With a marching band of just under one hundred, Placer High School is home to many music students. Some of these students honestly believe that marching is a sport. Previous band members do not agree, such as Megan Tribur, a junior, who participated in band from middle school to sophomore year, and Braeden Stienle, a senior, who has been in the Placer band his freshman, junior, and senior years. Tribur said, “There’s no endurance, you’re not getting fit.”
Stienle agreed saying, “Marching band has no physical conflict between players, danger is necessary in a real sport.”
Merriam Webster defines a sport as, “a contest or game in which people do certain physical activities according to a specific set of rules and compete against each other.”
In past years the Golden Hillmen Band, or “GHB”, as it is known, has competed in two Marching contests a year. They would begin the year at Del Oro and move on to Napa. But with the introduction of the 2013 marching season, the GHB will not be attending any marching competitions. With no rivalry, the Golden Hillmen Band couldn’t possibly fit into the sports definition.
Many band members, old and new disagree. Sophia Juarez a GHB member her freshmen, sophomore, and junior years, said, “I feel that marching band probably isn’t a real sport but I think it should be. In marching band we practice just as hard as other sports, we have to sacrifice our social lives to compete and its tougher than it looks. Our drum majors are our captains, our director is our coach and just like in all other sports teams, we all become a family throughout the season.”
Senior, Zachary Hecker’s band experience goes all the way back to his days at Alta Vista “It takes a lot of time after school and a lot of practice just like any ‘real’ sport.”
Drum major, Tani Thomsen, is not only devoted to band, but is one of Placer high School’s top tennis players. She said, “I can’t really compare tennis and marching, they’re like different worlds. It [marching] requires skills that require practice, but lacks intensity physically”
A majority of people who’ve never been involved in the GHB scoff at the idea of marching being a sport. I’d have to agree, after being in the Golden Hillmen Band my freshman and sophomore year, the ideology was never to win anything, even when preparing for competitions.