BLOOD, SWEAT AND CHEERS
For my final photojournalism project, I am interested in discussing how cheerleading is misrepresented as a sport. For years there have been stereotypes against cheerleaders, in the way they are portrayed in movies and other types of media. However, people are becoming more aware of the reality of cheerleading, which is now one of the most dangerous sports that women participate in. Millions of people across the world put themselves through the blood, sweat and tears that is being a cheerleader.
The images will tell a story of the journey from gruelling training sessions, open gyms, full outs, on the mat at competitions and through to the awards ceremony. They will depict the various emotions at each stage of the journey, including injury and or/ mistakes made in practice, as well as the euphoric feeling your team name being crowned champions.
I will interview cheerleaders from a level 6 team, Aviators Aces, that are heading to the ICU World Championship where around 300 teams compete in 21 different divisions. I will interview their coaches, talking about the hard work that goes into perfecting the routine to earn a bid to Worlds. I also plan to speak with someone from a cheerleading association about how the sport, especially in Britain is increasing in popularity and becoming more appreciated, as well as what the associations are doing to support the sport.
In terms of structure, I will be creating my piece on InDesign across a four-page magazine spread. It will follow the journey of the team, almost like a timeline, beginning with their training sessions, their final competition in preparation for Worlds, and finishing with their Worlds placing. The piece will be between 2000-2500 words and feature 8-12 images to help document the story.
Photo Journalism 