Calgary Stampede Showband captures sixth title in front of home crowd
Posted Jul 9, 2019 4:48 pm.
Last Updated Jul 9, 2019 4:52 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — It was a night to remember for the Calgary Stampede Showband.
On Monday, the band captured the World Association of Marching Show Bands title — for the sixth time overall.
Performing a western-themed show, complete with racing chuckwagons, the Stampede Showband won the title by just under one point over The Chien Kuo High School Marching Band from Taiwan.
To make it even better, it was won at the Saddledome in front of thousands of cheering fans.
A truly fantastic job by all the bands! #wamsb2019 #wcmsb2019 #wamsb #wcmsb #marchingbands #worldchampionships
**updated and corrected sheet, spelling errors and award level mistakes corrected.** pic.twitter.com/sqGeAnIgBJ— WAMSB (@wamsb) July 9, 2019
“They were just really focused, really magical that whole day. It was very nervous walking into the Saddledome and seeing that giant crowd, and there’s a lot of emotion in there, but as soon as they started they turned it on, they did exactly what they were practicing and they just had an incredible show,” said Ryan Hancock, Manager of Bands for the Calgary Stampede Foundation.
The showband entered the finals with the top score already through the preliminaries, but stepped it up even further for the championship round with an improvement of nearly three points.
They celebrated with an encore performance on the steps of the Saddledome, and Hancock said even though they have won this six times the feeling never diminishes.
So after they win the 2019 WAMSB World Champions, the @ShowbandCS throws together an encore steps show. So awesome. 6-time champs!! https://t.co/RjxcxF7PZ5
— Doug Dermott (@Deadlyguz) July 9, 2019
“There’s so much pride. Even just walking around last night and again this morning, there’s former directors of the showband that have sent emails, and it’s just a way that brings people together and we can share in those successes.”
The band put in a lot of effort as well, practicing for hundreds of hours over the last few months for this moment.
The last time the Calgary Stampede Showband won the title was in 2014.
