The equipment crew is a collection of students and parent volunteer(s) who support the band by loading and unloading instruments for all football games.

As a parent equipment crew volunteer(s), your responsibilities are:

·         Arrive prior to the student equipment crew.  This is normally 20 minutes prior to the door opening listed time.  For example, for home games the standard door opening time is 5:45pm.  Equipment crew will arrive 10-15 mins prior to this time (5:30), so as parent volunteer(s) arrive time should be 5:25.

·         Primary responsibility is to always operate the truck lift.  The students are not permitted to operate the truck lift.  When the lift is in motion, ensure to call out its direction and get clearance if someone is on the lift that they are ready.  While loading / unloading equipment, the standard truck lift height is knee high.  When closing the lift for storage and truck movement, ensure students are at a safe distance.

·         Secondary responsibility is to ensure student equipment crew members are supervised.  No students should be left alone … everyone stays together or with at least one parent volunteer.

1. For home games only the drum line and sousaphones are transported from GHS to GMS.

2. Get the drum line stand cart out of the equipment hallway and second cart with the plume containers (3 in total) staged for loading on the truck.  If weather is poor, discuss with Mrs. Rach if plumes are needed.  Also put the secondary truck lights in the plume cart.

3. Again, primary responsibility is to always operate the truck lift.  The students are not permitted to operate the truck lift.  When the lift is in motion, ensure to call out its direction and get clearance if someone is on the lift that they are ready.  While loading / unloading equipment, the standard truck lift height is knee high.  When closing the lift for storage and truck movement, ensure students are at a safe distance.

4. When students arrive, load the 2 carts onto the truck.  The carts are placed in the back left corner of the truck.  After carts are loaded, set the lift to knee height for instrument loading.

5. Students will stage all drumline equipment (snares, bass drums, quads, & cymbals) and sousaphones outside the truck.  

6. Support the students, as necessary, while they load the truck with staged instruments. Ensure students are acting safely and lifting with proper technique.  Inside the truck the drum equipment goes on the left and the sousas on the right. 

7. Normal student location while loading is two students inside the truck, 2 students on the lift, and all remaining students loading equipment onto the lift.

8. Once all staged equipment is loaded, check with student leadership to ensure that all instruments are loaded.

9. Once all instruments are loaded, all drum line harnesses are loaded.  If the students load them as a "harness monster" (one student carrying all harnesses) bring the lift down to ground level and lift the student up into truck.

10. When everything is loaded, the students will close the truck door and lock it.  Ensure the lock is applied in proper direction and door is properly closed and secured.  Place the lift in the closed position.  Inform the truck driver the truck is locked and ready to go.

11. The equipment truck will drive to GMS.  Once at GMS, the truck will pull straight forward into Receiving dock near door 10 (on the backside of GMS near Bulldog Blvd). 

o  See picture below for reference

12. After student leadership unlocks truck door, place the lift at knee height.  All instruments are unloaded, and carts are removed from the truck.

13. After all instruments are removed from their cases, the empty cases are loaded back on the truck.

14. Once all empty cases are loaded, the truck is locked up by student leadership.  Place the lift in the closed position. 

15. Inform truck driver that the equipment crew will be back during the 4th quarter (approximately 7 minutes to go in the game) to unload.  Also request truck driver to clear with sheriff that the truck will return to GHS via Bulldog Blvd.

16. The carts will need pulled to the stadium; I prefer to do this as soon as possible.  If there are two equipment crew members, one will stay with the truck to operate the lift and ensure proper closure and the other can go to the stadium with the carts.

17. With carts, enter stadium via the visitor gate.  Stop at the concession area and pick up four 5-gallon water coolers that are filled and waiting.  Load into cart with plumes. 

18. Deliver the 2 coolers of water to the away band area.  Set up on the visitor side edge of the away band stands.

19. Take remaining 2 coolers of water, drum line stands, and plumes to the Green Band stands with the 2 carts.  Setup water coolers on the Green Band stand nearest the score board.  Cart with drum line stands can be set between stands close to where drum line will be located.  Drumline students will come to get their stands when they arrive. 

20. If you have time and want to, you can walk back to the stadium entrance to watch the band march in.

21. During pregame, two volunteers will roll out and set up the podium for the director to use during the National Anthem.  This podium is stored at the edge of the Green Band stands.  Roll the podium to the 35-yard line (closest to the scoreboard).  Wait for the band to form the tunnel on the opposite side of the field and then set up the podium.  Roll the wheels of the podium to the field, flip the guard rail up and set with the pin, flip the top of the podium over and extend the legs with the pin.  Flip podium over onto its legs and position on an angle at the 35-yard line.

22. After the National Anthem is completed, reverse the assembly of the podium (careful of students, coaches, etc.) and roll back to the edge of the Green Band stands.

23. During the game you will act as a parent chaperone by escorting students to restroom, dispense water into student provided water containers, support with plume handout prior to halftime and plume collection after halftime, and during 3rd quarter monitor activity in area of the band concession stand.  All students are required to be back at the end of the 3rd quarter, so remind students around 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter they need to be back by the end of the 3rd quarter.

