board77

Wolfie (and others who have said the same thing) that makes sense. I didn't take into account the whole judging for a score aspect of this topic, and can respect those who feel that excludes it from the sport category.

Of course when I say 'I'm gonna watch some sports' I'm thinking of hockey or football and not of MB or ice skating

All I ask is to give credit where credit is due

For a wonderful and intelligent group of women -- Ara-Anna, the Mary, Eruname, and Wilma and anyone else....

here is my official position on marching band (official until I have to change it)

Marching Band is a wonderful activity that brings tremendous positives to a school. It is an activity which requires skill, talent and physical activity. It demands an investment of time and energy that speaks very highly of those who participate in it.

Schools, and life in general, should have activities and events which can appeal to different kinds of people. It would be a very dull world if we all simply were baseball players...... or in the marching band for that matter.

I do agree that some participants in marching band can use the activity to increase their level of physical fitness. I would also only be telling the truth if I did not also say that I have seen many band members do their dardenest to get out of having to take gym class and many who appeared not to be in good physical shape.

I have an extended family member who attended the local Plymouth-Canton High School. Those of you into band can check their record of success in area and national competition. He got to be the main man with the big stick that leads the band around the field. He even got a four year scholarship to University of Michigan and got that job in his senior year. He worked like the devil. In terms of athletic skill - he has none. He throws a ball like a girl, cannot run to save his life, and has always been overweight and slow.

So please, let us not confuse performance events which require some skill and talent and hard work and lots of rehearsal time with actual competitive sport. Its two different things.

This is what Dictionary.com has to say about sport (I removed the non-applicable entries):

Code: Select all sport Pronunciation Key (spôrt, sprt) n. 1. 1. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. 2. A particular form of this activity. 2. An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively. 3. An active pastime; recreation.

Thanks SF And I'm familiar with Plymouth-Canton marching band as we crossed paths at many a competition They always had a flair for the unusual in their performances

Woohoo Alatar you rock, MB is a sport

Quote:

3. An active pastime; recreation.

That leaves approximately all activities that require moving as a potential sport. That definition qualifies gardening as a sport. Even posting on b77, arguiably.

I don't know about you all but I'm feeling quite athletic these days

I htink the term 'active' is up to interpretation.

gimli will be at the next Olympics in the Photography 100 competition.

Yeah that dictionary definition allows Aikido to be considered a sport. There is competition between students from time to time, and it can be one hell of a workout on days when the heat index is over 110.

But it isn't a sport.

reminds me of the plethora of poker competitions shown on the tube these days ... how wide does the definition go?

This morning I went out between posts and ran my usual six miles. It certainly is a taxing physical activity - but I compete against nobody else and its not a sport. If I enter a six mile race, 10K for those so inclined, then it becomes a sport.

I was just telling S_O yesterday that Poker was not a sport. Let's not get carried away

but what if we march and play poker at the same time in 95 degree heat?

One thing that might help match people's perceptions of what is or is not a sport... is how much randomness is involved...

While I don't think it is necessary for "sport" to have random elements, It appeals to people more if it does.

Figure skating, for instance... they are are pushing their bodies so hard, randomness sets in on all of the skills they perform... they can't control everything precisely... or the more they do, the better they are.

Football, baseball, Ice Hockey... there are random actions that require quick thinking and active adaptation to deal with unexpected situations... this adds excitement an appeal to the sport.

marching Band... is somthing that is much less random. Sure, in a competition, things can go wrong, and the best band may win because they are the most precise... but in general, when a Band performs, it is planned out, and randomness is removed.

That makes it more of a performance than an "event" ... and that, I think, is where people's opinions differ.

sauronsfinger wrote:

but what if we march and play poker at the same time in 95 degree heat?

Then it's a sport for sure

Ahem....


Got ya all beat.


Bass Fishing.

I don't think randomness works here, hal. Yes, with all of the lifting and spinning an ice dancer could randomly screw up and fall, but so could a kid carrying a french horn. Ice dancer is a planned routine like marching band. Ice hockey is strategized, but you can't plan any of it. Even your breakouts can quickly go awry.

An active pasttime is quite a broad definition, but I think we can eliminate poker, or bass fishing. Those aren't active, despite the fact that they involve movement. Playing guitar isn't active either. Posting on b77 is a HUGE stretch. You aren't active, but yes, you move your fingers.

'Active' is such a vague word, though. It doesn't say how active.
It's useless in trying to define anything.

I do think pre-scripted routines do get one bumped out of the 'sport' category.

Active is a vague word, but considering the topic I think there is a degree of activity we can come to an agreement on.

Golf?
If yes, mini-golf?

Golf requres a high degree of precision, as well as significant enough physical activity to fatigue, and therefore affect that precision... it is a sport (minus any carts, like I said before ).

Mini-Golf is not a sport.

I think arguing if this or that is a sport is kind of silly. Even if Marching Band isn't a sport... who cares?

Now, if you say that Marching Band isn't physically demanding, that's something that you can argue about... but calling it a sport or not is entirely arbitrary.

The very question of this thread is implying that competitions that don't qualify as a "sport" are somehow inferior to those that do.

Is throwing a 16lb ball as far as you can a sport? How can it be? It's part of a larger "sport," but I competed in college for 4 years throwing heavy things, and still wouldn't call it a "sport." I was part of a team, we won conference titles, it was seriously physically demanding... but do I care if people call it a sport or not? not at all...

It was fun, and exhilerating, and if people want to degrade it because they don't understand the intricate nature of the events... well, that's their loss...