Now we have all heard the on going arguments of why marching band/ drumline/ drum corps should and shouldn't be considered a sport. I personally feel that there is a lot of evidence proving that it should be considered a sport but that is beside the point.

With evidence showing that it is a sport, I think it should be an olympic event. Think about it for summer and winter olympics. The summer would be a drum corps, and in the winter an indoor drumline and winter guard. I think it is something that could be possible with drum corps poplarity in Europe, and WGI hosting Aimachi every few years. I think it would be amazing to represent the country as the best musicians in the country.

Now so I don't get chastized for this I have heard that guard is in the olympics or something like that so if it is this is a place to discuss it.

Thoughts...

That would be a great way to spread drum corps and get more people involved in it than there already are.

I'm just wondering if it would become a bigger deal than DCI or if they would do the same thing will the world cup and olympic soccer.

It would be an interesting thing to see how it would turn out.

While I think it would be awesome, don't count on it. Too many things would have to change for it to be considered.

To even qualify to be an Olympic sport, it must be practiced competitively in 50 countries on 3 continents.
Also, there are not currently ANY mixed gender sports.

Plus, there has to be a IF (international federation) for that particular sport.

ive heard rumors that next winter there will be guard in the olympics
i also hear james logan high school is going
can anyone confirm that

Uh, no. How would that be a winter sport?

And the Olympic homepage says the same thing. There's no guard in the Olympics, and they wouldn't have a high school team there either (unless on a demonstration basis).

I'm from James Logan, and no, we're not "competing" in the Olympics, lol. Find all the information about the Beijing 2008 Olympic Orchestra here:

http://www.beijing2008olympicorchestra.com/joomla/

Every heard of winter guard international... It's called winter guard for a reason... (note the title.. One more hint it's in the winter)

OF course it would be bigger than DCI but it would only happen every 4 years. I dont think it would take away from DCI only help. I also think it being mixed gender has nothing to do with it. That's a bogus claim if you ask me.

Give up. Band is not a sport.

whatever you say chief i dont consider a lot that is in the olympics sports but nonetheless they are there

true. Gymnastics and weight lifting aren't sports.

seriously?

It ain't gonna happen.

First of all, a whole lot more people would need to be convinced it's a sport. I don't consider it a sport, and judging by past discussions on RAMD and forums like this, I think I'm in the majority. If we don't think it's truly a sport, good luck convincing others outside the activity.

But just for sake of discussion, let's look at the rules. Here are some of the criteria set by the Olympic charter:



No way will drum corps ever meet those criteria. 75 countries?! Four continents?! Drug testing?! And if you want to argue your way past these rules, don't worry -- I can come up with plenty of other rules that would still prevent our entry.

As for winter guard in the Winter Olympics... Just because the usual competitive season is the winter doesn't mean it's a winter sport. Maybe it would be more accurate if they changed the name of the Winter Olympics to the "Cold Olympics". Notice every single event requires ice or snow. In the astronomically unlikely event that colorguard ever became an Olympic event, it would be in the Summer Olympics, a la rhythmic gymnastics, which is already kinda guard-ish.

Sorry scooter - just because something occurs in winter doesn't make it a winter sport. Winter sports, generally, can ONLY happen in winter - that is, winter conditions allow them to take place. Winter guard is the same thing as summer guard activities, just indoor due to weather. But the winter conditions don't make it possible for the event itself to occur.

Well, look at the rules and current sports. Show me ONE that has mixed gender. There aren't any.

I can see that you're passionate about this, but you're letting your passion blind any legitimate analysis of the situation. This just isn't going to happen - period.

Let music be music.

People say DCI is a sport, but i humbly disagree.

Just because it requires power walking a performance
doesn't mean its a sport. SPORTS focus on physical
aspects, not musical.

I have done sports all throughout elementary and middle
school, and early high school. I have now done one season
of DCI. DCI isn't a sport guys. You don't lift weights and
constantly work out in order to be able to march.

Is acting a sport? No. Singing? Nope.

