my winter line had its first ever indoor drum line competition yesterday (first in class with a 74.5, out of 2) but we assessed 6.5 points in time penalties. we have a smallish pit and all of it amplified and about 20 or so 8 by 6 props on wheels as well as a floor. our total time was 12:10 as opposed to the allowed 9 min. after loading the trailers up we returned to watch other guard and drum lines and saw that after every performance about half the bleachers got up and folded there floor and helped with stuff. we assumed this was there guard. is there a way to clear with out this help? we have like 20 of us including parents that can actually help. and suggestions as to how we may get rid of these time penalties?

When you do a run of the full show do you set-up, run the show, and take down all on the clock? When I marched we practiced setting up and taking down our equipment.

That's a lot of props without a lot of people to help move those props.

Tenor11 is correct, when you rehearse, rehearse as if it were a live run with taking the floor and leaving the floor included. Recruit some more help from anyone that's willing to help. Find a buddy group and see if some of their guys can help your guys out and vice versa. I've seen that a few times.

Well, is there any possible way you can simply get all your instruments + props off to the side faster so you can get the floor over the 50? I mean, this is a basic question, but there shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as the pit can disconnect fairly quickly.

You might also want to find out where the time line is. That should be in your circuit rules or in the show packet that you receive when you check in. For example, if it is a horizontal time line you can set up the props that are behind the line before the time even begins.

It may be a little too late depending on how your show is designed, but as a rule, my ensemble always has a PREDETERMINED layout that provides the best scenario for moving on and off the floor. That can include keeping the pit off the floor (which is pretty popular now for that reason), having the battery be split up between floor crew and prop duty, keeping most of the equipment on the side of the floor that is considered already over the time line, and many other tricks we've picked up over the years. It definitely is a trial and error process that just so happens to keep changing every once and a while from show site to show site. You will get better at it just by practice but there should be an element of planning ahead.

However, based on personal experience, I'm surprised that those penalties were actually assessed this early in the season. Here in New England our circuit shows don't begin until mid-February, but the first two weeks are time penalty free. Every year brings new challenges and the powers that be are usually receptive to that. Actually, to be completely honest, NESBA show sites are so ridiculously inadequate for most of the season, that it takes large groups like Dartmouth, King Philip, and the big PSO groups over ten minutes just to get everything inside the doors. So timing penalties are only enforced when the site is of appropriate size for all of the equipment. This is lucky for us on a weekly basis, but it also means that we spend at least an hour of rehearsal time before the regional and our trip to Ohio practicing the on & off routine. For the future, I would suggest considering what most groups have started doing. That is, cutting the length of the show by 30 seconds to a minute to ensure an easy exit.

Just to add a bit to this, if your school does a Tri-M chapter, you could talk to some of the members there, this would be a great way for them to pick up community service hours for Tri-M, and they get to see some awesome shows while they're at it.

If not, ask around the band program, or even the school in general. Most people won't have AS respectful of a response to it unless they have a keen interest in fine arts, but there are those that do different honors societies (Beta Club, National Honors Society, etc.) that will count this towards their allotted time of community service. Additionally, most school have an opportunity to earn a letter in community service; I've done it the past 3 years at my school and plan to do it again this year. It looks great on a college resume, stressing that to those that MAY be interested might just get you a couple of good prospects.

Good luck!

Firstly: the 72 points is before the time penalties where added so that is the raw score. i put that because the penalties were not "included" at this compitition and that is what was used for placing. sorry for any misleading that resulted in that laps of clarity (though we would have wone even with the deduction ). seconendly; i relayed thise ideas to the director today and he is in the process of implementing them. yay for 9-6 saturday practices right? Anyway, thanks again for all the help! Im starting to like the whole winter line thing. much more challenging. Anyone can have an 89 set 8 min marching show. it takes a special talent to do 89 sets in 5 min.