Home Sweet Home

So to our final day.  We had a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel then headed over to the discount outlet Mall for some final shopping and then onto Dayton Airport.

We had a painless on time flight and all arrived safe and sound, if a little jet lagged at Heathrow airport.

So looking at back on this trip, it has to be one of the most successful trips in terms of the experience, and of course, the final outcome.

Despite the few issues we had; illness after WGUK finals and unsuitable rehearsal facility, the positives far outweighed the negatives, and everyone played their parts very well (from members to staff to floor crew to supporters).  It's amazing what respect Mayflower has in the USA, and this year especially, how 'like rock stars' they were treated - constantly being asked for photos and signatures and so many people stopping and telling them how much they loved their show.  They were definitely one of the crowd favourites.

A huge thank you to everyone who has supported us.  The love was felt from back home, with Facebook going mad with positive postings - and we really really appreciated it.

So its crash back down to earth for many of us, as we scatter back across the country and the globe, and normal life resumes.  However, there is already much discussion about 2016 and our return to Dayton......

The day after the night before

It's Sunday, the day after finals. What an experience!  Retreat is always so much fun and a chance to mingle and savour the moment.

We headed back to the hotel and over to a bar around 1am, however as the adrenalin dissipated everyone was feeling exhausted so the party didn't go on too long (although some members stayed out til 6am!)

The next day some of the guard were booked into to the Kate Jablonski dance class and had an amazing and different dance experience.  For the rest of the members and staff it was a chance to lie in.

Sunday was shopping mall day so after a late rise we headed to the Dayton Mall and a few hours of retail therapy.

Sunday evening we were booked into Hooters for supper and a surprise "Home Sweet Home" cake.  Michael Shapiro also popped in so it was great to see him one more time and say our goodbyes (until next year!).

The party continued in room 325 (pity the people below and above) late into the night where too much dodgy alcohol was consumed.

Tomorrow we head home......

It's finals day!!

After a fantastic semi finals performance we had made finals comfortably and lay in joint 10th place with Zydeco. 

Whilst we have already exceeded all our expectations, we still wanted to be sure we had the best run would could and get the best crowd reaction possible.

We had a 2-hour rehearsal booked from 2-4, so a leisurely start to the day and breakfast at Cracker Barrel.

We then headed to the arena and some shopping time for the guard. Rehearsal was right around the corner from the arena, at Dunbar High School, which is a fantastic facility.  Avon High School was rehearsing before us and they got a chance to mingle with Mayflower and we watched and cheered their last run through (they ended in 5th place in scholastic world).

There was calm over Mayflower during our rehearsal and you could tell that the guard is peaking as they were very consistent.  Anthony had just flown in from California, so everyone wad delighted to see him and he was very impressed with how strong, focused and calm everyone was.

So we came to our last run through of 2013 and whilst Cookie wasn't looking, the end box was switched. Cookie was at the top of the bleachers as she watched the best run of the year (thankfully!). As the box was passed to Dan and Emma, they turned it around to reveal "Krystal" on the front of it, they they opened it to reveal "will you marry me?" And from the corner of the gym, Tim walked in and got down on his knee and proposed.  There was not a dry eye  the house, and of course she said "YES"

We were all honoured to play a part in this very special moment and congratulations Cookie and Tim.

So back to the hotel and 3 hours downtime (we would be performing at 9pm) some of us headed out to eat, craving salad and vegetables!

Whilst the guard showered and prepared themselves, Krissie and Rob headed to Walmart to find additional items for retreat. 

We headed over to the arena at 7.15pm. By this point the process is very familiar and everything is running like clockwork, everyone having their job to do.

Let's take you through the journey: at 8.05 we check in and wristbands are checked. We then move towards body warm-ups and whilst waiting to go in, take the time to stretch in the corridor.

Body warm-ups are nice and calm, the same process we have followed all year, ending with a run of the opening movement and as we then transit to the holding area to equip warm ups, the show music is playing and the guard are visualising the perfect run.

Equip warm ups; firstly flags get sometime to do the big show tosses then the weapons.

After our 10 mins there we go outside and move down the tunnel. The same room at the bottom of the tunnel, everyone claims their pieces of floor and final words from the staff. Everyone is extremely calm and excited.  They have a job to do and can't wait to perform to the sell out crowd.

It's show time!  This time we got the entry music exactly right and the crowd was all clapping along to Madness "Our House".  We had a good run in finals with many saying the had their best run of the season, there were a couple of drops but with a show full of risk and jeopardy, it's no surprise!  They received a great crowd reaction and partial standing ovation, and one of the better crowd reactions of the evening. 

The guard got to watch the rest of World finals and then gathered for retreat. It was fantastic coming down the ramp for retreat hearing "Mayflower is a 3 time WGI World finalist". 

Then came time for the scores.  We had tied Zydecco for 10th and thought we might drop to 11th and hoped to stay ahead of Fantasia.  So they started announcing the scores 16th, 15th, 14th 13th, 12th - Fantasia, then 11th Zydecco and in 10th place with a score of 86.2  MAYFLOWER!  We were ecstatic.  Not only the highest score we have ever received in finals but also our highest placement.So that's 2013 in the books and what an amazing year it has been.

So that's it, the last performance of the 2013 season. All that was left was to fold everything away (and throw the floor pieces in the nearest bin!).

More tomorrow.....

Semi finals day!

After a late night we had a relatively early morning, rehearsing from 9-11 near the U of D arena.  It was a very slick operation and the team pulled in, quickly unloaded, set up and started stretching.  There were 3-4 areas of the show we wanted to look at as well as get everyone "in the zone" in preparation for a very important performance that would see us in or out of finals.

