Whether or not marching band is a sport is an oft pondered question. Classifying the activity as either a sport or not is a topic of debate with passionate arguments on both sides. Those who think marching band is a sport argue that it fits the definition of a sport through its physical requirements and skill and those who think marching band is not a sport argue that it does not have the interactive competition and variability of performance of most classic sports. So, which argument is the right one?  

According to the dictionary, a sport is defined as “an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature.” There’s no doubt that marching band requires skill and physical prowess, as band kids must sludge through countless hours of spat camp playing complicated music while marching complex formation. For band kids like Alex Raether, whether marching band is classified as a sport is proof of this effort.

“We put in just as much hard work and time and effort if not more than [sports] do and therefore we should deserve the same title they have,” said Raether.

Marching band also has a competitive nature, as bands like the LHS marching band travel near and far to perform in competitions to be judged and placed among up to 64 bands in one competition.

But, the latter half of the definition, a competitive nature, is where some people have problems with classifying marching band as a sport. While marching bands do travel to competitions and compete against other bands, some people like LHS drumline member Jared Christensen argue that the subjectiveness of marching band’s scoring makes it different than classic sports.

“Marching band is physically exerting, but should not be classified as a sport… it’s not a direct competition,” said Christensen. “There’s no objective way to win it, it’s subjective to how [judges] think.”

Another argument for why marching band should not be considered a sport is that it is a routine. Isaiah Hoekman plays saxophone in the LHS marching band and highlighted the fact that the primary goal of marching band is to perfect the show and its details exactly over and over.

“Every football game there is a different outcome, but in marching band, the goal is to be the same,” said Hoekman. “In sports, you have to react to different things that happen but in marching band, you try to replicate what you rehearsed.”

Whether or not marching band is a sport is a topic of discussion that could be discussed and bickered over forever. There is no right answer, which means that people on both sides will go on believing they are right. So, does it matter if marching band is a sport or not? 

There is no validation in the label of “sport” that proves the legitimacy of one activity over another. People who are passionate for the activities they love will show that passion through hard work no matter if their activity is labeled a certain way. The effort put forth by members of the LHS marching band and the classic sports of LHS is inspiring, and to compare the effort of activities over meaningless labels is meaningless in its own right.

Maybe marching band should be called a sport, and maybe it should not be, but as long as one can recognize that the label of a sport means nothing and that the passion students at LHS have for their activities is more important, it does not matter.