Cheerleading was elevated on the international scene in December, when the IOC granted it provisional status and putting it on the path for possible inclusion in the 2024 Olympics. But cheerleading never started out with Olympic dreams. It grew up alongside football, starting at the University of Minnesota in 1898. As women became involved in the 1920s, cheerleading squads tried to come up with more inventive ways to lead the crowd. Competitions started in the late ’60s and made the airwaves for the first time in 1978, marking the change of cheerleading from solely a sideline activity to a competitive sport.
http://ftw.usatoday.com/2017/05/cheerleading-olympics-world-championships-ioc
