Check out this blog to stay up to date with IMPACT Percussion as the group travels to Dayton, OH to compete in the 2019 WGI Percussion World Championships!
Our journey this year is Powered by STCU. Thank you for your incredible support!
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Thursday, April 18th – 2:00 PM (PST)
We’re all back home! Officially! Our semi arrived in the Tri-Cities Tuesday and we spent all afternoon unloading all our luggage and equipment.
But I know we haven’t updated the blog in a few days, so let’s rewind a bit and catch you up on everything!
Last Friday morning, we had our last rehearsal of the season. It was definitely bittersweet as we got setup for the final full run.
After the run, we loaded up our equipment, got in costume, and headed to semi-finals at the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio.
After the warm-up, and a bit of a walk to the arena, we got ready to perform. It’s always a bit of a unique challenge to perform in a new venue, but the members stayed focused and were ready to throw down.
The performance was great! But would it be enough to get us a spot in PIO finals? That was the question on everyone’s mind…
After we finished the show, we loaded our equipment and then we went out to eat. While we were out, the scores from semis were announced, and we found out we had made finals. Woo-hoo! The staff may or may not have started yelling with excitement while we were out at a restaurant. 🙂 We scored an 89.388 and we were sitting in 13th place (the top 15 groups earn a spot in finals).
We went back to our housing site for some rest and made a game plan for the next day.
Check out this recap video below of our semi-finals day.
On Saturday, we woke up, got in costume and headed to UD for PIO Finals! It was a great feeling to return to UD to perform – it’s a very special place, unlike any other venue, and it was an honor to be able to perform there again alongside so many outstanding groups.
After our warm-up, we headed to the famous UD tunnel. We rolled everything down, waited behind the curtain while the group before us performed, and then it was our turn.
The curtain opened up, we rolled on to the floor, set everything up, looked at the audience, and got prepared for our last run of the season.
The performance was outstanding! All the members agreed it was the best run of the season! And honestly, that’s the best feeling of all. Not the scores or the placement, but knowing that last run was the best run of the year – knowing that you threw down and left it all on the floor. The staff was so proud.
After we performed, we loaded up the truck one last time and got ready for awards.
The energy in UD arena during retreat is electric. Just being there among these groups is an incredible feeling. The scores were announced, and we ended our season in 14th place. A GREAT finish to our very first season in PIO.
It was a great season. A challenging season. A rewarding season. Full of lots of highs and lows. Great relationships were created. Memories were made. Lives were positively changed. When a special season like this ends, it’s difficult to leave it and put it behind you. You know you’re not the person you were when the season started, and adjusting back to the real world takes time. You’ve learned, grown, and the path in front of you is forever changed.
IMPACT Percussion 2019 was an extremely special group and all the members and staff are so glad we got to share a part of ourselves with you.
Thank you. Thank you for reading, for listening, for watching, and supporting. Your support means the world to everyone in the ensemble.
Now, the staff will take a short break, then get to work on 2020…. 🙂
Friday, April 12th – 2:00 AM (EST)
The last two days have gone by incredibly fast, but they have been full of amazing moments. On Wednesday, we rehearsed all day at the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton. Check out this video recap of our rehearsal.
Yesterday (Thursday), we competed in Independent Open Prelims. This is our first year competing in PIO, and we didn’t really know what to expect. But the members had a great performance, and we scored an 89.325 – our highest score of the season! Out of 31 groups in PIO, we ended prelims in 10th place. Which is awesome!
Check out these pics from the day at Hobart Arena in Troy, OH. (The weather was great!)
After our performance, we loaded up the truck, then went out to get lunch. The prelims scores were released while we were eating, and once we found out we had made semi-finals (woo-hoo!) we started coming up with a rehearsal plan. 🙂
After eating, we went back to Club for a little down-time, then we unloaded all the equipment and started rehearsing. Gotta keep pushing!
It was a great day – a historical day with our first WGI Percussion World Championships competition in PIO now under our belt. But we’re not done yet. On to semi-finals tomorrow!
Check out this recap video below of our prelims day.
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Wednesday, April 10th – 1:30 AM (EST)
Well, it was a long day of traveling across the country, but just about all of our members and staff have now safely arrived in Dayton!
Waiting for flights…
We’re staying at the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton, which is about three miles away from the University of Dayton. There’s a lot of history at this Club – it was established in 1930!
Earlier today, we took our first trip to Costco to stock up on food for the week. We’re definitely lucky to have a kitchen and serving area for all our meals at the Club.
And an update on our semi – it’s almost here! ETA for Dayton is about 3 am, so our equipment will be here in plenty of time for our rehearsal at 9 am. 🙂
Everybody here is pretty tired after a long day of traveling – our members had lights out 30 minutes ago. We’ve got a full rehearsal day tomorrow, and we can’t wait to get after it!
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Monday, April 8th – 11:00 PM (PST)
Before we kick off this blog, we want to recognize a major sponsor and supporter of IMPACT Percussion and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Benton and Franklin Counties this year – STCU. STCU is helping to make our trip to Dayton possible, and we are incredibly grateful for their support of the creative arts in our community. Our journey this year is Powered by STCU. Thank you!
Also – a HUGE shout out and thank you to everyone who has donated to our Help Us Get To Dayton Campaign! We are hoping to raise $2,500 by tomorrow (April 9th), and we are almost there! Please consider joining us on this campaign if you are able to donate. All money raised will go toward feeding our members, and transportation costs while we are in Dayton. Every dollar makes a difference.
Now, let’s get this blog started!
It’s WGI Percussion World Championships week! Woohoo! Most of our members will be leaving the Northwest tomorrow morning to fly to Dayton, OH. (We have 48 members and staff in our caravan this week!)
But our journey to Dayton has already begun! Our semi left for Dayton around 1 am on Sunday, April 7th. We loaded all of our equipment after the NWAPA Championships at West Salem High School in Salem, OR on Saturday, April 6th (it was a very late night, with a lot of rain… but everything got loaded safely).
It’s 2,428 miles from our show site in Salem to our housing site in Dayton, OH (about a 36 hour drive). Travel safe Dustin and Edgar! As of tonight, they’re in Nebraska making great time!
Our first staff members have also arrived in Dayton. Chase (who drove to Dayton from Atlanta today), and Josh (me! the guy writing this!) flew in to Dayton tonight. We can’t wait to see all the members tomorrow!
For now, we’re going to get some rest because starting tomorrow, things will be going non-stop. So pumped for championships week! It truly is a magical week, unlike anything else.