MCBA competition for the 2011 season starts to heat up on the second weekend of the season as 30 bands will take the field on Saturday at Belding, Novi, and Livonia Franklin. Of those 30 bands, it will be the first competition of the season for 20. Competition begins at Belding at 4:50, Novi at 5:50, and Livonia Franklin at 4:00.
Belding
Belding marks the first MCBA competition (of only 4) on the Westside of the state. It is also the competitive debut of many Flight IV bands. Flight I and Flight II only have one band each (Hudsonville and Reeths-Puffer respectively) while Flight III has two (Byron Center and Mt. Pleasant). Reeths-Puffer and Byron Center both shook out the proverbial competition cobwebs at Rockford’s SMB show last weekend. Flight IV has six bands in competition, plus Belding in exhibition. Of those bands, only Godwin Heights has competed. It will be especially interesting to see how defending Flight IV state champion Newaygo starts off their season and how Belding has coped with their director change. Note to spectators: Belding Area Schools are extensively rehabbing their facilities. Because of this, parking is limited. Plan on arriving early and also for the possibility of parking in a neighborhood. Belding HS is located at 850 Hall St. in Belding, a full schedule of events can be found here.
Novi
Novi’s competition has 10 bands performing. Of those bands, only 2 have competed and another 2 performed at MCBA Field day. Durand starts competition in Flight IV at 6pm. Flight IV, III, and I each only have two bands in competition, while Flight II has three. While this contest may not be the largest we will see all season, there are two good matchups. In Flight II we have the battle of Farmington Public Schools as a growing Farmington HS band meets up with the incredibly consistent (and 6 time state champion) Farmington Hills Harrison band. In Flight I, another exciting matchup will happen as last year’s state champion (Walled Lake Central) meets up with West Michigan Flight I power house, Rockford. Novi High School is located at 24062 Taft Rd in Novi. A full schedule can be found here. Please Note: Novi Road is closed, so take the Beck Road exit off of I-96, go South to 10 Mile Road. Turn left onto 10 Mile Road, heading east, to Novi HS
Livonia Franklin
Americana at Franklin HS has 9 bands in performance this year and is evenly split with 4 bands in competition in Flight II and 4 bands in Flight I (with Franklin in exhibition). This competition starts with Waterford Mott in Flight II at 4:15. The biggest stories at this competition will be in Flight I as Lake Orion makes their competitive debut against West Bloomfield. Both bands consistently find themselves at the top of their Flight. Also, will Lakeland continue to be a spoiler in their Flight and take captions away from WB and LO? Franklin HS is located at 31000 Joy Rd in Livonia and a full schedule can be found here.