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Marching bands brave elements for glory The Crater High School marching band works to uncover their instruments during heavy rain while competing in the Pride of the Northwest Marching Band Competition at Grants Pass High School on Saturday. Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch Saturday Oct 15, 2016 at 3:32 PM Oct 17, 2016 at 7:28 AM Nick Morgan Mail Tribune @mtcrimebeat GRANTS PASS — Though the weather knocked many high schools out of the running, storm warnings,  wind gusts and downpours didn't stop six school bands statewide from hitting their marks Saturday. During the preliminary event in the 23rd annual Pride of the Northwest Marching Band Competition, the Crater High School band and color guard played through their 10-minute ode to Spain at Grants Pass High School's Mel Ingram field, even after a wind gust knocked down a partition used for switching flags. The band battled South Medford, Grants Pass, Henley, McMinnville and St. Helens high schools, who all competed on the uncovered field for the event, organized by the Northwest Association for Performing Arts. Band students' dedication was no surprise to St. Helens alumnus Nick Fincher, a two-year former drum line section lead who sat with his parents, Kriss and Warren, to support family friends in the program. "The only thing that stops the band program is thunder and lightning," Nick Fincher said. "That's the only thing that makes us stop." "They're die-hards," Kriss Fincher said. Prior to the preliminary round, Klamath Falls parents Lori and Lynn Graves said they haven't seen their son Mason perform in such inclement weather before. Lynn, Mason's father, said his son's enjoyment making music drove him to perform in the rain. "I think they're going to be cold and wet," Lori Graves said. "And hopefully not sick next week." Competition coordinator Victory Walker worked  to ensure the competition would go on rain or shine, making last-minute calls about lineup cancellations before the preliminary round, which was delayed two hours because of weather-related confusion. Walker said it was important to continue the annual competition as planned because it was many schools' only chance to compete for the year. Only Grants Pass and St. Helens had upcoming competitions, according to Walker. "They've worked very hard on this," Walker said, emphasizing the number of rehearsed musical pieces and props involved in the schools' performances. "This is their big event for the year." The same was also true for many of the eight teams that could not attend. Walker mentioned that Del Norte had planned a performance involving a 14-foot wide prop that could only barely fit through the gate. "They had to drop because of the weather," Walker said. Reasons for the cancellations varied, Walker said, but all stemmed from the weather. For example, North Salem intended to attend despite the weather, but their charter buses refused, while in Roseburg, it was families who opted to drop from the competition. Drops and confusion about whether the event was still on delayed the preliminary round about two hours, though as of noon the final event was still set for 5 p.m. Saturday, according to Walker.  — Reach reporter Nick Morgan at 541-776-4471 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @MTCrimeBeat.