Do you know your step sizes as well as you thought?
Hey marching band folks, did you know a step size horizontally is actually a different size than a step size vertically? Horizontal step size is 22.5 inches, but vertically it’s actually 22.857 inches!
The proof is simple too! The full width of a football field is 160 feet, which is 84 steps. 84 steps multiplied by 22.857 is 1,919.988 inches. Divide by 12 for feet and you’re at 159.999 feet!
Horizontally we’re good at 22.5 inches because 8 steps is equivalent to 5 yards. 8 steps at 22.5 inches is 180 inches or 15 feet. 5 yards is also equal to 15 feet.
So we were all only half wrong about our entire professional marching band careers.
How’s your 2020 pandemic quarantine going so far?
Quick tip to anyone painting gack marks on the field front to back. Use a PVC stick that has markings every 22.857″ and you won’t wonder why there’s extra space between the last gack and the back sideline!
