The girls gather, huddling in for a last pep talk. Then, assuming their positions they take the field. The BVSW Glitter Girls strike their beginning pose, all hoping for a flawless next couple of minutes. The band’s performance is off and running and the Glitter Girls now have a chance to show all the hard work they have put into band season.

Saturday, Oct. 19, the BVSW Emerald Regiment and Glitter Girls will be traveling to the University of Central Missouri to compete at the UCM Festival of Champions Band Competition. They will be competing in hopes of making it to finals and placing.

During the band competition the band and the dance team will first compete in the preliminary round against thirty other schools that will be in attendance. If they do well, they will have a chance to compete again in the finals.

“My goal is to place first in our class and rank in an overall position, but as long as we come off the field knowing we left everything out there, that is all the matters,” sophomore Rachael Sorcher said.

Competition days are packed full and this means the band and dance team are off bright and early in the morning. Performances last all day long and they are usually back in route to BVSW around nine or ten at night.

With so many things to worry about, from choreography to corrections to managing rifles and flags the Glitter Girls have a lot on their minds during a competition day.

“Competition days are the opposite of stressful, everyone is ready to have fun and there is never a dull moment,” Sorcher said. “Although it does get serious right before we perform.”

With such a packed schedule the responsibility has to be distributed.

“As a captain, I make sure that everyone is focused on what we have been working on since the summer. I make sure we are all having fun but also get serious when getting ready to perform,” senior Monica Pickett said.

There are many important things about the Glitter Girl’s performance. Abilities, execution and performance quality are some of the things that the judges look for when watching performances.

“It is important to know that you have to perform big enough for the judges in the box to see you. You have to keep your head lifted, be confident through the whole performance, and perform like you have practiced and not psych yourself out. You have to enjoy it because it is over in a blink of an eye,” Sorcher said.

The Glitter Girls gain a lot from performing with the band.

“What I enjoy most about performing with the band is getting close with all the members,” freshman Lily Inghram said.

The band season also helps prepare the Glitter Girls for their upcoming competition season.

“It give us a great jumpstart to get in the competitive mode. Each year we really work to highlight our dance technique on the band field. This really separates us from a lot of the other groups we will compete against,” Coach Erin Fine said. “We really use this time in the fall to work towards coming together as a team. We can do this because we are all “new” to the color guard aspect when we join dance team, so we can really work together to perfect these skills and push each other to be better at everything”

The Glitter Girls have a lot to look forward during their next and final band competition of the 2013-2014 season. Hard work, determination, and performance excitement should help them reach their goal for this band competition.