The Marching band is at the start of their new season. They traveled to Roanoke County and Stuarts Draft on the 26th of September to compete in their first competition. Hollyn Slykhuis, a senior assistant drum major, said a lot of preparation went into this event.

“We’ve been practicing since the end of August. We’re practicing almost every day after school [for this event],” Slykhuis said.

The veterans had to be role models for the freshmen on the team. Emily Werner, a sophomore assistant drum major, spoke about how the upperclassmen need to support the younger members.

“The older members know that it’s an important competition. It’s gonna be really hard to keep going, keep the energy up,” Werner said, “I think for the freshmen, because they don’t know what to expect, are going to try to keep up.”

To prepare for the event, the team competed at a city-county showcase on Wednesday the 16th to get an idea of where they’re at. They were judged on their show and received comments on how to make it better. It gave the younger members an overall idea of what to expect in a competition.

Werner believes the team was more confident going into this competition. The progress they have made so far pleases her.

“We’re actually a lot better at this point this year than we were last year,” Werner said.

Slykhuis also believed that the team was well prepared for the event.

“I think we’re in a really good place and we’re ahead of schedule,” Slykhuis said.

The HHS Marching Band won the Stuarts Draft competition in a clean sweep. HHS won first in every category and received the Grand Champion award. Their next competition in Glenvar was canceled due to inclement weather.

Photo Courtesy of Hollyn Slykhuis

The HHS Marching band poses with their first place trophy from the Stuarts Draft competition.