I agree with you that it's not a sport, but not all sports require lifting weights and constantly working out. Take the following Olympic sports as an example:

• Archery
• Badminton
• Curling
• Equestrian (It's the horse doing the work!)
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Table Tennis

Whether those are sports can be debated as well, but those events are all in the Olympics. Drum corps isn't and won't ever be. Well, except the opening & closing ceremonies... The 27th Lancers and Cadets have already been there and done that.

Everyone has turned this into a battle of "is DCI a sport" That is not the issue! It's could/should DCI be considered a DCI event. The only two people to give good arguments about it is Sky Dog and JaredGMS. Which I thankyou both for.

Now forgive my lack of olympic knowledge (ie the criteria needed to be considered for an onlympic event.) I still think aside from not enough countries/ continents are involved Drum and Bugle corps and Indoor guard could be considered as events. Especially winter guard if they allow gymnastics. As someone said that is closely related.

It was stated that 75 countries and 4 continents are needed for an event. There are a number of countries already actively involved with drum corps and 3 continents that I know of that are involved. I don't think it is farfetched to think it could happen in the future if someone took the initiative to do so.

It's not a sport...It's an art!

also, http://youtube.com/watch?v=17ptVrk4vo8

that is a sport.

They aren't all advertised as olympic sports. The olympics is also advertised as "the olympic games".

There are criteria for an event to even be considered for the olympics. Snowboarding was just added recently to the olympics because its a fairly recent "hot" sport. Maybe if countries around the world start drum corps and go on tours and the activity blows up, it could happen, but since its a group event, I don't see it happening.


Beyond the logistics of what it would actually take, as it has been said, this activity focuses on music, not sport. Just think of the noun Marching Band. Marching band is pretty much where all of this started. Marching is an adjective. Its something we do, but the main part of all of this is the band part -- the music part. The music comes first. Athletic activity is part of what we do, but if we took out the music portion, we'd simply be a drill team, and I believe they already have similar Olympic events for things like that (synchronized swimming, anyone?).

And yes, while other events such as some gymnastics and ice skating rely on a factor of art, the base of any of those events is athletic technique and strength and conditioning to perform such maneuvers. Lets face it, you don't need to be in top shape to perform in a marching band, or even a drum corps. While its usually beneficial, band or corps is an activity for youth and being in great athletic shape isn't usually a prerequisite because if you can play, its assumed that anyone can bust their [b]butt[/b] to perform drill. And being a youth activity, theres more of an all inclusive / no one left behind sort of general rule for most organizations. Attitude and musical ability is usually the main criteria to perform. The visual/sport aspect can be grown into and the sport element doesn't need to be there for every individual who participates.

Besides, could you imagine shelling out ~150 medals for ONE placement for ONE event (not to mention the other groups who medal)?

Wow...that dead lift was absolutely amazing. It's a shame that guy can't move his arms enough to drive a car.

Aside from the whole sport debate, I don't see drum corps ever being truly competitive internationally, let alone in 50 countries. Sure, Europe and Japan both put out their fair share of corps, but only a handful could actually compete at the same level as world class corps, and that's with 20 some odd corps that are American. It's exactly the same reason why baseball was voted out of the Olympics - its too American.

I'd much rather see Rugby Union, Racquetball, Bandy, and of course Tug of War in the Olympics (tug of war was once an event).

A sport is where you can directly influence your opponents performance. By that definition weight lifting is not a sport.

That definition is flawed, to put it mildly. Are you telling me that you wouldn't consider track & field or swimming events to be sports?

Wrong. The qualifier for sport status is subjective versus objective judging. Figure skating, gymnastics, drum corps, diving, and other such sports have subjective judging. The judges have basic criteria, but there can always be some argument as to who the winner was. If it's objectively judged, there is no way to argue who the winner was if you have the right footage to review (a la football, baseball, archery, etc.).

I propose this question to those who think drum corps
should be a sport:

Have you guys ever been involved in a sports team?

Olympic Fail: Blue Screen of Death Strikes Bird's Nest During Opening Ceremonies Torch Lighting

Nobody can escape the BSOD!! lmao

Rofl! Nice, that's just what you want.