The Sulphur Springs High School Wildcat Band is headed to the State UIL Marching Contest.
After a fantastic send-off from parents and fans, the SSHS Wildcat Band not only advanced from the preliminary round of competition at 5 p.m. to the UIL Area Finals at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, but earned second place Oct. 29, 2022, at Lindale High School Stadium. That ranking is high enough to advance the SSHS Wildcat Band to the UIL State Marching Competition.
The Wildcat Band has had quite a busy and productive 2022 marching contest season, which they refer to as “Bandtober.”
The students performed well and got some outstanding comments from the judging panel and placed above several state-level bands in Princeton on Oct. 1, Head Band Director Spencer Emmert reported. The band followed that up on Saturday, Oct. 8, with a spot in the finals and placed fourth overall behind several state-level groups, in Royse City.
Late Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 11, the Wildcat Band competed in the UIL Region Marching Contest in Mount Pleasant, where they received straight first divisions from all judges and qualified for advancement to the Area UIL contest in Lindale on Oct. 29.
Before Area, however, the band squeezed in the Battle for the Spear Marching Contest on Oct. 15 at Winnsboro High school. The Wildcats received all first divisions and was awarded “Most Outstanding Woodwinds,” “Most Outstanding Brass,” and “Best in Class 4A.” They placed third overall in the finals with two judges ranking the group’s finals performance first and second, respectively.
On Oct. 29, the Wildcat Band’s second place ranking make them one of a handful of bands advancing from Area to the State UIL Marching Contest Nov. 9, 2022. The band students work after each performance to improve, giving the home crowd who is not able to travel with them to concerts a chance to see how much they’ve polished their skills at home football games on Friday night.
The Wildcat Band is slated to take the field at the Alamodome in San Antonio during the preliminary performance round a 10:45 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022.
The band plans to leave on Nov. 8 for San Antonio, in order to be rested and ready to go for their morning performance the next day. Those parents, families and fans planning to travel with the band on Tuesday, Nov. 8, are reminded that is Election Day. School band personnel encourage those planning to vote to take advantage of early voting times offered this week, to ensure they do not miss their opportunity to have their voices heard in the Nov. 8 Elections. For SSISD residents, the ballot will include an $81.5 million bond proposal. (Early voting will be at The ROC from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, Nov. 1 and 3; and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 2 and 4.
Band staff offer thanks to Mesa Energy for providing shirts for the band students and staff. T-shirts are also available for those who wish to show support for the SSHS band students as they head off to the State UIL Marching Contest to perform the half-time show, “Come Fly With Us,” which they are constantly working to improve. However, those planning to purchase one, must act quickly as the turnaround time until state is quickly approaching. The deadline to order a $10 t-shirt with “Come Fly with Us To The State Marching Contest 2022” is Wednesday, Nov. 2. Simply fill out the form by clicking this link. Payment can be sent to the High School Band office. Checks should be made payable to SSHS Band Boosters.
