The 13th annual West Virginia Marching Band Invitational Championship will feature 36 high school bands from 28 counties around the state, including Buckhannon-Upshur High School, which will be competing in the Old Gold Division and Drumline Battle. The event is set for Saturday, October 26, at the University of Charleston Stadium, Laidley Field in Charleston.
The invitational includes the finals for the 4th annual Governor’s Cup. The Governor’s Cup Series consisted of ten preliminary competitions. Bands collected points by competing in local competitions along with the upcoming championship and finale to be eligible to win the overall Governor’s Cup and more prize money. The Governor’s Cup final will award $5,000 to the grand champion $3,000 to the 1st runner-up $1,500 to the 2nd runner-up $1,000 to the 3rd runner-up and $500 to the 4th runner-up.
In 2017, the West Virginia State Legislature proclaimed this invitational “The Official State Marching Band Championship of West Virginia.”
“We are pleased to have such a good turnout of high school marching bands from across the Mountain State attending this year’s invitational,” West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History Cabinet Secretary Randall Reid-Smith said. “For the last several years, the department has partnered with Save The Music Foundation and generous donors to provide musical instruments to middle schools throughout the state. Now, these students are moving into high school where they are helping to grow their marching bands. This invitational is a way for us to highlight that growing interest in music.”
The invitational includes competition judging for music, music effect, general effect, marching, percussion, drum major, color guard, majorettes and twirlers. A Miss Majorette competition is held at the event, along with a drumline competition.
Two individuals will be inducted into the Band Directors Hall of Fame. David Burton served as the band director at Parkersburg High School from 1987 to 1996. He is now retired and lives with his wife Vivian in Williamstown. W. Mel Saunders was the band director at Bluefield High School for 27 years. He is retired and still resides in Bluefield with his wife Holly.
The invitational will begin at 10:15 a.m. and continue throughout the day, culminating in an awards program that evening. Admission is $10 for ages 12 and older and $5 for 11 and younger.
The Marching Band Invitational schedule for the day is:
- 10:15 a.m. National Anthem
- DIVISION II BLUE DIVISION
- 10:30 a.m. Ravenswood High School – Class D1
- 10:45 a.m. St. Marys High School – Class D1
- 11 a.m. Wayne High School – Class C2
- 11:15 a.m. Braxton County High School – Class C1
- 11:30 a.m. Wyoming East High School – Class D2
- 11:45 a.m. Liberty (Raleigh) High School – Class D2
- 12 p.m. Paden City High School – Class C2
- 12:15 p.m. Parkersburg High School – Class C1
- 12:30 p.m. PikeView High School – Class C1
- 12:45 p.m. Lunch and Hall of Fame
- 1:15 p.m. Greenbrier East High School – Class B
- 1:30 p.m. Calhoun County High School – Class D2
- 1:45 p.m. Summers County High School – Class D1
- 2 p.m. James Monroe High School – Class C2
- 2:15 p.m. Shady Spring High School – Class C1
- 2:30 p.m. Chapmanville High School – Class D2
- 2:45 p.m. Capital High School – Class D1
- 3 p.m. North Marion High School – Class C2
- 3:15 p.m. Bluefield High School – Class C1
- 3:30 p.m. Westside High School – Class D2
- 3:45 p.m. Webster County High School – Class D2
- 4 p.m. Wirt County High School – Class D1
- 4:15 p.m. Greenbrier West High School – Class C2
- 4:30 p.m. Liberty (Harrison) High School – Class C1
- 4:45 p.m. Hurricane High School – Class C2
- DIVISION I OLD GOLD DIVISION
- 5 p.m. Nitro High School – Class B
- 5:15 p.m. Buckhannon-Upshur High School – Class B
- 5:30 p.m. Elkins High School – Class A
- 5:45 p.m. Princeton High School – Class B
- 6 p.m. Miss Majorette
- 6:30 p.m. Musselman High School – Class A
- 6:45 p.m. Robert C. Byrd High School – Class B
- 7 p.m. Philip Barbour High School – Class A
- 7:15 p.m. Tyler Consolidated High School – Class B
- 7:30 p.m. Jefferson High School – Class A
- 7:45 p.m. Woodrow Wilson High School – Class B
- 8 p.m. Richwood High School – Class A
- 8:15 p.m. Cabell Midland High School – Class A
- DRUMLINE BATTLE
- 8:38 p.m. Musselman High School (Exhibition)
- 8:44 p.m. Liberty (Raleigh) High School
- 8:50 p.m. Webster County High School
- 8:56 p.m. Morgantown High School
- 9:02 p.m. Paden City High School
- 9:08 p.m. Jefferson High School
- 9:14 p.m. James Monroe High School
- 9:20 p.m. Buckhannon-Upshur High School
- 9:26 p.m. Parkersburg High School
- 9:32 p.m. Princeton High School
- 9:38 p.m. Cabell Midland High School (Exhibition)
- 10 p.m. AWARDS
