Why Marching Band is a Sport
Â
Face it, in high school you were either the band geek or the kid who made fun of the band geek. While marching bands seem to be the butts of jokes and stereotyped as nerds, there’s a common fact that people seem to look over. Marching band is a sport, and a difficult one at that. With the Shippensburg Red Raider Marching Band, I rehearse four days a week which involves hours of running and sweating with a flag in my hand. We move into school two weeks before the semester starts and rehearse from 9 in the morning well into the night. All of this is to put a 10 to 15 minute show on the field and bands all over the country rehearse these same hours, if not more.
Â
           The definition of sport is: “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment”. But how does band play into any of these categories? Physical exertion? Marching bands run, march and some members dance several days a week for long hours. Skill? Have you ever tried marching with perfect technique while playing an instrument or spinning a flag? Enough said. Competing against others for entertainment? That’s half the fun! There’s even an organization called Drum Corps International, which is marching band but much more difficult all summer long and members even pay large amounts of money to do it.
Â
           Band kids have been told for generations that what they did wasn’t cool and wasn’t physically demanding enough to be a sport, only a “talent”. Why can’t it be both? The stereotypes of band members drives kids away from music and the great bonds formed by such a rewarding activity. Joining marching band as a high school freshman was the best decision I’ve ever made. Even into college, it’s brought me amazing friends, hilarious memories, outstanding accomplishments and the dedication and motivation I was lacking. Marching band is a sport, pass it on!
Â
Â
**Photos are from Google**
         Â