Many people at FHS do not consider marching band to be a sport. Since it has instruments, and marching looks a lot like walking, they associate it with the performing arts category rather than sports. However, marching band can be both physically and mentally taxing. Players have to memorize coordinates and music, then perform both concurrently.
A sport is a physical competition or game that athletes participte in, in which they need to follow a set of rules to compete against one another.
“[This definition] is exactly what we do in marching band competitions,” FHS sophomore trumpet player Allison Brunnings said.
Marching band competitions allot a particular amount of time for each group to get onto the field, perform and get off. Bands are placed into categories based on size, and compete for first place within these categories.
Joseph Kelly is the FHS band and orchestra director. He is the person who wrote the proposal to give FHS sports PE credits, and also believes marching band to be a sport.
“It’s every bit as physical as any other traditional sport,” Kelly said. “And more physical than some sports.”
The FHS marching band spends about 15 hours practicing each week. To compare, the football team practices about 10 hours a week, according to the FHS Athletics website. Some football players end up not playing in certain football games, while everyone competes in the marching band. Marching band is more strenuous than regular band, which only practices about three hours and 45 minutes each week, sitting down during class. Like in other sports, players in marching band get PE credits, require athletic clearance and need at least a GPA of 2.0 to participate.
Kelly has been involved in marching band for 36 years. He also did cross country in high school, and found marching band more competitive. With marching band, everyone is important to the team. You want to do your best for yourself and those around you, which can motivate you to succeed. If one person is not at everyone’s level, that affects the team and the overall score. Kelly believes this gives the marching band a more inclusive team environment.
“I knew my role in the band was important to the competitive ranking,” Kelly said.
