Saturday, September 26, 2026

General Information

CoC Program 

Admissions

Adults - $10

Kids - $5

Parking

The parking lot will be very crowded. Please 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. 

Spectator parking will be at Lafayette High School, with overflow parking at St. Louis Community College.  A shuttle bus will pickup and drop off at St. Louis Community College.

Parking for equipment vehicles will be 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.

Escorts

An escort will meet you when your bus arrives and stay with you until after your band performs.

Warm-up

You are scheduled for 30 minutes of warm-up in either Area #1 or #2. It will not be a lined warm-up area. Please be sure that your band faces away from the stadium, and that your students DO NOT play their instruments other than during this warm-up time and during the performance. If your drum line would like to warm-up prior to the assigned time, they must play on pads. The use of amplified metronomes is prohibited during warm-up. Due to the close proximity of the stadium to our parking area, your assigned 30 minute warm-up block is the only time you may warm-up. In addition, please do not use wireless microphones in your warm-up to prevent signal interference with performing bands.

For the bands that perform earlier in the day, we will enforce only warming-up during your assigned time even before performances begin in the stadium in order to maintain consistent expectations for all bands during the day.

There is no assigned visual warm-up area. You are welcome to warm-up in available areas on campus as long as it does not interfere with another group’s assigned warm-up time or our traffic flow. The service road on the south side of the building has some room to spread out for a visual warm-up. 

If a parking attendant asks you to move your visual warm-up to accommodate incoming bands’ parking, please assist our parent volunteers by relocating your visual warm-up. If you have questions concerning an appropriate place for a visual warm-up, please refer questions to your escort.

Band Stadium Entry and Exit

You will enter the field from the west (side 1) and exit to the east (side 2). Please do not deviate from this.  

For the exit, any equipment or props larger than 80 inches across will need to go out the northeast gate (side 2 back sideline). Any equipment or props less than 80 inches and all people may exit the southeast gate (side 2 front sideline). 

Please do not drive motorized vehicles on the track. There will be turf pathways on the southwest (entry) and northeast (exit) to roll equipment. We appreciate your cooperation!

Timing

Bands are scheduled at 15 minute intervals. While there is no timing penalty, please do your very best to be at the field on time and exit in a timely manner. We do not run the show early. We will not send you on the field until your scheduled performance time.

Announcements

We will announce the band name, school name, city, director(s), and program. 

Next, the announcer will say, “Are the judges ready?” 

Then, “Lafayette Contest of Champions is proud to present in Preliminary (or Finals) performance, Drum Majors [Insert Drum Major names] and the [ Insert Band Name] Marching Band.

If you have a specific script (ie, a rolling start), please send it to Brad Balog by Monday, September 15 so that we may have it ready for your show. If it helps your timing to cue our announcer, please send a staff member to the west side of the press box prior to your performance.

Air grams will be announced at the conclusion of your performance.

Clinics

Each band will receive a 20 minute clinic following their performance. The clinics will take place inside Lafayette High School and will include a video of your preliminary performance. The clinician will use this video to assist in their clinic. It is your choice as to who attends the clinic. The clinics are designed for your students to attend but you may choose to only take your staff. 

We will have a staging area for your equipment in the circle drive outside the stadium by the south entrance to the building, if you choose to use it. Depending on the timing of the clinic, there may be enough time to take equipment back to the parking area. Once your clinic concludes, please take your equipment back to your parking area so that we have room for the next band, if you have not already done so.

Judges’ Comments & Performance Videos

All judges’ comments and recap sheets will be uploaded to Competition Suite. Your prelims and finals performance videos will be shared in a Google Drive at the conclusion of your performance. Kevin Lowe will share access to the drive prior to the competition.

Power and Electronics

A grounded extension cord will be available on the front sideline.

All music from traditional wind and percussion instruments or electronic instruments must be performed by a student, live and in real time. A student is permitted to run a mixing board or a wireless mixing device. An adult may run a mixing board or wireless mixing device, only for the purpose of managing volumes and balances. Please note that allowing an adult to operate a sound board does not grant permission for them to contribute directly to the music or visual program.

A wireless mixing board operator may go to the landing on the west (Side 1) of the press box. Please do not go to this area until it is time for your band to perform. 

Storage and Changing Rooms

Your buses and support vehicles must serve as your storage and changing areas. Please instruct your students NOT to use the restrooms to change! The interior of Lafayette High School will also not be available to use for changing clothes.

Awards

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

• Black Division: 81 or more musicians

• White Division: 50-80 musicians

• Gold Division: 50 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

12 bands will advance to Finals competition. They will be determined by the 3 class winners and the next 9 highest scoring bands regardless of class. New this year - if one of the class winners is not one of the 12 highest scores from prelims competition, we will add a 13th Finals performance slot. 

The 6 (or 7) lowest scoring band advancing to Finals will choose randomly for the earliest performance slots, while the 6 highest scores advancing to Finals will choose randomly for the later performance times.

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 tripping breakers in past years.

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.

DIRECTOR’S HOSPITALITY ROOM – Included in the packet you receive upon check-in at Lafayette will be your wristbands. There are wristbands for yourself and your staff.  These wristbands may be used for access to the Hospitality Room. In the Hospitality Room, you can enjoy a complimentary lunch and/or dinner. The meal will include a choice of entrée, chips and a drink. The Band Director’s Hospitality Room is located inside Lafayette in room 137. You can get to room 137 through the front entrance of the building on the middle of the north side. These wristbands are NOT redeemable at the concession stands inside the stadium.

Wristbands

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). Each band director will receive complimentary wristbands when you arrive. You will receive a minimum of 10 additional wristbands for staff and parent helpers, in addition to the student wristbands. For bands larger than 100 members, the number of additional wristbands will be 10% of your total band number. For instance, a 150 member band will receive 15 additional wristbands for staff and parent helpers.

The additional wristbands are for you to use as you see fit for staff, equipment crew, administrators, etc.  

Please make sure all participants (including parent help) put the wristbands on when you arrive.  No one will be permitted to enter the stadium unless wearing a wrist band. 

Contest of Champions Program

This year, we plan to offer the Contest of Champions program digitally. QR codes will be posted throughout the stadium complex for the program.

Video Recording

One representative from your band may record video of the performance of your band only from the area immediately to the west (Side 1) of the press box. Please do not go to this area until it is time for your band to perform. We will provide you with the video used for the clinic. 

Instrument Repair

Ernie Williamson Music will be on site to assist with any emergency repairs of your instruments during the course of the day.

If you have any percussion or electronic emergencies during your time at Contest of Champions, please reach out to Lafayette Band Director, Kevin Lowe.

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.

Seating

Please have your students sit on the visitor side of the stadium. I know that this is not ideal; however, we need to keep the home side open for fans that pay admission. Your parents will appreciate having a place to sit and watch the competition.

“Director’s Only” Section

The top two rows of bleachers in the center section will be reserved for band directors.

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.

Building Interior

Please instruct your students NOT to enter the building unless they are part of your clinic. 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.

Upcoming Lafayette Contest of Champions Date - September 25, 2027