Saturday, September 20, 2025

ENTRY

Wristbands to enter the competition will be sold at the west gate and are priced at $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students (non-participants).

PARKING

The parking lot will be very crowded. You are encouraged to carpool as much as possible!  Cars parked on Clayton Road or Highway 109 may be ticketed and/or towed. Parking on private  property around the school is also prohibited.  Additional spectator parking is available at Babler Elementary School, a quarter of a mile north of Lafayette on Highway 109.  

Equipment vehicles will be parked in the parking lot with your buses. Temporary restrooms will be available in the bus parking area as well as in the warm-up areas.  

For bands bringing equipment in a tractor trailer, it will be easier to enter Lafayette’s parking lot if you come to the school via west on Clayton Road.

Judging and Clinician Staff

We are particularly proud of the judging staff that we have been able to assemble for this year’s contest.  The judges will be asked to provide constructive, positive comments on your performance.  The three clinicians will provide general commentary for each band during finals competition.

The judges are as follows:

Music

Matt Banks - Music Individual (Prelims)/Music Ensemble (Finals)

Rob Babel - Music Ensemble (Prelims)/Music Effect (Finals)

Carl Diefenbach - Music Effect (Prelims)/Music Individual (Finals)

Visual

Chris Church - Visual Individual (Prelims)/Visual Effect (Finals)

Ron Comfort - Visual Ensemble (Prelims)/Visual Individual (Finals)

Mark Martin - Visual Effect (Prelims)/Visual Ensemble (Finals)

Clinicians

Paul Champion 

Mary Cowperthwait

Becky Long

The breakdown of the scoring is as follows:

Music Effect 40%

Music Performance (Ensemble) 10%

Music Performance (Individual) 10%

Visual Effect 20%

Visual Performance (Ensemble) 10%

Visual Performance (Individual) 10%

Total 100%

Awards

Divisions are based on total musician numbers. The breakdown is as follows:

Black Division: 76 or more musicians

White Division: 64-75 musicians

Gold Division: 52 or less musicians

Performance order is based upon registration entry date, not by division order. Adjudicators are not aware of division assignments during preliminary performances.

Prelims

Placement trophies will be awarded for bands in each Class (Black, White and Gold).

Trophies will be awarded for the following captions in each class:

Outstanding Music Performance

Outstanding Visual Performance

Outstanding General Effect

Finals

All bands in Finals will receive a placement trophy. The winner of the Finals Competition will also receive the traveling trophy.

Trophies will be awarded for the following captions in each class:

Outstanding Music Performance

Outstanding Visual Performance

Outstanding General Effect

Food

The Lafayette Band Boosters work very hard to provide a wide variety of concessions.  Our concession stand will be open throughout the day with many menu items to choose from. We will have anything your taste buds may desire.  No open flame or propane grills are allowed on the Lafayette campus. In addition, we are not able to provide electricity to feed your bands. We have had issues with overloading our electricity and blowing breakers in past years.  You may pre-purchase meal plans for your members. The tickets will be $7.00 per meal with a choice of 2 hot dogs and chips, 1 brat and chips, 1 hamburger/cheeseburger and chips, 1 pulled pork sandwich and chips, or 2 slices of pizza with a 20 ounce souvenir Contest of Champions cup of lemonade with unlimited refills or one bottle of water. Pre-purchased meal tickets CANNOT be used on Chick-Fil-A sandwiches.

IF YOU FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT TO ENSURE THE CONTINUATION OF A HIGH QUALITY EVENT, PLEASE PATRONIZE OUR CONCESSIONS RATHER THAN SEEKING OTHER OPTIONS SO THAT WE MAY CONTINUE TO BRING YOU THE FINEST EVENT POSSIBLE.

Contest of Champions Programs

This year, we plan to offer the Contest of Champions program digitally. QR codes will be posted throughout the stadium complex for the program. There will be a limited number of printed programs for sale at the gate. In addition, we will offer one page copies of the schedule at the gate for our guests.

Rain Plan

Of course it will not rain, but on the outside chance that we could be wrong, here is the plan:

If it is raining on the morning of the contest, we will make a decision as to whether or not to make any adjustments to the schedule by 9 am. 

If it rains after that point, we will continue if at all possible. Please understand that in the event of a rain-out, we would not be able to refund the entry fees, however, we will give you a $250 credit toward the entry fee for next year’s Contest of Champions.

Building Interior

Please do NOT enter the building unless you are part of the clinicians and judges group.  Restrooms are not available inside the school during the day with the exception of use while inside for a clinic.  If the building is made available for extreme weather conditions, an announcement will be made over the stadium PA and word will be sent to directors via band escorts.

Health and Wellness

Paramedics will be on site for emergencies as well as a first aid station for minor issues. In addition, St. Luke’s Urgent Care, 636-256-8644, is less than ten minutes from the Stadium.  In the case of lightning, we will make the Main Gym of Lafayette High School available for participants and spectators to take cover.  In the case of an excessive heat index, we have the option of making the Lafayette High School Commons available as a cooling area for participants and spectators. We also have hoses for you to fill water jugs to hydrate your students. Consistent hydration on a hot day is the best way to keep everybody safe from heat related illness.  The building will not be open for anything except the clinics unless these conditions make it necessary.