Just how many signatures do you need for a petition like that anyway?

This is my totally random guess but i'm gonna say around 1,593

I actually had a member of my school's varsity guys soccer team and a member of the varsity field hockey team tell me how amazed they were at how much the marching band practices. It was something to the effect of "man, I've seen you guys during band camp...if I had to work that hard for that long I think I'd die!". Now, unfortunately, not all of the jocks at my school give us that kind of respect, but it just goes to show you- we are a sport, all the way. We compete, we work our butts off, and we practice more than the "real" sports teams. So call it a "performance sport", call it whatever you like, but in my mind, anyone who can march a 12 minute show or make it through band camp without passing out is an athlete.

Just to be clear on the "true" definition of the word "sport" as we are using it, I looked it up at m-w.com.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
1 a : a source of diversion : RECREATION b : sexual play c (1) : physical activity engaged in for pleasure (2) : a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">*pause for jokes about the sexual play part*

The one that stands out to me is, "physical activity engaged in for pleasure." If this where the defining meaning for 'sport' then yes, marching band and/or drum corps are sports. But then again, what exactly would one define as "physical?"

Some could argue that knitting is a sport. It is a physical activity. You are physically working the needle and the thread. One may also engage in knitting for pleasure. By the same definition, one could consider organizing your stamp collection a sport. You are physically putting the stamps in their places, and you derive pleasure from it.

What do I think? Yes. Without a doubt, marching band, drum corps, knitting, and even stamp collecting are ALL sports. Look at the definition; it does not lie. Over the years, we have distorted our language that words tend to loose meaning in some places and gain meaning in others.

"Sport" is one of these words. Nowadays, when people think of sports, they really think of competitive sports. When people think of competitive sports, they think of one side battling it out with the other side simultaneously. This, however, is a skewed definition. A competitive sport, in definition, are two or more entities striving for an objective against each other. Therefore, things like cheerleading, figure skating, marching band, and drum corps are all competitive sports as well.

Well said Webmaster!!! That had to be the clearist definition of my question ever. Would you sign the petition?

Thank you for the kind comment CoosCoos. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="images/icons/smile.gif" /> I would be careful about what you wish for though. If schools began to recognize marching band as a sport, that would mean that you would have to have a physical AND (at least where I live) a GPA of at least 2.0. But, since it's not officially recognized as a sport, you don't have to have either.

I looked at the definition of "sport" some more and looked a little deeper into it.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
(2) : a particular activity (as an athletic game) so engaged in
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The word that I focused on was, "athletic." The root of "athletic" is "athlete," so let us look at that word. Back at m-w.com, we find out the definition for "athlete."

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
a person who is trained or skilled in exercises, sports, or games requiring physical strength, agility, or stamina
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">There is no doubt in anyone's mind here that members of marching bands and drum corps are trained AND skilled at what they do. However, let us look at the requirements as it says in the definition.

Physical strength. Any drummer knows it takes this just to be able to carry around your drum(s).

Agility, the root of which is agile. I will let Webster explain this one.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
1 : marked by ready ability to move with quick easy grace
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Any marcher, especially one in a corps, will tell you that moving with quick easy grace is probably THE most important skill to have, next to your actual playing.

And finally we come to stamina. When I first looked up stamina at m-w.com it gave me “stamen” that has something to do with plants. But it had a choice to go to stamina instead. When doing that, it directs me to endurance, a synonym for stamina. Finally I get a definition.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
1 : PERMANENCE, DURATION
2 : the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially : the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity <a marathon runner's endurance>
3 : the act or an instance of enduring or suffering <endurance of many hardships>
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think, when most people think about band camp or practices in general, prolonged stressful effort would be an ideal way to describe it.

There you have it. Not only are marching band and drum corps sports, but its participants are also athletes. Now get back to your training everyone! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="images/icons/grin.gif" />

i must say, good use of dictionary. but...if we ever see olympic stamp collecting....we'll know who to blame.............

WAIT A MINUTE!!!! I think everyone is missing one key aspect to our modern day screwed up definition of sports. You have to realize that no matter what the dictionary says you aren't a sport until you are like the other sports.

So, lets look at a popular sport, around the same time as Marching Band is (for High School at least). Football.

Football is simple enough.
A) You have a skill, whether its being able to push someone out of the way or throw a ball really long, you need a skill. Marching ATHLETES have skill.
B) You have to pass certain qualifications to make the team, you have to try-out. It's obvious that we try-out for DCI and Drumline and whatever.
C) You have to play as a team to make it a sport, because you have to play against someone. We gather together a Band and play against other bands. Seems similar enough.

But, aside from these things that are in Football and in Marching Band, there is one thing that sets apart out modern day Sports and any and all types of Marching Band including DCI...

SPORTS ATHELETES GET PAYED!!!!!

So until DCI strolls up to me and says they'll pay me $1,000,000 dollars a year to play in their band, I will not consider Marching Band a sport. Yes, it passes the definition, but I would much rather have it set apart from the rest. It's much better to pay to play then to get payed for playing. It keeps the sport a sport and not an easy way to make money.

Indoorperc <img border="0" alt="[2]" title="" src="graemlins/cwm2.gif" />

Anyway, one thing about what Webmaster said:

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">I would be careful about what you wish for though. If schools began to recognize marching band as a sport, that would mean that you would have to have a physical AND (at least where I live) a GPA of at least 2.0</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="verdana,Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">At my school, we fall under the exact same eligibility requirements that sports teams do. Chorus, drama club, and any other extracurricular that represents the school in performance or competition does as well. The requirements are academic and conduct related. The academic requirement states that you can't recieve any failing grades for a class or you'll be ineligible to perform the next quarter. The conduct portion states that if you are caught drinking, smoking or doing drugs, or are caught at a party, at the house of, in a car with, etc. of someone who is doing those things, you are suspended from the activity for 45 days or until the end of the season, whichever is longer. Anyway, my point is we already fall under that category anyway. As far as getting a physical, we do have to sign a form saying we are healthy enough to be in band, and our director has toyed with the idea of requiring a physical anyway.

Anyway, I do agree that we pretty much are athletes, but I'm still conflicted over whether to call it a sport or not. I mean technically, yes it is, but most people consider a sport something with a mathematical score - a number of points scored by the number of runs, touchdowns, goals, etc.; a time in a race, etc.

Band is not the only thing where judging comes into play. The merit of having numerous sports in the Olympics has already been contested many many times. Sports such as gymnastics and figure skating that are judged, similarly to marching band/corps have been criticized constatly because there isn't a "clear" winner. Look at the figure skating scandal from the Salt Lake Olympics. It still hasn't died down completely. Many people's solution was to remove skating from the Olympics because it's just too damn objective. Now I'm not saying I agree, but band is considered a sport by even less people right now. I somehow doubt that even if band should be considered a sport, it ever actually will be.

To tell you the truth, I'm still not positive where I stand on the issue. But I do feel strongly about one thing: band members certainly work just as hard as sports teams, and they should get just as much recognition no matter how they're classified.

Ok. I see where you guys are coming from. You can't really tell that band's a sport or not. In some ways it is, and in some ways it isn't. We've got physical exertion, agility, tryouts, etc. But at the same time, as JHS magnificently pointed out, band members don't get paid!! We pay to play in the band!!!

I'm gonna have to be neutral on this one, there's pretty much proof that band is in between being a sport and not a sport.