2020: The Year of No Marching Band Competitions

2020 has been a different year, especially for students who are involved with the marching band. This past July, OMEA (Ohio Music Education Association) and BOA (Bands of America) announced that they were going to suspend marching band competitions for the 2020 marching band season due to the current pandemic. While it might be demanding to follow the current guidelines that have been set in stone, these competitions shouldn't have been canceled this year. I was chosen to be on the leadership team this year, my position is the section leader of the baritones. It is my first year on the leadership team, so with the competitions being canceled, I have an even larger role of trying to motivate my section. Trust me, this task is difficult, but I have taken on the task and am achieving success while also guiding my section to success to the best of my ability.

Unfortunately, the class of 2021 seniors did not get to experience their final season of marching band competitions. Our Marching Band competitions are always a vital part of each season of the marching band. Fortunately, our marching band season is not completely ruined because we still get to showcase our show at home football games. With that being said, we as a marching band are not allowed to travel to away games per the guidelines of OHSAA and Governor Mike Dewine. Also, football games have fewer fans due to the restrictions and regulations of COVID-19. My point is that OMEA and BOA should have not decided to suspend competitions because it seems exceptionally unfair that sports can have games and competitions, but we who are involved with the performing arts cannot have competitions because they were suspended for the 2020-2021 school year.

We as a marching band have honestly made the best out of this season even with everything that has been thrown at us! We had to be absolute troopers throughout the whole pandemic on top of getting our competitions canceled. We had originally planned to perform our show A Little South of Sanity at the OMEA and BOA competitions. With the cancelation of competitions, we voted and decided to scratch that and come up with a new “pandemic” show. The songs included in the “pandemic” show are Welcome to the Black Parade By My Chemical Romance, Still Breathing By Green Day, and I’m Still Standing by Sir Elton John.

With the marching band competitions being canceled, we as a marching band have decided to utilize this season for growth. We are hoping to grow with our marching fundamentals and the songs that we always perform at the home football games. These ever-popular songs include, Across the Field (fight song) by William A Dougherty jr, the Alma Mater, The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key. We, as a marching band has lacked a bit of these in the past few years. With the competitions canceled, we have an opportunity to grow this season and hopefully, this will make fundamentals and the football songs easier for the future seasons to come. This season has been quite an odd and different season, but I believe that we have made the best out of it.

Our annual band camp which usually takes place at the end of July and the beginning of August had shorter hours than the years past due to the pandemic. The first week was only Monday, July 20th, and Tuesday, July 21st from 5 to 9 pm each day. Usually, the first week of band camp is 5 pm-9 pm, Monday through Friday. Our first week of marching band camp was shortened this year because on Tuesday, July 21st we found out that evening at band camp that our competitions for this season were put on hold.

The marching band staff decided to make week two with shortened hours. The hours were 9 am- 3 pm Monday, July 28th-Friday July 31st. Usually, our second week of marching band camp is 9 am-9 pm. Our marching band staff also decided to only have band camp on Monday, August 3rd, and Tuesday, August 4th from 9 am to 3 pm on the third and final week of band camp. The third week of band camp was originally supposed to be 9 am-5 pm Monday through Friday.

I interviewed two of the youngest members of our marching band about how they felt about our marching band competitions getting canceled and how they have made the best out of this season. I interviewed two greenies (7th or 8th graders who audition for marching band).

First, interviewed 7th grader James Wright who plays the baritone. I asked James: “How do you feel about the competitions getting canceled this season? Does it make you sad, upset, angry?” James said, “It was sad knowing that my first year I would have no competitions” I also asked James: “what have you been doing to make this season the best that you can, knowing that it is your rookie year and you received the news that our competitions are canceled.” James said, “even without competitions I still have had so much fun!” James indicated that making new friends and marching around all of them was fun this season.

Next, I interviewed 7th grader Owen Robinson, who plays the trombone. I asked Owen: “What was the one thing you were looking forward to at a competition this season before we got the news that they were canceled for the 2020 season?” Owen said, “performing with friends was the one thing I was forward to” I also asked him: “knowing it is your rookie season in the marching band how are you going to continue to make the best out of this season?” Owen responded to that question by saying, “marching with my friends at football games." Marching with his friends at football games has made Owen feel much better about the competitions getting suspended for the 2020 season.

To conclude, the fact that our marching season has no competitions this year is extremely strange. We don’t get to watch other bands compete, and we don’t get to have fun with our friends. However, we have made the best out of our season by making sure we utilize this year for growth on the things that we have lacked in the prior seasons. Hopefully, that next season we will be able to compete at the competitions that we once looked forward to.