Cheerleading is one of the few genuinely female-dominated sports in the world today. 10 million athletes registered with the International Cheer Union across the world, 87% female, 13% male. Yet, once again, in the highest level of sport, boys are being put first. Across many parts of the world, All Girl has paved the way and built this sport. One of the things I have always been the most proud of about cheerleading is that there is a place for EVERY type of athlete. We need athletes of different shapes and sizes. Cheerleading has created a space where strong female athletes can succeed in a world where, in so many sports, boys are the ones getting all the recognition. But this change sends a very different message. Including only Coed in the World Games and Olympics creates a system where the only female athletes with a path to the highest level are the smaller girls, the flyers. If the highest level of our sport only rewards a specific body type, we cannot pretend there will not be consequences. Cheerleading already struggles with body pressure and restrictive eating disorders. A problem that needs attention and to be taken seriously. Instead of Cheerleading Federations across the world addressing this problem, they create and support a system fueling it. Imagine being a young, promising flyer with a big dream of one day representing your country at the highest level of your sport. Then your coach decides that you are now better suited as a base, something that happens to countless female athletes as they get older and their body naturally develop. In cheerleading as we know it today, becoming a female base does not mean you have failed. And it does not mean your opportunities are suddenly gone. But under this new system, becoming a female base means losing your pathway to the very top. If only flyers can ultimately reach the World Games and the Olympics, what message are we sending to young girls? We are inevitably creating an incentive for girls to remain small enough to fly. And that risks making the existing problems surrounding body image and restrictive eating disorders in our sport even worse. And then there is another consequence we need to talk about. Girls will quit. Female bases make up a huge part of our sport across the world. Yet many will increasingly feel that they are no longer valued at the highest level. If All Girl continues to lose opportunities, while Coed becomes the only route to the biggest stages, why would these athletes stay? Why will athletes choose All Girl? All Girl is already struggling. In Norway, a country that has been one of the strongest advocates for the Premier category for decades with remarkable international results, we already see the decline. In 2021, 13 All Girl Premier teams competed in Norway. In 2026, the number was 4. During the same period, the number of Coed teams has remained stable. We risk creating a generation of female athletes who are told they are essential to the sport, but not important enough to be given a path to the top. This is not the inclusive sport i´m so proud of being a part of. And it´s not the future I want for cheerleading. That is not progress. I want cheerleading in the World Games and the Olympics. I want our sport to grow. I want it to be taken seriously as a sport. But not at the cost of the very athletes who helped build this sport. Until All Girl and Coed are treated equally, with the same opportunities, I would honestly rather never see cheerleading in the Olympics and World Games than to see our sport sacrifice its identity, inclusivity and the majority of its athletes. Cheerleading is not a part of the World Games 2029. Coed is. Olympic recognition should be the result of growing our sport, not the reason we leave behind the athletes who helped build it. - @siljemarieb