rochguardguy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) It's a sad situation all around. I know of two high school groups that are folding after this year, one's budget is being cut $20,000 by the school! In terms of bussing, many schools will not allow their busses out of state, and on top of that not allow parents to carpool. So the groups must use a coach. That is thousands of dollars these groups cannot afford. My friend who volunteers for Championships in Dayton says that WGI is potentially not using as many sites and volunteers this year beacuse the numbers of participating groups are down. Edited February 2, 2009 by rochguardguy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quegrawks Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 It's a sad situation all around. I know of two high school groups that are folding after this year, one's budget is being cut $20,000 by the school! Sad indeed! I wish I had that budget for my guard! Our budget is not even half of that, and we don't get to use school facilities for free, which is where most of our budget goes-- paying for rehearsal sites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan of the Arts Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 We're not in Indiana, but we'd be willing to do what we can to help! :-) This is what I have found out about the color-guard activity over the years....the community can be very generous when someone is in need. There is more to this story why Lawrence Central is not able to make it to Dayton year after year. Good luck Lawrence; perform your butts off no matter where you go! Irving Fan of the Arts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
byline Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 All of this is assuming that the band director and guard director want the guard to attend WGI. Some directors prefer to keep things local and not invest the money that it takes to put out a world class program year after year. This is interesting. I know the director from way back, and given that, I would assume that his preference would be to go to WGI if circumstances allowed it. I don't really want to elaborate beyond that point. That was then, this is now, and it could be that things have changed. Having said all that, I'm happy to hear that Lawrence Central is doing so well. Go, Greg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Know it all Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Lawrence Central's marching band did go to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl during Christmas break. So, maybe they needed to tap into money that normally would have gone for Spring semester activities. That would make sense. I mean, these days it can't be cheap to fly a high school marching band from Indiana to Arizona - even with group/school discounts. I'm sure we'll see them in Dayton again. Maybe not this year. But they'll be back. And whether they participate in WGI or not, it's good to hear that Lawrence Central's '09 program is being as well-received as their successful '08 show. Sounds as if this group once again is competing at the level of excellence that we've come to expect from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ItsOnTheField Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Lawrence Central's marching band did go to Arizona for the Fiesta Bowl during Christmas break. So, maybe they needed to tap into money that normally would have gone for Spring semester activities. That would make sense. I mean, these days it can't be cheap to fly a high school marching band from Indiana to Arizona - even with group/school discounts. I'm sure we'll see them in Dayton again. Maybe not this year. But they'll be back. And whether they participate in WGI or not, it's good to hear that Lawrence Central's '09 program is being as well-received as their successful '08 show. Sounds as if this group once again is competing at the level of excellence that we've come to expect from them. It's a group choice. Philosophy is the biggest reason, not financial. There are more things to this activity that many forget about. Medals, competition and placements are only ornaments. Of course the fans would love to see them more, but their personal and educational focus is more important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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