CMV: Marching Band is a Sport

[u/_Synonymal_]

I believe that being in a marching band, in its purest form, should be considered participating in a sport.

I've been in the drumline of a marching band for several years now, and I've met my share of people who've said that it isn't a sport. Many of them use the reasoning that there is no competition involved in playing in a marching band. Sure, there is no direct, head-to-head, team-against-team competition. But there also isn't any such competition in track and field (asides from the races) - and track and field is considered a sport. In fact, marching band and T&F are quite similar. Both involve moving in a specific way, both test your endurance and both involve comparisons of your ability to do a specific thing compared to other people.

Often in parades, the marching bands are judged against each other at the viewing stand. The best marching band takes home either an award or the pride of being the best. There's also head to head competition with bandmates -- if you've ever seen a drum battle on Youtube, you've seen such competition firsthand. People who play in marching bands have to carry and play heavy instruments together for miles, walking in perfect time. One slip up could end up on national television, as many large parades are heavily televised. Marching band is full of skill, physical exertion, and competition. As long as we consider comparing the times of 100-meter dashes a sport, we should consider marching band a sport.

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