This decision does not at all reflect the band or parents, it simply is just too far away. As I was making mock scheduling it really sank in just how long the travel would be. We're talking easily 3 1/2+ hours on the bus before the competition. As you know I also build in an hour for buffer, which is helpful for things like blown tires like last competition.
With the travel time, prep time, load time and everything it would've had the students at the school around 5am-6am depending on performance time. I fully believe the band could perform exceptionally, but I feel traveling that far before competition would not be a true picture of our abilities.
I apologize for late notice, but this is a decision that I have weighed very long and was not at all an easy decision. I do however feel that this is absolutely the best thing for us.
I am not just canceling and calling that a season. I am working with the boosters to have a Halloween celebration which I feel is a great way for the kids to celebrate a fantastic season and reward all of their hard work and most importantly bond with each other!
I can not stress enough that this decision is NOT a reflection of the students or parents. I feel like the kids would do AMAZING if the competition were closer, but I feel like Gordo is just genuinely too far away. I apologize for any disappointment!
With all of this said, in the past practices post competition were cut to one a week and end at 4:00.
Now that we are done with competitions we will adopt this schedule as well. So today we will practice on the football field until 4:00 and next week we will only practice Thursday from 2:45-4:00.
Practice Schedule
10/18 Practice 2:45-4:00
Next week
10/27 Practice 2:45-4:00
Details to come on the Halloween celebration.