Brigade topples Class 3A at Paoli
By: Jermaine Williams
info@blackhawkbrigade.com
SV Brigade Media Relations
PAOLI, Ind. – It did not take long to recognize who was taking the field Saturday night at Paoli. The Springs Valley Blackhawk Brigade “amazed” the crowd and won first place in Class 3A.
Each year, the Brigade’s crowd at Paoli tends to grow larger. “It is always a great feeling to hear our crowd at the Paoli Invitational,” stated Director of Bands Luke Aylsworth. “Our parents and supporters always pack the stands at this event and it really motivates the students to have a good show.”
Springs Valley, for the second time in two weeks, won five caption awards. They received awards for best music, visual, general effect, percussion, and guard.
Not only did the Brigade win Class 3A, they placed second overall for all 19 bands in attendance. This placed them just behind Floyd Central. Floyd Central is an ISSMA Class A band while Springs Valley is in Class D. Springs Valley is one of the smallest schools in all ISSMA competitive marching bands.
“Due to our increased band size, we have been bumped up in several competitions,” added Aylsworth. “This allows the band to compete against much larger school corporations. It is definitely a greater challenge to compete with schools that are three to four times our school size. However, we just remind the students that they are really just in competition with themselves. Our goal is to have a better performance every week. If they can achieve that goal, we have been successful.”
This week, the Brigade will perform twice on Saturday. First, they will perform in the Meijer Greenwood Invitational in class D competition. They take the field at 3:00pm. Following their short stint in Greenwood, they will travel to Indianapolis to perform for the first time at the new Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Brigade will compete in their first national contest since 1999. Springs Valley will join 28 other bands from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio in opening the marching band doors of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Aylsworth spoke about the honor the Brigade has to compete at Lucas Oil Stadium for the first time. “We will be the first ISSMA class D band to compete in the new Lucas Oil Stadium. We were one of the first bands to perform in the RCA Dome as well as one of the last. Now, we have the opportunity to be one of the first in a new tradition. It is a special situation and should make for an exciting day.”
Springs Valley will perform alongside many of the nation’s best marching bands. They take the field at 7:15 p.m.
NOTE: Article published in the Springs Valley Herald and Bedford Times-Mail.
Contest Results can be found at:
Indiana
Marching.com and/or
Simply
Instrumental.com
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