. Today however, I found myself ashamed of some York students and the insults they hurled at the Hornets, especially when some Lancastrians demonstrated the praise an article detailing a victory should receive.
It is important to remember that the Hornets are still in their infancy, this being only their second year of existence, and they have already achieved a huge amount. Last year they were short-listed for Club of the Year and they currently have 75 cheerleaders in training, with 25 on the competition squad. I would hope that in future before people pass judgement on one of the York Sport Clubs that they would go to a session and give it a go. One thing I have found from doing my Scott in Sport blogs is that things are rarely as easy as they appear and in the case of Cheer, it doesn’t even look easy!
We need to be proud of the achievements of our clubs and I would like to congratulate the York Hornets on this win and wish them the best of luck for the Future Cheer Internationals in Bournemouth in week 6.
Emily
