Competing against 30 of the best marching bands in the East, Northeast, and Southeast circuits, the Newtown High School Marching Band and Guard not only reached their goal of making it into the finals of the USBands “Music in Motion” power regional, but they came within just two points of first place Saturday, November 1.

The event was held at the stadium of the US Navy-Marine Corps Academy in Annapolis, Md.

In round one of the Platinum Level competition, Newtown once again performed in the soaking rain that has become a staple of this marching band and guard’s season. Scoring a 91.625, the band went into finals in seventh position.

Finals saw the rain stop, being replaced by wind that forced the Newtown color guard to severely alter its toss-filled show to prevent injury from rifles, sabers, and flags caught up in the wind gusts.

Despite the challenges, Newtown still managed to better their score by more than a point to deliver a season-high 92.75

“Our kids really came through,” said Newtown Band Director Kurt Eckhardt, who, along with his full staff and dozens of parents, accompanied the band and guard to Maryland.

Assistant Band Director Chris Carley predicted a very exciting two weeks of competition as Newtown competes on Saturday, November 8, at Cheshire High School in the USBands Preview of Champions and finally on November 15 at the National Championships at MetLife Stadium.

“We keep getting better, with more work to do,” Mr Carley said, adding, “Everyone is practicing, pushing, and doing their best will make the difference for us in the next two weeks.”