A Doozy of a Week for Both Winter Groups

It was a doozy of a week for our winter programs with many challenges that sprung up and threatened to wreak havoc for our groups. From bus scheduling troubles to student illnesses to undelivered uniforms to unwelcome critters that threatened to make both groups go without their tarps for the week, the staff of both of our winter programs faced a lot of headaches this week! One by one, each problem found a resolution, and both groups were ready to face their competitions on Saturday, February 24th. 

First up, Woodlan Winter Guard met early on Saturday morning to prepare for their competition at IHSCGA’s Carroll High School Invitational. Senior Guard member Katy Gilbert shares the story of their week:

On Saturday, February 24th, Woodlan Winter Guard competed at Carroll High School for their third competition of the season. The day started with everyone arriving at Woodlan at 7 AM for an early morning practice. Routine was cleaned and the show was reviewed one last time before the competition. After practice, the guard came back to the band room to load up the tarp, which was made 10 times easier thanks to Jason Harber’s carpentry skills! The kids quickly loaded onto the bus and made their way to Carroll High School! 

The guard arrived at Carroll and was quickly led to their square to begin getting ready for their show. It was no doubt going to be a difficult performance due to having one member out due to a concussion, one member who had been out sick for the previous practice, and having the entire show on the floor for the first time. Makeup was quickly done, hair was braided, and uniforms were donned. Before too long, it was time to run for warm-ups. The guard went over the newest parts of their show and practiced tosses. Everyone was bubbling with a mix of nerves and excitement. After warm-ups, the guard took the gym floor at 11:42 AM and once again dazzled the crowd, this time with their completed show. The guard left the floor feeling very confident and proud of themselves. 

The guard at Carroll getting ready for their performance

During warmups

The guard during their performance

After having another mini tarp fiasco, the bus and truck were loaded. The guard changed out of their uniforms and went to watch all of the Regional A guards perform their shows. (They have some VERY impressive performers!) Awards started a little after 2:30. Woodlan sent Chloe Lothamer, Bailey Welter, and Miles Walton up as their representatives. Woodlan Winter Guard received a Silver Rating, falling less than a point away from Gold. Understandably, there was a shared sentiment of disappointment after receiving a Gold at Anderson. As it turns out, one judge was the reason for the fall from Gold. One judge scored the show much lower than the other judges, which was unfortunately enough to drop the guard to a Silver. Although the guard left Carroll with a Silver Rating and a life-long grudge against a certain judge, the guard still has plenty to be proud of! 

Here are the results from the Festival Class:

Triton (Silver), Woodlan (Silver), Snider JV (Silver), Norwell JV (Silver), Jimtown JV (Silver), Fairfield JV (Gold), Heritage (Silver), Huntington North (Silver), Mishawaka (Silver), New Haven (Silver), Manchester (Silver), and Goshen JV (Gold)

Paige enjoying the new tarp contraption!

Woodlan Winter Guard will be working the next two weeks to finish off their season with a Gold! They will conclude their season at the IHSCGA 2024 Divisional Finals on Saturday, March 9th at Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. The Festival Class will begin at 12:00pm with Speedway High School and conclude with the Awards Ceremony at 2:27pm. Woodlan Winter Guard will compete at 12:35pm.

Woodlan Winter Winds has been working hard at getting Part Three of their show ready for their competition this weekend. They have been working on new music and sets, adding visuals, and reworking other areas according to judges’ recommendations. They have been waiting for their uniforms to come in from the uniform company, and found out late this week that they would not be done before the season was over, despite the order being placed before Thanksgiving. The group took a lot of curve balls this week, but kept working hard and focused on doing what they could to make their show great.

This week, Woodlan was scheduled to perform at the very end of the competition day, so the staff and students were able to sleep in a bit and not have such an early morning start. They did decide to add more practice on than initially planned, and they all showed up ready to work hard. After a 4-hour practice, they loaded the trailers and then had a lunch of hamburgers, chips, fruit cups, pudding cups, Rice Krispie treats, and drinks. They loaded the bus and headed for Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. 

Winter Winds at morning practice

After arriving at Decatur Central, they unloaded the trailers and helped one another with makeup. They didn’t fuss about not having uniforms, but happily grabbed Mardi Gras beads, donned some makeup, and headed out to give a great performance. At warm ups, they were on fire with their energy and enthusiasm. They sounded great! It was time to head out to perform!

Woodlan Winter Winds performed last in the Winds Scholastic A Class. They did a fantastic job and sounded amazing! They gave their best performance yet! Everyone gave a great performance and the crowd really enjoyed their music and responded well to them. The judges really enjoyed their show and their comments reflected that. After their performance, they moved their equipment back to the loading area, and went back to the gym to watch the remaining groups. The students were disappointed to miss out on Avon’s performance, who unfortunately performed right after us. From the hallways, they sounded incredible, of course!

Warm ups!

Winter Winds Performance

After just four performances, it was time for the Awards Ceremony. Seniors Braedon Miller, Bella Harber, Alex Raby, and Rogan Theile represented Woodlan Winter Winds. At the Awards Ceremony,

Woodlan received a 5th place finish, coming up one spot from the last competition. We were all very excited about this finish! What a great job! This week, Woodlan’s scores increased almost 8 points from 2 weeks ago. We are within a close enough range to compete with the schools that finished in 3rd and 4th place if we continue to make improvements and work hard. It is within our reach! After the awards ceremony, the students helped finish loading their instruments in the trailer and then loaded the bus for the drive home. It was well after midnight when they returned to the school, unloaded the trailers, and headed home for the night. It was a great performance this weekend, and they did a wonderful job. The staff have some great ideas to make some improvements and changes this week, and they will work to get the drill for part three polished before next competition. Replacement uniform pieces have come in and will be distributed this week, so lots of exciting things will be coming to the show in the weeks ahead!

The placements for this week were:

1. Kokomo Indoor Winds

2. Ben Davis Winter Winds

3. Lake Central Winds

4. Warren Central Winds

5. Woodlan Winter Winds

6. Washington Winds

7. Clay City Indoor Winds

8. Yorktown Indoor Winds & Percussion

Next up for Woodlan Winter Winds will be their performance at IPA’s State Prelims at Westfield High School in Westfield, IN on Saturday, March 9th, 2024. Yorktown High School will start the Winds Scholastic A Class at 6:30pm, and Woodlan will conclude the class at 7:33pm. The Awards Ceremony will be held after the Scholastic World and Independent classes at 8:45pm. Please come out and support this talented group of musicians!