In July of last year, a Mississippi high school sent 11 marching band members to the hospital after they collapsed during practice.
I was in the marching band in high school in the Mojave Desert, where the temperatures would regularly break 100F/40C. You lose a lot of water when you’re playing an instrument (they don’t have spit valves for nothing), and marching bands still maintain a lot of traditions from their military origins, so you do a lot of push-ups. The thick wool uniforms you wear during performances don’t help anything either – we had elaborate rituals involving baby powder to try to stay dry inside the uniform, which was harder than you might expect considering how dry the desert air is. We’d have a few kids pass out during band camp each summer, but I can only remember once someone went down during a performance – she marched right off the field and collapsed on the sideline, and was fine after some fluids and rest.
They very much do suck, and they don’t fit well, and like 75 other people have worn them before you. It was so much nicer to play away games in street clothes. Definitely paid off in college, though – my university flew us all over the place to play sports events.
I was in the marching band in high school in the Mojave Desert, where the temperatures would regularly break 100F/40C. You lose a lot of water when you’re playing an instrument (they don’t have spit valves for nothing), and marching bands still maintain a lot of traditions from their military origins, so you do a lot of push-ups. The thick wool uniforms you wear during performances don’t help anything either – we had elaborate rituals involving baby powder to try to stay dry inside the uniform, which was harder than you might expect considering how dry the desert air is. We’d have a few kids pass out during band camp each summer, but I can only remember once someone went down during a performance – she marched right off the field and collapsed on the sideline, and was fine after some fluids and rest.
Heat strokes like that mean you’re at the edge of what can kill. Really bad sign if there is a culture of toughing it out
Agreed, but in the American South it is rampant and frustrating. I try to fight against it when I can, but it is very much an uphill battle.
the sole reason I quit band in high school, was I didnt want to march in the uniforms
They very much do suck, and they don’t fit well, and like 75 other people have worn them before you. It was so much nicer to play away games in street clothes. Definitely paid off in college, though – my university flew us all over the place to play sports events.
Maybe in a drum and bugle corp but we sure as shit did not do pushups in Marching Band in high school. Maybe some light stretching but that was it.
Nope, just a normal high school marching band. Now drop and give me 20 for talking back.
……no