Day 1: Friday, October 12th; The Trip to Hempstead

6:40am
With some students in pajamas, some sections in custom T-shirts, the journey begins! It didn't take long for the bleary-eyed band members to decorate their bus windows.

3:30pm
After three pit stops and about an hour behind schedule (traffic jam), the travelers arrived at their practice field in the Hempstead area. The trip was uneventful except for a few carsickness victims (they're OK now!). With the sunshine and a temperature of 73 degrees, everyone is in great spirits.

8:00pm
Following a 2 hour rehearsal, the group took their big appetites to a local mall. A couple hours later after eating and shopping, they invaded the hotel. Some settled into their rooms, others took advantage of the pool. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 2: Saturday, October 13th; The Competition

The Preliminaries

8:00am
A unique opportunity to sleep in, wake-up was at 8am this morning.

9:00am
A full buffet breakfast greeted the students as they prepared for the day.

10:00am
The band boarded the buses to head to the practice field for a two-hour rehearsal.

12:30pm
Finished reheasing, the group re-energized on a healthy snack including apples, bananans, bagels, juice, and water.

1:00pm
The members donned their new uniformas and boarded the buses for the stadium.

1:30pm
Arriving at the stadium, the sky is sunny and the temperature is in the upper 70's. Instruments and flags in hands, the group prepares for a small pre-show warm-up before their 3:15pm performance.

3:30pm
The hugs and the crying are a testimony to the quality of the performance. Everyone feels that this was their best performance, yet. Currently having their group pictures taken, the band will head back to the hotel for a pasta dinner. In addition, the Webster drumline has been chosen to perform center stage (field) for the full retreat! The drumline peforms as all the bands march onto the field for the awards ceremony. Fourteen bands in all are taking part in this competition.

6:25pm
WOW!! Webster is in the finals! They took 1st in music, 2nd overall in their class! The students are ecstatic (yes, the adults are, too)! Webster drew the 10th (last) slot for their finals performance which means they will perform again at about 10pm. After the pasta dinner the students rested in their rooms. Later the drumline demonstrated their retreat cadence in the parking lot for everyone to enjoy. Now the wait...

The Finals

11:35pm
Webster put on a great show with some phenomenal bands and placed 5th in the finals with a score of 79.55. Now it's pizza party time!

Day 3: Sunday, October 14th; The Trip Home

7:00am
Out of bed at 7am, the group had breakfast, some attended church services, and they loaded the buses.

9:30am
On schedule, the convoy pulled out at 9:30am heading home.

4:00pm
The convoy is just pulling out having stopped to eat after crossing the Pennsylvania/New York state line. Some students are doing homework, others sleeping or watching movies.

Preliminaries Class Placements
	Class AA	Class AAA
1st	King Philip Regional HS, MA	Norwalk HS, CT
2nd	Newtown HS, CT	Webster HS, NY
3rd	Methacton HS, PA	North Penn HS, PA

Preliminaries Highest Achievements
	Class AA	Class AAA
Outstanding Music	King Philip Regional HS, MA	Webster HS, NY
Outstanding Visual	King Philip Regional HS, MA	North Penn HS, PA
Outstanding General Effect	King Philip Regional HS, MA	Norwalk HS, CT

Finals Placements
Place	Score	Band	State
1st	84.20	King Philip Regional HS	MA
2nd	82.50	North Penn HS	PA
3rd	81.20	Norwalk HS	CT
4th	80.30	Arlington HS	NY
5th	79.55	Webster HS	NY
6th	71.50	Chantilly HS	VA
7th	68.45	Trumbull HS	CT
8th	68.20	Newtown HS	CT
9th	67.85	Methacton HS	PA
10th	60.70	Brien McMahon HS	CT

Finals Highest Achievements
Outstanding Music	King Philip Regional HS, MA & North Penn HS, PA (tie)
Outstanding Visual	King Philip Regional HS, MA & Norwalk HS, CT (tie)
Outstanding General Effect	King Philip Regional HS, MA