After rehearsal we had some free time so went to Steak & Shake for rather dodgy burgers and slightly better shakes!

We headed over to the arena mid afternoon and prep went smoothly as we start to get familiar with the process.  Rob went to check with the T&P judge about using the entry music while Krissie and Barry prepared the guard.

So the guard entered the floor and the entry music really got the crowd involved. Today the guard felt very calm and it really  showed in their performance and they had the best run of the year. Normally most guards have their best run in their rehearsal so it was fantastic for them to have the run of their lives in semi finals. After each performance we always ask the guard who had their best run, today almost every member raised their hand.

 

After the performance the guard got to watch the rest of World semis.  I have to say that Pride and Onyx were both outstanding so who knows who will win!

After the completion of the contest we headed back to the hotel to await scores. For the 3rd time Mayflower made the top 15 independent World Class finals, tying Zydecco for10th. When we checked in Barry picked a number to break a tie.  Fortunately (for us) he picked an 8 - the lower the number the better, so that means this evening we follow Zydecco. Whilst it would be nice to stay in 10th, we are just happy to be back at the "big party" and in finals. 

Needless to say, everyone is in good spirits and looking forward to finals days.

The guard went out to a Mexican restaurant for supper and then some of the guard headed back to the arena to watch A finals others went back to the hotel and some parents and staff headed to a bar.

Tomorrow is finals day. A relaxed morning. 2 hour rehearsal with all the staff and a performance time of 9pm (2am UK time).

More tomorrow.....

It's prelims day

We knew today was going to be a long day since we perform 2nd to last in prelims at 10.50pm. So the guard met at 10am and went to BigBoy(!) for breakfast. The staff's day started slightly earlier with check in at WGI HQ which all went very smoothly.

Having eaten breakfast we travelled to our rehearsal site for a short 4 hour block. This facility houses 3 basketball arenas so potentially could have had 3 guards there.  Fortunately for us, there were only 2 (although the other was a guard from Florida with very loud music!)

Rehearsal went very well with the guard continuing to get stronger and more consistent and confident.

Once rehearsal was finished, we travelled back to the hotel for 3 hours of relaxation and show prep.

We left at 9pm in the pouring rain and headed to the arena, everyone in good spirits.  We had 20 mins before our check in time, the guard had a chance to calm their nerves and watch a few guards.  The atmosphere was good but the arena wasn't very full.

We checked in at 9.55 and proceeded through the process of body warm ups, transit equipment warm ups and finally to the tunnel.

The guard was relaxed if a little nervous (for many this is their first WGI experience).  They had a good first performance; some of the members had their best run of the season, others were a little disappointed with their show.  But nothing can change what had happened and the crowd received them warmly and had a partial standing ovation at the conclusion of the show.

After sorting all the equipment and props we moved to have our pictures taken and then made a swift exit (knowing we will have an early start tomorrow).

We all gathered in the foyer of the hotel, pressing "refresh" like crazy on our phones.  Finally the scores were in and Rob announced to a jubilant crowd that we had scored 87.7 and placed 3rd in our round.  Lots of looks of amazement and hugs and tears as it sunk in.  Then we realised we had beaten Fantasia and Zydecco WOW!!

The guard starts early tomorrow with a short 2 hour rehearsal, some down time and then our semi finals performance at 4pm (9pm UK time).

The support from the UK (& around the world) has been amazing. And we are feeling the love and really appreciate it, it means a great deal to us, so THANK YOU.

More to come as the adventure continues.....

Challenging Tuesday

Krissie summed today up by saying it felt like 2 days rolled into one. It was definitely a challenge!!!

We had found a rehearsal site via the people we have always used in past years and this site was bigger.  However when we arrived it was very very dusty, dark and the floor was full of pot holes!  Not an ideal start to the day. Michael was at rehearsal to finish staging the 2 new members and wasn't too impressed.

So PLAN B was needed (always good to have a back up plan!) and cookie hit the phones to find us somewhere else. We managed to get the location we used yesterday from3-6, so we ended rehearsal early and packed up to head south again..

As we were finishing rehearsal a stranger wandered in. He turned out to be an old member of Pride ofCincinnati  and a big Mayflower fan and arranged for us to use his parish hall for free, assuring us it would be big enough. This time, we decided to check it out first, so made a slight detour as we headed south. Luckily we did because it was way too small and low ceilings, so unfortunately that didn't work out.

Anyway, back to the tennis club and 3 very productive hours resulting in two outstanding performances.

 Everyone felt good as we dashed back to the hotel and then onto the exhibition show with Beatrix. We arrived slightly late and quickly ate pizza. Our performance wasn't the best, again the ceiling was low so we had flags and weapons bouncing off the roof but received a good reaction and it was great for us to watch and support Beatrix and West Ranch HS.

So back to the hotel and a relatively early night. Tomorrow is the big day. Our plan is to sleep late, eat breakfast together, go to the arena and watch guard for an hour or so then rehearse 1-5, eat, relax and head to the arena around 9pm for our prelims show at 10.50. It's all very exciting and we really have no idea where we will place, especially since our show is so different to any other group in our class. Fingers crossed for an amazing performance, and we hope lots of our friends back home will be watching and cheering.

More tomorrow .........

Day 1 rehearsal day

After a long hot tiring day, the guard is now relaxing and shortly out to dinner.

Having raided Walmart, we were ready for our 40 minute ride to today's rehearsal site.  Today's focus was on expanding the floor and staging our 2 US members in- which went surprisingly well.  By e end of rehearsal everyone was very tired and jet lag started to catch up.

So it's a relaxing evening to celebrate Jess' 21st birthday.

Tomorrow we rehearse 10-5 then perform with our Dutch friends, Beatrix in the evening.