Photo by Charity Musielak
The new U.S. Scholastic Band Association Indoor circuit completed its first season with a championship event in Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, N.J., on April 17, 2010. Nearly 50 dance, color guard and percussion groups participated in the event.
In the color guard AAA division, West Orange (N.J.) High School took first place with a score of 95.650, and in the AA division, North Penn High School from Lansdale, Pa., scored 96.050 for the gold. In marching percussion, Old Bridge High School from Matawan, N.J., won first place with a score of 96.650 in the AAA division, accompanied by Pennsauken (N.J.) High School in the AA division with a score of 93.900.
“We were extremely pleased at the turnout for our first season,” says Sean King, USSBA director. “Entering into a realm of the marching activity that we’ve not serviced in the past, there were a lot of unknowns.”
The event and season earned good reviews from the participating students and directors. “Our philosophy is to use the winter as a training ground for new students interested in building their skills for the outdoor,” says Larry Markiewicz, director at Bridgewater-Raritan (N.J.) High School. “However, I think the USSBA winter program thing has peaked our students’ interest for a more global awareness of what excellence can be.”
In the future, King plans to expand the schedule of USSBA Indoor events in the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions and to recruit and train more adjudicators.
King is particularly proud that 20 percent of participating groups were competing for the first time. “We’re proud to have put together a program these new groups felt comfortable enough with to join with us from their very beginning,” King says. “We look forward to growing alongside them in the years to come.”
Visit www.ussbaindoor.org for more information.