Kicking off their fall season, the Oak Park Marching Band competed for the first time this year with their show, “Time Waits for No Man,” at the Royal Classic Competition on Oct. 12.

The team placed second overall with the Color Guard receiving a score of 60.75 earning the title “high auxiliary.” 

“I think Royal was a great start to the season … it was a good run, and we can only go up from here,” junior Drum Major Anoushka Jasuja said. 

“Due to the fire warnings sent out on  [Oct. 11], the administration canceled all after-school activities, leaving the band unable to have [their] final practice the way [they had] anticipated,” Zachary Borquez said. “But [the band] persevered and did very well.”

Both the marching band and color guard are working towards championships this year and are excited to improve the show and “reach new heights,” according to color guard member Ruby Pokras. 

“Although it wasn’t our best performance, I wouldn’t change a thing. The purpose of our first competition is to get a reality check and feel for the competition atmosphere. We got a lot of feedback and the more we can improve upon, the better,” Jasuja said. 

During their post-performance discussion, the team began discussing ways in which they can refine certain techniques and aspects of their show.

“Our biggest area for improvement, as we’re working on now, is our marching and our familiarity with the drill at the end of the show,” Borquez said. “More practice between now and [our next competition] will hopefully bring us up to that level.”

The marching band will compete at Simi Valley High School on Saturday, Oct. 26 and members are excited to “showcase what [they’ve] been working on” through “countless hours [of practice],” Jasuja said. 

The band and color guard hope to do better with each performance.  

According to Pokras, their goal is to “overall, continue to increase [their] score from competition to competition [because that] is all [they] could ask for.”