History of Cheerleading Uniforms.
Have you ever wondered how cheerleading came to be? Surprisingly, cheerleading has evolved tremendously over the years especially when it comes to cheerleading uniforms. Albeit cheerleading has dated back since the late 19th century, there is a distinctive difference for how it is being regarded now as compared before. In fact, the first big difference is that the first cheerleaders to ever grace the playing field were all men. And by the time the women took over the role of cheerleading, they were still conservatively dressed in long wool skirts, cardigan sweaters and canvas sneakers. They also wore blouses or turtlenecks underneath their cardigan sweaters. Imagine how extremely different cheerleading uniforms are now!
Cheerleading uniforms have changed over the years to suit the continuous progress of the attitude towards cheerleading. If cheerleading used to be only regarded as a support group to the main sport, cheerleading today has become one of the major sporting events that people look forward to. They are now even considered as one of the main highlights and most often than not they also get a fair share of the spotlight in any sports competition and even have a separate competition for cheerleading alone.
Let’s take a trip back to the earlier part of the 19th century and find out the history of cheerleading uniforms. As far as history is concerned, cheerleading has its roots traced back at Princeton University. The school used to be exclusively for men and it wasn’t until the 20th century that it became co-ed. Hence, the first cheerleaders were men. Cheerleading started out with just pep songs and organized cheers. In the year 1923, the University of Minnesota initiated the first female cheerleaders. Since then, it continuously evolved along with the cheerleading outfits to suit the present style. As you can very well imagine, the first cheerleading uniforms were long wool skirts and bulky sweaters and thus preventing cheerleaders to do any intricate forms of dance moves and gymnastics.
The first pom pons were created in the 1930s as an accessory to cheerleading uniforms. Pompons were made of strips of colorful crepe paper to add a festive flair to the cheering. It is only in the year 1965 that vinyl pompoms made its appearance. The 1960s quite created a dramatic change when it comes to cheerleading uniforms. It is at that time that cheerleading became more athletic and cheerleaders have to change their uniforms to allow for more freedom of movement. Hence, the shorter pleated skirts were invented with the short-sleeved crew neck sweaters allowing skin to show at times during the maneuvers.
The 1970s already replicated the style for cheerleading uniforms with shorter skirts and more skin exposure. The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders in 1972 initiated a more sensational cheerleading uniform with short shorts, bare midriffs and plunging necklines. Since then the cheerleading uniforms have constantly evolved and cheerleading has become one of the attractions in any sports competition. This is why sporting a unique and trendy cheerleading uniform is very important if you want your team to stand out and attract attention.
Presently, cheerleading uniforms typically consist of a skirt that is generally about 12” short, a vest or shell, and briefs called “spankies”. Since cheerleading has become so popular and is now regarded as a competitive sport in its own right, the need for high quality cheerleading uniforms has also become essential. Albeit there are a lot of cheerleading uniform manufacturers in the market today, it is still best to choose meticulously where to get uniforms that are not only topnotch in quality but pocket-friendly as well.
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