Panting, sweating, aching, moaning. Fingers numb, body ready to collapse. Do not be alarmed, for this merely describes how a marching band member feels after a parade. It may sound painful and exhausting, but football is not much different, right? Players run around for a bit and hit each other then get to take frequent breaks, while marching band members parade march for at least a mile wasting their precious oxygen blowing into an instrument. And football is the only sport described above? Marching band is very much an exhausting activity, and it should be considered a sport because of the physical exertion required.

Members of marching band programs push themselves to limits similar to those of athletes through exercise of both the mind and body. The definition of exercise is any physical activity that involves planned, structured, and repetitive bodily movements (Alic). Marching band requires walking at tempos that can seem like a run and carrying instruments, some of which weigh fifty pounds. Practices can last up to three hours a night three or four nights a week, accounting for the repetition. All members use the same technique when marching so everyone looks the same, making marching a bit harder than just walking. Marching itself is the movement of legs and a band. This movement is then combined with playing an instrument that uses up much of the member’s energy. The ability to play memorized music skillfully while maintaining proper marching technique does not come naturally. Members must practice and train like any other athlete. Another example of the physicality of marching band is found in a study done by Dr. Jeff Edwards of Indiana State University. The study found that during a performance, drumline member Jordan Thomas had a heart rate of almost two hundred beats per minute, and his oxygen consumption was thirteen to fourteen times higher than a resting level (Greenwald). These outputs are that of a marathon runner halfway through a marathon or a fugitive running for his life but not willing to give up. Jordan may only be one member, but no doubt marching band members all across the country put out physical exertion similar to his. A final example of the physicality of band is seen in high school programs, where musicians do push-ups, sit-ups, and jumping jacks, then run up to a mile just to warm up! Most other sports require a rigorous warm up similar to this. Students also report muscle fatigue and soreness after practice, and many reported feeling faint or sickly as a result of participation in band (Rauscher). Tiredness to such an extent that members feel faint must require a great amount of effort and physical exertion. Although band fulfills the definition of exercise, requires similar efforts to running a marathon, and causes members to push their muscles and physical tolerance to their limits, it is not considered a sport.  All of this activity’s attributes contribute to the fact that the physicality of marching band does indeed mirror that of other well known sports; therefore, schools should recognize marching band as a sport.

Though many know the physicality of marching band, some still insist that it is not a sport merely because of this exertion by band members. A sport indeed may be more complicated than just physical activity; however, marching band fits the very definition of “sport” according to many dictionaries. The Cambridge Dictionaries defines a sport as “a game, competition, or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job.” Marching band is both an activity and a competition, and as stated before, it requires extensive physical effort. Many rules exist in band, specifically in competition circuits where there are rules on length of performance and complexity of music. While most participants do band for enjoyment, there are the select few that participate as a job in the top-of-the-line DCI World Class circuit. This is only a single definition, but marching band fits it perfectly. If any marching band member was asked, they would definitely say that band is a challenging activity that requires time and effort just like a sport. It is only appropriate that these members get the recognition they deserve by schools acknowledging that band is indeed a sport.

All across the country, members of marching bands receive odd looks or even chuckles when they tell people they are in marching band. The general assumption is that band is a lazy activity consisting of weird kids blowing into instruments. This assumption is negated, however, as very definition of exercise is met by activities done in marching band. Marching band also meets definition of a sport, but is not recognized as such. Studies done on members show their levels of exertion are similar to a marathon runner, and marathon runners are not lazy individuals in the slightest. High school band programs across the country require members to do what seem like workouts before a practice even begins. Sports programs are thought of highly in school districts, and marching band members put in the time and effort to deserve the distinction of participating in a sport.