Starr’s Mill’s Panther Pride marching band competed in the Golden River Marching Festival with their 2017 show, Swan Lake Reimagined. The band earned the highest score overall, making them the Grand Champions.

“We feel good about it,” band director Scott King said. “We feel like the judges called it right.”

Panther Pride won first in division color guard, drum major, and band, and the percussion received second in division. The band received the highest score overall, making them the Golden River Marching Festival Grand Champions. The color guard and drum majors also had the highest scores overall, and the percussion had the third highest.

The Golden River Marching Festival was an olympic panel competition, meaning there are five judges that score the band. They judged the music, marching, and the effectiveness of the performance. Then, out of the five scores, the highest and lowest are dropped, and the others are averaged together to get the band’s score. Within the scores, percussion and woodwinds are a part of the music score and everyone, including the color guard, are a part of the effectiveness. Also, separate judges score the color guard, drum majors, and percussion, but they are not necessarily entered into the overall scoring for the band.

At Golden River, all competing bands are divided into two divisions: Silver and Gold. The divisions are based on the class of the band’s school. Panther Pride competed in the Gold Division, being a AAAA band.

“I felt like the first [competition], that we did not win by less than a point, was a wonderful performance,” King said.

Prior to the Golden River Marching Festival, Panther Pride competed in Legacy of Champions on Oct. 14. The band won first place in their class and placed second overall.

On Oct. 28, Panther Pride will compete at the North Georgia Marching Band Championships at South Forsyth High School in its final competition of the season.

“I think [the last competition] is going to be an unbelievable performance,” King said. “I know all the students are going to do their job.”