Is Marching Band a Sport?

Well?

 

if you can break something doing it, it's a sport

 

If cheerleading can be considered a sport then marching band certainly can.

 

ive never really identified with the 'band nerds', guess i never will now, but they have just as hard as the 'athletes' do... with those big sweaty uniforms and fuzzy hats and all... yes virginia, marching band is a sport

 

You have to see an elite DCI corps perform to understand just how athletic it can be.
I personally love the Phantom Regiment out of Rockford IL.

 

true, but I consider that more of a dance, and marching band more of an art.
either can be physical and competitive without qualifying as sport.

 

dude!!! i saw the DCI championships at foxboro last week. it was totaly awesome. my uncle goes every year and he took me..... it was amazing. phantom was amazing. I liked the one that did the thing on russia.

 

My friend that lives in WI is totally into that stuff, she was in Phantom Regiment Cadets and both her parents were in Phantom back in the day. Now they all are in the Kilties. There is alot of practice and physical work put into doing that kind of stuff plus they compete so I guess that its a sport.

 

Yeah...comptetitive walking around.....takes skill man......

 

It's not walking around. Marching is actually pretty difficult to get right, especially when carrying an instrument which can be 30 pounds or more (think about how huge a sousaphone is). You have to walk on your heels with your toes pulled back to your shin. High stepping would be even harder because most people get breathless doing it, but you still have to be able to have a constant sound.

I don't think people realize how hard it is just to play 10 minute show from memory while moving and still sound as good and louder than a sit down band.

 

yer right, tis right up there with simultaneously rubbing yer tummy and patting yer head

 

not enough people against the idea are coming out and defending their view....

 

Not every physical activity is a sport?

Do you ever see the "Masturbation Olympics" on TV?

Marching Band is performance arts, it is not a sport and not considered one on a school or olympic level.

 

I geuss it is technically performance arts, but man is it a good workout. That's why marching band people have such good legs

 

I was in marching band all four years of my high school career. I know just how physically exerting of an activity it can be, with high stepping, crab walks, keeping your movement in time with rhythm and still trying to cross 30+ yards in less than 10 beats. Not to mention, carrying your instrument. Have you ever tried keeping your arms out, elbows parallel with your shoulders, hands in front of your face for 10 minutes, or for hours during practices? It's really difficult.
NOT TO MENTION, as silvercloud pointed out, trying to keep a continuous airflow strong enough to carry a loud sound throughout a stadium. That takes lung capacity.

However, I'm not going to say it's a sport. A sport, while some require thinking skills, require thinking on a different level. It's not an artistic level of thinking. It's not even really an intelligent level of thinking. Marching band requires you to think about the music, the rhythm, the melody, the harmony, and your movements all at one time. It's an art, and should be considered as one.

 

YES!!! marching band is most definitely a sport!!!!! because shroomy is in it and she always complains about how hard they make her work! and i believe her!

 

No.

I'd say it's more of an art, due to the music and synchronized steps.

 

it only is, if YOU consider it is

 

It's a subjective argument. When I was a kid I used to always argue with my sister that her figure skating was not a sport because there was no direct competition like my hockey.

My dad, who was in the Air Force, and who has also been around DCI, says that without a doubt, marching drum corps is much harder than military basic training. They live all summer on a bus and sleeping on high school gym floors. They live on little sleep and often little food as well. They practice, sometimes on blacktop in the hottesy part of the summer for many hours every day. It's brutal! Injuries are common too, and I know of a girl who actually shot up cortisone so she could perform night after night on her broken ankle.

 

I would consider it a performing art. But you could consider it a sport if you are competing against other bands and since it is physical. There are contests in cheerleading that are almost like sport since it's competetive and physical. Synchronized swimming is another example.

Marching band is really fun. I was in it for a couple years and was a rank leader. When the band of the opposing team played first and we were waiting on the end of the field, we would pick out the students from the other school who didn't know where they were going just for fun. Of course, if you're the one who forgot where to go, it's not so fun.

It is physically strenuous. I used to get terrible cramps in my calves when spending a whole week at band camp and marching literally most of the morning and afternoon for a week.

Early in the football season we'd complain it was too hot. By November it was too cold! We played in snow a few times. I remember one night there were a bunch of bats flying around the stadium lights.

I would encourage anyone to take up marching band. It's really fun even though it's tough. Many high schools require it for all students who want to be in band classes during the school year.

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