Pit-Pack Timeline

Typical Game

For a typical home game at Gupton stadium, the following is an approximate timeline:

Note: Just a few Pit-Pack members are needed during load and unload at the school – the most help is needed at games and competitions

• ~4:00 PM - Band begins rehearsal on either the black-top or the practice field
• ~4:30 PM – Pit-Pack are required to open up the truck, remove instrument carts from the top and place at the side of the black-top (out of the way of marching if band is rehearsing on black top). May also preload coolers, seat cushions, plumes, etc. in the nose of the trailer.
• ~4:50 PM - Pit-Pack should assist (if necessary) the front-ensemble in moving equipment from the practice field to the truck.
• ~5:00 PM - Load Begins - Pit-Pack should help student loading crew as needed to ensure a quick, smooth, safe load.
• ~6:00 PM - Trailer departs for stadium
• ~6:20 PM - Trailer arrives at stadium. Unload begins. Carts, tuba cases, etc. will be moved to the appropriate staging area. Front ensemble equipment will be moved to the field-level near the endzone for warm-up/staging. Half-time Pit-Pack crew that are present pick up badges and job assignments.
• ~7:30 PM - Game Starts!
• ~5:00 minutes left in 2nd quarter - Pit-Pack will assemble somewhere near the front-ensemble, and if jobs are not already assigned, assign people to various tasks that still need coverage.
• Showtime - First at away games, Last at home games - Front ensemble will be lined up in proper order. Simply move your equipment along with the rest of the group. Exception is Timpani cart, which will always go out first and return last. Move equipment into approximate location where ensemble stops, then move to the sidelines for the show. Students will ensure proper final placement.
• At the end of the show, simply move the same equipment back to the endzone warm-up area.
• After last show, assist students in moving front-ensemble equipment to the truck for break-down and loading.
• ~10:00 PM - End of game. As sections leave the stands and load their instrument carts, move them onto the truck.
• ~11:00 PM - Return to school
• ~11:20 PM - Assist students in unloading the truck and returning empty carts to the truck.

Note: As the year progresses we aim to improve the end-of-game load times, so these approximate timelines will hopefully get better.

Note: For Thursday games, game start time is 7:00, so move this timeline up by half an hour.

Note: For any away games, move the timeline up by the additional drive-time.
Note: Pit-Pack members with a Pit-Pack badge should not need a ticket to enter the game – family members will need tickets.

Typical Contest

There is no such thing as a typical contest! That said, here is the general process.

• Depending on the location of the contest, and our timeslot, there may be opportunity for a rehearsal on the black-top at the school. This does not always happen, but sometimes.
• After a rehearsal, the trailer will be loaded. This should begin approximately 1 hour before departure time.

Note: For early AM departures, the truck may remain loaded from the previous night's game, and parked in the LISD bus lot (gated/locked). In that case, the truck driver(s) will simply begin the trip from the bus lot, perhaps coming to the school first for any last-minute loads, or perhaps driving directly to the competition site.

• Arrival / Unload: Depending on the competition, this may vary. Some sites, we can unload in the same way as for a game. Others, non-front-ensemble instruments will travel in the charter buses. Front-ensemble will only be unloaded at a designate staging area at a designated time (e.g BOA San Antonio at the Alamo Dome).

That said, for competition Pit-Pack, it is best to plan to arrive at about the same time as the band, if possible. That way, we can be ready for whatever happens. We should know better timelines earlier in the week for any given contest.

• Warm-up Cycle: For competitions, the front-ensemble will typically warm-up in a separate area from the rest of the band. Little (if any) warm-up is allowed outside of your designated warm-up area/timeslot. At some time approximately 1 hour or so before the competition time slot, front-ensemble will move from the truck/unload area to the warm-up area. They will have usually have about 30 minutes or so of warm-up time. At this time, we will need all Pit-Pack volunteers ready to go, because the move has to take place as quickly as possible to ensure maximum warm-up time. We may or may not have chaperones assisting with water etc.

• Next, after the warm-up time is over, we will begin moving toward the stadium entrance, lining up behind other ensembles, waiting our turn
  Next-In-Line - When we are next to perform, the contest workers will line us up behind the line (usually the end-zone) and provide a few notices about what is expected, etc.). Basically, don't cross the line till they say go, no talking etc.
  

• Show-Time - When they say GO, you have 4 minutes to get everything in place for the band to start their performance. Don't worry, we usually have a minute or so to spare. The move onto the field is the same as for a game, just quicker. We will start practicing the quick on/off during some later games in September to get the feel of a contest.

Note: For the rear podium, you will usually have to set the podium up, then return to the home-side of the field (around the end-zone, not crossing the field) prior to the performance. This is usually not an issue for the setup, but you might have to hurry a bit for going off the field (usually only 2 minutes).

• End-Of-Show - Move everything back to the truck, and get ready to go, or wait for the results and a possible second performance.
  

Additional Competition Notes
For some competitions, there will only be one performance. At the end of the performance, we will load the truck and get it ready for departure. We may not actually leave till the end of the contest, but the truck will be ready. For most contests, there is a preliminary/finals format, which means we might repeat the contest cycle twice. This will sometimes require an additional load/unload cycle before the final load to return home.