Winter Winds Receives A First (and Last!) Place Finish... Not Once, but Twice, at WGI Regionals

This past Saturday, March 4th, Woodlan Winter Winds had another early Saturday morning arrival on National Marching Band Day (March Fourth). The students gathered at 6:45am to load the trailers and get ready to head to the Indianapolis area for another long day of competition. It was a slick morning after a winter storm the night before, and Cody found out as soon as he stepped out of his car how slick the parking lot was (great save, Cody!) After loading the trailers, everyone enjoyed a breakfast of tater tot casserole, cinnamon roll casserole, assorted muffins (banana, blueberry, and chocolate), oranges, go-gurt, and Sunny D. Most were ready to load the buses by 8am, except one unfortunate student who overslept through his alarm, got in a car accident on the way, and then fell three times all before catching the bus to Indy. We were all so glad he was ok and was able to join us for the day. What a morning!

The students arrived at Greenfield-Central High School in Greenfield, Indiana ready to compete in the Winter Guard International (WGI) Regional Event. It was chaos from the start as there was a lot of confusion about where and when the trailers could be unloaded and there was very little direction given by the event coordinators for the logistics of the day. It was just the beginning of a chaotic and confusing day with little event staff to lead us throughout the day and we were grateful for our own staff for just making things happen for us when they needed to happen. It was quite a hectic day behind the scenes!

This is the first WGI event that Woodlan has participated in other than the 2021 Virtual Season. During that season, Winter Percussion submitted videos of their performances to be critiqued by the judges and receive feedback. There was never any travel or in-person competitions to participate in during that season. At this event, Prelims were held in the afternoon, and Finals were held in the evening. Woodlan Winter Winds competed alone in the Winds Independent A Class (WIA), so we knew heading into the event that we would participate in both Prelims and the Finals. Some of the other bands that competed in Scholastic Class A came to the competition from Knoxville, TN; Imperial, MO; and Kent City, MI.

Woodlan Winter Winds performed for the first time at 12:45pm as part of the Prelims event. They put on a fantastic performance, one of their best performances to date. They received a score of 68.4. They made big advances from the previous week in both Visual and General Effect, but Music scores remained the same as the week before. After their performance, they returned the equipment to the Fieldhouse, where it remained until their later performance. Students were free to get lunch, watch other bands, or relax until it was time to gather for warm-ups for the Finals event. Many students slept in their homeroom hallway and took it easy for the afternoon.

Best picture of the season!

Eventually, it was time to gather back for warm-ups for the Finals event. After warm-ups, the students were ready to perform for the second time that day. They put in a little extra effort on the music, and gave another strong performance. They finished with a score of 69.2. The received an award for First Place in our class, beating out the exactly zero other bands in our class, lol. They received some great feedback and were proud of their great performances this week. It was a late night returning to the school and getting the trailers unloaded just before midnight. What a long day! These kids are some of the most dedicated students, most of them putting all of this time and effort in during Marching Band season as well. It’s great to see the teamwork they share!

This dance break is so much fun!

Up next for Woodlan Winter Winds will be the Indiana Percussion Association’s State Prelims event this upcoming Saturday, March 11th at Westfield High School in Westfield, IN. In the Winds Scholastic A Class, Woodlan will compete against Owen Valley Indoor, Washington Winds, Lake Central Winds, Ben Davis Winter Winds, Kokomo Indoor Winds, and Clay City Winter Winds. Owen Valley will start the class at 6:30pm. Woodlan will compete at 6:48pm, and Awards will be held at 8:45pm.

This upcoming weekend will be a big weekend for the Winter Guard students as well, as they will be competing in their final competition of the season at the IHSCGA State Finals on March 11th at Decatur Central High School in Indianapolis. The Festival Class will begin at 1:00pm with New Castle JV. Woodlan Winter Guard will perform at 1:35pm. Awards will be held with a full retreat at 3:20pm. The guard has been working hard to earn the Gold rating at Finals.

It will be another busy weekend ahead for our winter programs. Please do what you can to come out and support these fine young people as they put all their hard work into these upcoming performances. Your support means so much!