To answer the question above bluntly, marching band is not a sport and should not be considered one. One of the most heated arguments in high school between students is over if marching band should be considered a sport or not. Most athletes will argue that marching band should not be considered a sport. Whereas band members will say that marching band is and should be considered a sport; however, most students that are a combination of the two argue for the former.

           To clarify, the dictionary definition of a sport is, “a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other,” (according to Merriam-Webster).

           By saying band is not a sport I am in no way stating that what they do is not incredibly hard or worthy of respect. Honestly, I believe the opposite.

           Marching band does use a certain amount of physical prowess and takes a lot of free time from an individual. The amount of hours to master the timing of a single number and learn when and where to be is astounding. Members have to practice for hours a day and study their music for even more hours afterwards. For two weeks in the summer they spend eight hours a day for five days in the hot sun practicing and honing their craft. That is 80 hours in two weeks spent on rehearsing. This is not an easy thing to do and all band members deserve an immense amount of credit for the time and effort devoted to this process. The experiences that band goes through are not fully understood by students who have no prior band experience at the high school level.

           Band has also earned North plenty of recognition and success on the state level. In the past three years, the Band has placed eighth, third, and eleventh in state(in no order) which ranks among the highest finishes in state for all North clubs, teams, or activities. This accomplishment deserves plenty of praise from the entire school, which they honestly do not always get.

           Arguments most prevalent in blogs or published articles usually referenced the actual definition of a sport. While the definition may SEEM to say that band is a sport, it is not. In all honesty, if you look at the actual definition then anything can be considered a sport. When a band plays during half time, who are they competing against while they perform? In most sports, competing against others happens at the same time, for example running, football, basketball, etc… It is not one team goes first, then the other team, then a third team, and so on and so on. It is a battle of two or more teams against one another at the same time, fighting for supremacy.

           Band members and former band members often argued that the physical side of band matched, if not exceeded, that of multiple sports. They said that being able to carry around an instrument and play it for multiple hours built up a great cardio vascular system for band members and that it rivaled the endurance of a Cross Country runner… What?.. No. Runners also practice in the hot sun for a few hours every day, though we do not carry an instrument while we do it or practice as long, we still run multiple miles every day and challenge our bodies constantly. The endurance of a runner is unparalleled to a band member.  In my opinion, that was a poorly supported argument to be publicly proposed…. if anyone believes that their endurance is the same come for a run with the team!

           Continuing with the theme of physicality, another argument proposed was that band members exert more physical prowess than that of a football player. As a former football player I am somewhat biased in saying this; but, this is an unsupported argument. Football players are giving maximum effort for every play in a game Yes, plays may not last very long but there are so many plays that happen in a game it does not matter, and players getting hit by people that may be twice the size of them. No member of band is getting hit while performing.

           Mentally, the argument is personal. All sports and activities take a different amount of mental power, which it can also change from athlete to athlete, so saying one sport or activity takes more mental processing than another is ridiculous.

           Band is an activity and that is something different from being a sport. Sports are won or determined by a definite system, no judges are used to score a team. The runner in the lead at the end of a race wins, the team to crosses the goal line more win, the team that makes more baskets win, the team that can score more goals in a game win. It’s simple, the team with more points, or less in certain sports, win. It isn’t based off whether one person thinks you did well in a certain category or another. Athletes aren’t judged on how well they shot the ball or if they have good form while they perform; however, marching band is.

           Regarding diving or gymnastics, judged sports can still be sports. There is no doubt that physical prowess and training are extremely critical when looking at these athletes. These athletes must be in the most top physical shape possible. Also, when an average person watches two gymnasts or divers compete against each other they can usually tell which athlete’s performance was better. Where most people that observe two bands perform, unless drastically different, would not be able to tell the difference between two good performances.

           Other things that separates band from being a sport is the intensity and physicality that sports have as compared to an activity or club. The physical prowess you need to be an athlete and compete in sports is higher than you need in band. While there is some athletic ability needed to be in band, compared to a swimmer or gymnast it is nothing. The emphasis on an athlete’s physical shape is much more looked at than how in shape a band member is.

           Members of band are allowed gym exemption in order to make up for different classes that they might and extend their high school career. Yet, some members claim it is because of the amount of work they put in on a daily basis. I would rather be dead than believe that some activity is working so much harder than I am whenever I do a workout or go for a long run. So I propose the idea that athletes do deserve gym exemption, if that was the case (only athletes that participate in a fall, winter, and spring sport can get gym exemption). Maybe, band members just do not deserve gym exemption, sometimes you are not always able to take the classes you may want to take.