Area Marching Band Contest Weekend – Inclement Weather Anticipated

As we prepare for this weekend’s performance at the Area Marching Contest we are seeing a very high chance of rain throughout the times that the preliminary round is scheduled. Additionally Friday is also showing a very high chance of rain as well. As such we have made some plans to prepare for the inclement weather.

Friday:

In the event that it is raining Friday we are going to wear blue jeans and band shirts. We will not use our mountain prop on the field Friday night if this is the case. Additionally I am asking for every student to bring a personal poncho to wear for the game. If this is a problem please let me know and I’ll attempt to locate one for them. The majority of the ponchos we have had for past years have become unusable.

Saturday:

UIL has given us the following statement in regards to contest on Saturday:

“There is a threat of rain showers in San Antonio all day on Saturday, so be prepared for the possibility that you may perform in the rain. East Central HS Stadium has artificial turf with excellent drainage. If Contest Officials decide at any time that rainfall is too hard for the contest to continue, it will be delayed until conditions are acceptable for the contest to resume. That procedure will continue until at least Preliminaries for 3A are concluded and the 2A Contest is also concluded. If the contest cannot continue after that point, the results of the 3A Preliminaries will stand as the Final results and bands will be certified to the State Marching Band Contest as allowed by the C&CR. Should weather conditions become dangerous (i.e. lightning) at any time, then the stadium will be cleared and bands will either be held in the warm- up areas or returned to their buses as appropriate. Spectators will be asked to return to their vehicles. The contest will resume when conditions are safe.”

At this time there appears to be no plan to arrange for an alternate day for the contest to occur, so we’ll have to push through any non-lightning storm conditions. Due to this we have made the following plans:

Today I ordered 100 nicer matching navy blue ponchos that the students will wear on top of their uniforms. We will perform without plumes, choose an indoor warm-up, and get in and out of the rain as quickly as we can. We have a canopy and walls for it to block any mild rain from hitting our electronics. For all of our electronics we are powering them off of a battery system underneath the mixer so we won’t need to run long extension cords. At any point we feel a possibility of shock exists there we will choose to forgo using those items in our show.

Everyone will be in a similar situation of being at a disadvantage, so hopefully everyone has the same level playing field there. For the canopy we will need an additional four volunteers to pickup and move the canopy, as well as act as weight for it during the show. Please meet us at the buses if you are able to help with that at 10:45am.

We will use the mountain for all Area performances, regardless of rain or shine. It is an important prop for us and should be able to survive the exposure. We will need continued help to move and place it as well as the tarp and other front ensemble equipment.

Following a rainy performance we will need every student to have a change of clothes and two towels please. One towel will be for them to dry off themselves, and another to dry off their instrument. We will play the rest of the day by ear then. As UIL stated above, if it looks like the day is just never finishing and the weather is bad they will have prelims results stand for the final results as well. It will be imperative that the students are able to have their BEST performance for prelims. If the weather doesn’t materialize then prelims and finals will be handled as I have sent out previously.

Please let me know if you think of any further questions. My belief is that the students will go and do very well no matter what, but we have to be prepared to deal with the weather. My gut feeling is that choosing to prepare for the weather for our band is a big necessity for our performance this weekend!

I recommend that fans bring rain ponchos and umbrellas as well to the contest!

I will pass on all updates as to any delays via the Owl Band Booster Facebook Page and the Twitter account @TheSpiritofOHS. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns!

Mr. Steven Rash
Director of Bands
Odem High School