Bands of America Regional Competition in Louisville, KY

The Marching Giants participated in Bands of America Regional Competition in Louisville, KY at the University of Louisville Papa John’s stadium. Ben Davis would be one of 17 bands from five states around the country. Arriving early at the HS, Saturday, September 22, 2012, the members grabbed their uniforms and loaded five buses and headed south. A sixth bus contacted the Marching Giants fans. Once the buses arrived at Papa John’s stadium, the Band Boosters had sack lunches waiting for the members to enjoy. The weather was warm; but a bit breezy. After lunch, the members dressed in full uniform and prepared for circles. Section leaders, drum majors and the directors spoke with the members giving them positive and supportive words of encouragement. Finally, the time had arrived for the Marching Giants to move toward the stadium. Before taking the field, the members stop at warm-up where they warm-up their bodies and instruments before their show. After, they move to the stadium and prepare themselves mentally for the show. They arrived while the previous band is finishing up their show. As the members march onto the field, fans in the stands begin to show their support by spelling out

B-E-N D-A-V-I-S!

All is quiet; the announcer presented the Marching Giants and their show “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate” in preliminary competition. The flute and saxophone begin to play as the other members begin body movement. Members in the stands could tell the Marching Giants had an unwelcome element on the field. The wind caused their props to blow over and made it hard for the guard members to catch their equipment. Your Marching Giants pushed through their show, played their music, and continued with their body moves. Once the show was finished, the members marched proudly off the field. Awards for preliminaries would not be announced for four hours; so, the members loaded their buses and headed for Jeffersonville HS where the Band Boosters prepared dinner for the members. Before eating, the members had about an hour to rest and relax and stretch their bodies again. Keeping flexible is a requirement to prevent injuries. After relaxing, the members enjoyed their cookout; and found out they had moved on to finals by winning first in their class and had received the individual award for General Effect. The members were excited and prepared to return back to Papa John’s stadium. Once again, the members loaded their buses and headed back to the University of Louisville. Once there, they had additional down time; but made the best of it by making friends with members from others bands that had also made it into finals competition.

After making new found friendships, the members donned their uniforms and headed to warm-ups once again. 9:30 pm found the Marching Giants on the field. Fans again spelled out Ben Davis and could not wait to see their performance in finals. Thankfully the winds were calm for this performance and they presented their best show. Fans were on their feet, cheering, and waving pompons, because the final performance was the best they had seen to date. Members and fans did not have to wait long to find out results since the Marching Giants were the 8th band to perform out of 10. All band members lined up for Full Retreat. This consists of all 10 finalist bands to take their place on the field. During the awards ceremony, the Marching Giants were presented with medals for their 1st place in Class AAAA during preliminaries. Awards are presented from 10th to 1st place. Bands were being called for their awards; but Ben Davis was not among them. Finally the top three places were all that was left. The announcer called Ben Davis for 3rd place. Fans screamed and cheered for their Marching Giants and the accomplishments they had achieved during the day. Once the ceremony completed, the members broke ranks to congratulate members from any of the other nine bands on the field. After, the members loaded their buses and headed north to Indianapolis.

The day could not have happened without all the help from the volunteers including the box brigade for helping to prepare the uniforms before the members left, to the crew members that stayed at the stadium to repair props after the high winds wrecked havoc to them during preliminaries, to the Band Boosters that cooked and served dinner for everyone. Dave Cole, band director, stated, “What a great fun block we had! Thanks families.”

Next week, the Marching Giants perform during half-time at the football game on Friday, September 28, at which time the senior members will be honored; and ISSMA District competition at Plainfield HS on Saturday, September 29. See You in the Stands!