The worst contest for injuries for my band as a whole was State 2002. We came off that field bruised and battered. We had a couple of dislocated shoulders, fractured wrists, twisted ankles, and a broken leg. I'm surprised no one suffered from hypothermia. Our instruments didn't fare to well either, but at least we didn't have the "Taco Tuba". And I am pretty sure the drycleaners hated us after having to clean off all the mud on our uniforms.
My worst injury happened my senior year, less than a week before State 2004. For the woodwinds, one of our sets was to turn toward the end zones and jazz run, and abruptly stop facing the audience. The jazz run wasn't hard--it was the foot maneuvering for the last step to face the crowd. During the middle of practice, we were working on this set, and on the last step, my left foot rolled over and I could feel something pop. Somehow, I hobbled off the field and into the band hall. The loving band moms gave me some ice, but it barely did anything--my foot started swelling immediately. For the next couple of days I was totally useless. My foot swelled to almost twice its normal size and turned black and blue. I couldn't put any pressure on it, so I walked with crutches. I wanted to march the 3rd day after I hurt myself, but my band director wouldn't let me--he wanted me to wait as long as possible before getting back on the field so I wouldn't reinjure myself. I was so mad at myself--I had gone my entire marching career without a major injury, and then my senior year before state, I do this to myself. It was so hard to sit on the sidelines and watch the band rehearse--I had never wanted to march more in my life.
I ended up at the hospital for xrays because my foot wasn't getting any better. It turned out that it was just a major sprain, but the doctors told me I shouldn't march on it for at least 2 weeks. There was no way I wasn't going to march at state, so I purchased the best ankle brace I could find, managed to stick my swollen foot into it and my marching shoe, and marched my final contest. Did it hurt? You bet. Do I regret marching? Heck no.
My ankle still swells up every once in the while, especially when the weather changes. At least now I know when it is going to get cold outside.