Day 17 was pretty straightforward day for us... we rehearsed hard in the morning working in some changes from the suggestions we received from the judges. Some very substantial improvements! We had a very neat sightseeing trip to the Maastrich Caves, a manmade cave system with some 200 km of dugout caverns. It dates back to the Romans, who began excavating limestone blocks for their buildings. The kids got to experience total darkness as our guides left with the lanterns for a brief moment. Of course, the kids and staff took every opportunity to try to scare each other!
Day 18 saw us up early and back at rehearsal... our students have been pushing so hard to make every improvement possible. They are showing some signs of fatigue, though so we decided to get in an afternoon nap after the parade competition, which I might add went very well! They marched incredibly straight lines, and navigated the course including the dreaded countermarch very respectably. We placed 5th with a score of 80.00
After our nap we had to head back to the stadium for the full retreat, which was pretty tough. It was quite warm on the field and we stood still for at least 30 minutes. We had a few members who weren't feeling great, but we came back to the campus and again had some rest around dinner.
We finished the night with what would be our last practice run through of the year! It was the strongest performance yet, which really bodes well for tomorrow. They have shown so much heart and I have every confidence that tomorrow will be 100% successful. Now we are off to bed, we are all staggering a little, we have all put every effort into our performance preparation. Wish us luck tomorrow - we go on at 12:20 in the afternoon, so 4:20am in Calgary - send us your vibes!!!!
Sorry no pics tonight but we got a video up on youtube of the kids partying out in the parking lot after they found out they got 5th...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3f4zhd5nRk
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GOOD LUCK ON YOUR FINAL PERFORMANCES. I WISH I COULD BE THERE TO CHEER YOU ON. I'M SURE I COULD BE THE LOUDEST VOICE THERE. BUT SINCE I CAN NOT BE THERE, I WILL CROSS ALL FINGERS AND TOES. BEST OF LUCK.
ReplyDeleteJay - thanks so much for the continuing blog updates - it allows us at home to share a little part of the excitement. We are all so proud of the band and wish you all the best tomorrow in your final performance.
ReplyDeletePosted by me for another proud parent
ReplyDelete"I have been following your blog daily and am so proud of the CALGARY STETSON SHOWBAND!! Thank you so very much for taking the time away from that sweet adorable baby to keep us informed with local history and on site hotographs.
CONTINUED CHEERS FOR THE FINALS!"
Another very proud Stetson band parent
Sandy
Thank you thank you for the continuous updates on the blog and Youtube. It makes us feel like we are almost there, with the band! Can't wait to hear how Stetsons did today, we are sure they did fantastic. Our family greatly appreciates all of the effort put into giving us this virtual tour. Safe travels home!
ReplyDeleteAgnes Augustin and family