Marching into the 2020 Season
MARCHING THE FIELD Band members march the field during half time on Sept. 18.
November 13, 2020
Along with many other activities, marching band was able to resume this school year despite the world dealing with Covid. As one can imagine, this looked entirely different from past years.
Being mindful of the students health and safety, it was required to have set safety precautions in order to continue on with marching band. Even with the requirements of masks and a six feet distance, senior drum major Kayla Wallace admitted she had trouble enforcing these rules. “As a drum major a lot of times I am in charge of the band, teaching the music, and suggesting changes.” said Wallace. “But we have students who refuse to wear their masks correctly or crowd together without them on, so it’s very hard to execute the safety precautions.”
Along with rule following, there were many other challenges band members faced this season. Senior color guard member Lillie Hawker said, “Without competition, some of the professionalism that comes with marching band was lost.” Since there were no uniforms to wear to signify a performance or judges to watch their every move, many students forgot the importance of being set and ready to go.
But with the losses and compromises of this season came new experiences and memories that were made. An outcome of the season that was recognized by many seniors especially, was the appreciation of having a season at all. “The ability to have a season knowing it would be my last made me appreciate it more,” said Hawker, “and I am grateful that I got to say farewell.”
Senior All-Stater flute player Sabrina Bleile said, “My favorite thing about marching band was still being able to put on a show, even if it wasn’t the same, it still gave me a sense of a senior season and one last year with people I can call family.”
Even without competitions, the marching band still found ways to make their season complete, and the bonds and memories they made along the way will last a lifetime. Some advice for underclassmen joining marching band from senior drum major Kayla Wallace is “Don’t give up, and don’t bring each other down.” But some of her more practical advice is “Wear sunscreen at band camp.”
