During the month of October, the Wampus Cat Marching Band visited several competitions in which they won awards for Stellar Musical Effect and Spectacular Overall Performance. The summer months of July, August and September had been building up to these competitions. Long days and late nights of practice both inside and on the field had prepared the band for this moment, and in the end, it all paid off.

The first competition that the marching band visited was Saturday, October 6th, at the Showcase of Bands Competition at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. Upon arriving, the afternoon sun was beating down on everyone. This was the first competition of the season – the stakes were high. The marching band performed its show, “Beatlemania” and waited in the end zone for the awards ceremony. Soon, there was an uproar of jubilation and excitement. Conway had won nearly everything, including “Best in Division,” “Best Drum Majors,” “Best Soloist,” and “Best Musical Performance.” All the hours put into scorching mornings and uncomfortably humid nights had finally seemed to culminate into success. Morale was high.

The second competition for the band to tackle was on October 13th, at the Kappa Kappa Psi Invitational Marching Competition, located at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. The weather was pleasant, and the band was confident. The Wampus Cat Marching Band found itself amidst very small high school bands. Rather humorously, as the band members soon realized, Conway was the largest band present at the competition. We won “Best in Division,” as well as “Best Band Overall”.

Lastly, the Wampus Cats faced the Region IX Marching Competition at Russellville High School, on Tuesday, October 16th. This was the last competition of the year, as well as the most important. The band was ready. To cap off the success of competition season, the band earned a 1st Division Ranking for its performance.

Every musical ensemble, especially a marching band, requires every single member to put forth the effort in order to create a display of magnificent musicianship and marching. This year, the Wampus Cat Marching Band achieved that, and the ensemble’s future is becoming ever more promising.