I used to have a similar opinion about what things should or shouldn't count as sports. I took a course in college about sports and I learned that there are actually legal ramifications to whether we call things a sport or not. For instance, there are people who might not want to call cheerleading a sport, but if it is not, then schools are not required to provide adequate protection (like pads for falling) for them. I think we can agree that there is definitively a possibility of getting hurt in cheerleading and so equipment like that should be available.