A bill co authored by a San Diego assemblywoman to make competitive cheerleading a high school sport was signed into law Wednesday by Governor Jerry Brown.

AB 949 requires the state Department of Education to develop guidelines, procedures, and safety standards with the California Interscholastic Federation for high school cheerleading no later than July 1, 2017.

Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, said high school cheerleading has not enjoyed its own competition system like other high school sports.

Cheer athletes and their teams are forced to rely on private businesses to run competitions, which can be prohibitively expensive for the athletes and their families.

For two decades, It has been dazed that young women and men cheerleaders in high schools are denied the right to officially participate in their chosen sport.

The governor has ensured these athletes will earn the respect and have the safety standards they deserve.

Equity comes in many forms and today it came in recognition that a traditional female activity can also be a sport.

Cheerleading is the cause of nearly two thirds of all fatal sports related injuries involving female high school athletes.

Michigan, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, New Mexico, South Dakota, Alaska and Virginia recognize cheerleading as an official sport.

On July, the governor signed another bill by Gonzalez that provides NFL cheerleaders with basic employee rights.

Citing news reports and lawsuits, the cheerleaders for pro teams were subjected to sub minimum wage pay, were forced to pay thousands of dollars of unreimbursed travel costs and work unpaid overtime.

Several NFL cheerleaders sued their teams in the last couple of years over their working conditions.

Cheerleading ranges from shouting chants from the sidelines to intense physical activity for sports team motivation, audience entertainment or competition based upon organized routines.

The routines usually range anywhere from one to three minutes, which may contain many components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers and stunting in order to direct spectators of events to cheer for sports teams at games or to participate in cheerleading competitions.

https://www.eonline.com/news/704630/cheerleading-is-now-officially-a-sport-in-the-state-of-california