Scholastic competition begins Saturday, September 17 in Rockford. Hosted by Rockford High School, the schedule for their annual scholastic competition reveals that it is going to be a very interesting and fun start to the Scholastic season. Rockford’s Seniors present the National Anthem at 2:40pm at 4100 Kroes St SE., Rockford, MI, with Fennville kicking off Class C competition at 2:45pm.
| 2:45pm | Class C | Fennville |
| 3:00 | C | Kelloggsville |
| 3:15 | C | Olivet |
| 3:30 | Class B | Wyoming Rogers |
| 3:45 | B | Sparta |
| 4:00 | Break | 10 Minute Break |
| 4:10 | B | Wyoming Park |
| 4:25 | B | Otsego |
| 4:40 | B | Spring Lake |
| 4:55 | B | Cedar Springs |
| 5:10 | B | Godwin Heights |
| 5:30 | Class C/B | Awards and Break |
| 6:30 | Class A | Kenowa Hills |
| 6:45 | A | Kalamazoo Central |
| 7:00 | A | Northview |
| 7:15 | A | Reeths-Puffer |
| 7:30 | Break | 10 Minute Break |
| 7:40 | A | Mattawan |
| 7:55 | A | Jenison |
| 8:10 | A | Byron Center |
| 8:25 | AA | Rockford (Exhibition) |
| 8:40 | Class A | Awards |
With the prevalence of Scholastic in West Michigan, and a general lack of early-season MCBA shows, it is not surprising to see that MCBA bands compete or even host Scholastic competitions. However, the recent success of several of the MCBA programs in attendance at Rockford this year is going to drive up the level of expected competition.
Class C
While there are no MCBA programs represented in Class C, this should wind up being a very interesting class of performance. Fennville joins us this year, and Olivet and Kelloggsville return to compete again. We’re expecting this to be a great kick-off competition for Fennville, Kelloggsville, and Olivet.
Class B
The bands competing in Class B are Rockford alumni programs – all returning from last year’s competition. Otsego joins us from last year’s Class A competition. We’re not certain if this is going to be a yearlong switch, or if it is just for this show, but we do know that they are going to provide Godwin Heights, Cedar Springs, and Spring Lake with strong competition for the top spots (based solely upon last year’s scores at Rockford). Wyoming Park, Wyoming Rogers, and Sparta are going to find this competition possibly a little harder than they would like with the addition of Otsego in the mix, but I hope they do not become discouraged. Godwin Heights and Cedar Springs will soon be out of the Scholastic competitions, and Otsego may move back to Class A competition later this season.
Class A
Byron Center nearly won Flight III this past year at MCBA State. Reeths-Puffer is a consistent Flight II champion, with Jenison always right behind them. Northview has always had a strong musical program, but a recent director change leads them into a new style of performance this year that has yet to be determined how it will affect the program. Mattawan amazed me with the level of performance at Rockford last year (2010), with how their “Seasons” show sounded and looked the first weekend of competition. then we have Kalamazoo Central and Kenowa Hills – both fantastic programs, with Kalamazoo Central improving upon show design and creating great strides in 2010, and Kenowa Hills with their high level of consistency from year to year (a level of consistency that most programs should be jealous of). Much like with Class B, the MCBA programs will not stay in Scholastic competition for long, so I encourage the Scholastic programs in Class A and B to remember that early season competitions are never reflective of how the end of the season will be.
Michigan Marching will be in attendance at Rockford’s competition this weekend, and I am confident it will be an enjoyable one.