The article “Is Marching Band a Sport?” argues that marching band meets the criteria to be considered a sport, and I completely disagree. I am a member of the marching band at my school, and I asked nearly all my band mates about this question; many agree that marching band is not a sport, especially when compared to the sports they do participate in, such as football, baseball, basketball and soccer.

In my state, the AIA (Arizona Interscholastic Association), which is responsible for choosing what classifies as a sport and creating rules to enforce safety, does not have marching band on its list. Although I agree with the author’s statement about people having to hold heavy instruments, only a handful of people carry such instruments – just seven at my school. Marching band is not physically taxing or mentally difficult enough to be considered a sport, and there isn’t much stamina needed. Most members can handle it without doing any form of conditioning beforehand.