marching band, is it a sport? Options

[*RiC3xBoy*]

Marching band is totally a sport!

In my band, we run 1/2 a mile at every rehearsal (we have a two rehearsals a day for two weeks before school starts). We also do 100 crunches (only in the morning rehearsal) and so much more cardio.

You try "walking" of marching at 200 beats a minute!

HAH, 200 beats per min....yea right, highest we ever go is 180 and that only lasts for less than a minute, and thats only because we get help from older members that are in Drum Core.

Go Here: http://www.metronomeonline.com/ and set it to 200 beats. Each click is one step. Doesn't seem likely an average person can do that while having good posture and playing your instrument at the same time.

[*tweeak*]

it's so hard to march slowly across a long distance, though. i have 16 counts to go from close to the front side line to 4 steps behind the hash at a tempo of something slow- 60? 80? i sound retarded, but i don't remember, but so i'm taking these giant steps and looking ridiculous and still not making it, and what's worse is that i'm practically on the 50 while i do this i can't believe my BD hasn't killed me yet. I had another insane set where i had to go 2 yard lines in 8 counts, so i was jazz running and still not making it, but it was after a scatter, so i was allowed to adjust my spot to where i could make it. it's times like those that require creativity and athleticism

[*tweeak*]

doesn't it suck? they werne't giving clear directions yesterday either, so i spent several counts trying to figure out when we were supposed to turn and where and then where to move and then franticly jazz running. even when i figured the rest out, i still had to jazz run in order to barely make it, and it was important to make it to that set, because i held after it also

[*tweeak*]

we put our horns down during the first 4 counts of it because it's the beginning of the drum solo, but most people didn't have such an "extreme" move as i did, so everyone around me would be taking tiny steps and i'd be running past them, so it couldn't have possibly even looked good

[CrazayChristian]

I don't think it's a sport--which, I'd like to emphasize, if I didn't do it enough above, does not make it less of an activity. It's just a different class. Marching band isn't a game, you don't score points, you don't try to win. (Yes, I know many marching bands compete, but competing does not automatically equal a sport; one can compete in chess, school achievements, or Odyssey of the Mind, and those are not sports.) It's not a sport like golf, or football, or baseball. Again, this doesn't make it less of an activity--certainly not inferior to those sports--it just means it is classified differently.

Although I agree, it doesn't really matter. This thread is about wether it's a sport or not, and I'm someone who enjoys a good argument.

In which case I'll defend my case again:

Marching band CAN be a game if you look at it the right way. You do score points on performance and accuracy (As a player would perform a play and have an accurate shot). You do try to win, and marching band isn't chess. It's physical, mental, challenging on diffrent levels, so comparing it to a board game doesn't work.

Edit: and 200beats is bs, the music would fly off the handle and your feet would have to be in half time.(step every 2 beats)

Our show is VERY wierd this year, the music is fast paced and rangy. The count structure is wierd (12,18,10,8(hold 8),16,10,15,9,11,6,20,16,8,16,24,12,12,20(hold 4),12,10,10) That's wierd with random right foot step offs and such. Not only that but the entire first movement is 168 BPM The second is 120, And we don't have the 3rd.

[*tweeak*]

We had one move marked as 7 counts, and everyone was extremely confused as to how an odd number would work. Turned out we have entire cout to put our feet together before turning but it was still odd

[CrazayChristian]

^ONE odd number? LUCKY!

[*tweeak*]

yeah, but we only have half the drill on the field

[*RiC3xBoy*]

Hmm..might be off topic, but I was thinking I should send you guys some of our field shows and vice versa. I'd like to compare some of techniques.

[*tweeak*]

They intend to put ours online, but they haven't yet, so I may post once they're there

[yellowgurl]

definition for Sport
1) Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often        engaged in competitively.
    A particular form of this activity.
2) An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

That being said....I guess, you could kind of consider it a sport since it is a physical activity...I just never thought of it that way...I though of it just as...well...band lol

exactly.. you dont do much physical activity except for walking and playing music at the same time.. thats called multi- tasking =)

[*tweeak*]

marching and walking are NOT the same thing

[*RiC3xBoy*]

exactly.. you dont do much physical activity except for walking and playing music at the same time.. thats called multi- tasking =)

Walking??No...marching is higly different and you make sound like if it were easy...

[*tweeak*]

which it isn't

[CrazayChristian]

exactly.. you dont do much physical activity except for walking and playing music at the same time.. thats called multi- tasking =)

She skipped my report of why it was a sport, I mean come one woman, I DARE you to march an entire show.

[*tweeak*]

haha wool uniforms in 90 degree weather= not easy to march and play at fast tempos for 8 minutes straight. thankfully, we got new uniforms and we can't introduce them until our first home game which isn't for 3 games, so maybe it'll be a little cooler by then. i have to wear my band polo and khaki shorts tomorrow. first game of the season!!!

heh, my friends and i tried to convince my spanish class that band was a sport today (it was easier to argue with them than against). the teacher was not amused when we tried to do this whole project on school sports about the band. she objected and said we had to include more than one activity and some actual sports, since that was the topic we chose

[*RiC3xBoy*]

maybe it'll be a little cooler by then. i have to wear my band polo and khaki shorts tomorrow.

YES!!!! I'm not the only one with band clothes

[*tweeak*]

hahah! nope, i have no choice

first game in 45 minutes (or, well, be at school in 45 minutes. game in 3 hours)

[CrazayChristian]

First game tomorrow. We got all new uniforms, we were old school white and blue. Now we're shiny, with mirrors on black and blue jackets.

OUr theme song....




BACK IN BLACK!





The show is murder, I did a full run though in my own time (Band nerd I know) but yeah, blah.

[*tweeak*]

our show is the beatles and we got new uniforms too (from naby blue with white pants to black and blue with black pants) but we still don't get to wear them till next week, becayse we have to wait until the first home game

today we had practice and we didn't learn much- only 2 sets- but we got a shitload accomplished cleaning-wise

[*RiC3xBoy*]

heh, our show is called "The Secret Garden", yet it has lots of LOTR music...

[*tweeak*]

that;s very odd. we played some LOTR in 8th grade. i liked it

[CrazayChristian]

Well we had our first footbal game performance, and it went pretty well. I basically tripped on this one guy though. >_<

I think I posted this already, but our show is totally new, made especially for us, the final movment I think is either going to be finished or is finished already.

It's called "Rythem and Ritual" It's a difficult show to say the least. 75% of it is all Curves, and 100% of it is at 160+ bpm. (that's the 1st movment, Danze dos los Duendes(Dance of the goblins))

Second movment is 120 bpm, more of a group pod movment than curvy, The music is all loud and awesome.


2.5 hour drive to the next game, I'm expected to get home at like 2am, and then I have to get up early in the morning for region jazz.

[*RiC3xBoy*]

It's called "Rythem and Ritual" It's a difficult show to say the least. 75% of it is all Curves, and 100% of it is at 160+ bpm. (that's the 1st movment, Danze dos los Duendes(Dance of the goblins))

OMGWTFBBQ!!! Ok, so our last year's show's 4th movement was called Danza De Los Duended.....

If I remember correctly, there was a Trumpet Section Feature.

[*tweeak*]

we finished putting our show on the field. 80 sets total!!!!!!!!!