On October 17th, 2015, the Deer Park High School Marching Band competed at the annual University Interscholastic League (UIL) marching competition at Galena Park. The competition is a yearly event that features bands from the entire region as they come together to show off and compete at the competition. Some bands are given the honor of advancing to the Area level, while some bands are only allowed to compete for the standard ranking. A band may not advance to Area twice in a row, which is why the Deer Park High School band only competed for the standard. The band earned straight first divisions, a superior rating from all three judges and earned the Sweepstakes trophy. This marks the 29th year in a row that the band has earned sweepstakes.
“It feels great to be able to say the band has been awarded Sweepstakes for the 29th year in a row,” drum major Natalie Collins said. “It proves how much hard work the band continues to put in after all of these years.”
The band, however, was not eligible to advance to the Area UIL competition because the band had already competed at last year’s Area competition with their show “The Planets.” The band didn’t advance to a state level, but the UIL rules prohibit bands from advancing to Area twice in a row. This rule was implemented in 1991 after band directors and school administrators across the state determined that it would be the best decision due to costs for transportation as well as giving other bands the opportunity to advance to Area.
The band looks to improve within the next two weeks for their final marching competition of the season, the Northwestern State University (NSU) Classic On the Cane marching competition in Louisiana. This competition is different from UIL because it’s a placement-type competition where the band competes with others for Grand Champion. The band has visited this competition twice in a row, earning first place the first time with their show Kaleidoscope and second place with their show The Planets.
“This year I believe that the band has a very high chance of being champions again at the contest,” drum major Briana Bernard said.
The band will be one of the largest bands that competes in Louisiana, and they look to bring home another first place. They will be competing at the NSU competition on October 31st, 2015 at 5:30 PM. The competition will be streamed live on banddirector.com for free. For more information, it can be found at http://dphsband.org/northwestern-state-university-marching-contest/.