24. Depending on the flow of the game review with student leadership on what time the directors will call for equipment crew.  The student leadership will communicate this to the directors.  This normally happens with about 7 minutes remaining in the game.  If time gets below this, review with directors to call for equipment crew.  Keep in mind if it’s a running clock; meaning a team is up 30+points and the clock does not stop.  The prep for equipment crew to leave takes some time since the drumline needs to put away their drum stands and load them back into the cart.

25. To clean up for the night at the stadium, the 4 water coolers need collected and returned to the concessions stand.  One parent volunteer to take plume cart with 2 Green band water coolers and go to the away band stands and pick up those 2 water coolers and return all four water coolers to the band concession stand (away side of field).

26. The other parent volunteer will escort students out of stadium back to truck.  Use the home sidetrack and exit using the gate closest to the home stands.

27. If there is only one parent volunteer, then all students will need to go to collect water coolers from the Away band stands, return coolers to the band concession stand, and then go to the truck.

28. After student leadership unlocks the truck, place the lift in the knee height position.  Empty cases are to be unloaded from the truck and equipment crew will wait for the end of the game and the band to march back.  If students have any requests to return to the stadium for the bathroom or other reasons, to support this, all students must be supervised by one parent volunteer, so split up if necessary.  If there is only one parent volunteer, then all students need to stay together. Unless it is a student emergency, the priority is staying with the equipment/truck until the band arrives.

29. During unload, the students are to line the sousas up along the parking spots away from door 10 (close to the parking spots) and place the drum line equipment in front of dumpster fence.  Note: The band will circle up in the middle of this parking lot for the alma mater, so there needs to be enough room for this to happen.

30. Once the band arrives and after the alma mater is sung, the students will gather drumline harnesses from percussion group to load.  Then once all instruments are placed into the cases, load drum line equipment and sousas into truck.  Student leadership to lock truck.  Place the lift in the closed position.  Inform the truck driver the truck is locked and ready to go.

31. When truck is ready to head back to GHS, request a director to clear parking area so the truck can back out of parking lot.  Assist truck driver with stopping foot traffic and waving truck back safely.

32. When back at GHS, unload all drum line equipment and place back into storage area including harnesses.  All sousas will be stored in auditorium hallway.  Store carts in storage area and secondary lights get stored on cart by golf cart.

33. Ensure student leadership has key and lock removed from truck and has closed truck door.  Place the lift in the closed position.  Inform the truck driver the truck is empty, and they are free to go.

1. Follow home game steps 2 through 8 for away games.  Also included in step 2 for cart preparation, load the director’s speaker, small plastic case with headsets, and speaker stand into cart with plumes.  This equipment is stored on the back of the director’s golf cart.  Carefully remove the four antennas from the back of the speaker and store them in the small plastic headset case.  If the rechargeable battery pack is plugged into the power strip, remove and store it in the small plastic headset case.

2. When all other students start arriving, they will stage their instruments near the equipment truck.  Other instruments are loaded in the following order:

o   Flugga, Melo, Tenors

o   Trombones

o   Trumpet and altos

o   Note: Clarinets and flutes take their instruments on the bus with them.

3. Student leadership will make an announcement in the band room approximately 10-15 minutes prior to inspection for equipment loading.

4. When all drumline and sousas are loaded, student leadership will tell equipment crew to load all fluga, melo, and tenors.  As more of these instruments are brought out, they are loaded directly on the truck.

5. About 7-10 minutes prior to inspection, student leadership will announce trombones to be loaded.

6. About 5 minutes prior to inspection, student leadership will announce loading of all others (trumpets and altos).

7. Student leadership will announce in the band room last call for instrument loading approximately 5 minutes prior to inspection time.

8. Once all staged instruments are loaded, student leadership will release all other members of equipment crew to get ready.  With less than one minute from time of inspection, student leadership will close truck door and lock.  Ensure the lock is applied in proper direction and door is properly closed and secured. 

9. Parent volunteer will safely storage away lift and inform truck driver that load is complete and everything is closed. 

10. Review with Chaperone leadership on what bus you are riding.  During the game you act as a parent volunteer.  See Home game step 21.

11. When the buses arrive at the away game, when it is safe, parent volunteers to exit their buses and proceed to the equipment truck.  Ensure there is adequate space for unloading all equipment on truck.  Discuss with local away game support on location available to Green band.  Directors will call for equipment crew.

12. Student leadership will unlock truck door.  Parent volunteer to operate lift to knee height position.  Parent volunteer and student leadership will discuss plan and location for equipment unload.  Student leadership will announce plan to equipment crew.

13. Truck is unloaded safely and quickly.  Normal student responsibilities are two students in the truck, 2 students on the lift, and all remaining students unloading equipment off of the lift to the locations announced.

14. Once all equipment is unloaded, the two carts will be unloaded using the lift. 

15. At this time, the directors will announce that all band members can exit their buses, collect their instrument case, unload their instument, and stage their empty cases to be loaded back onto the truck.

16. Reloading of empty cases occurs in the same sequence as loading:

o   Drumline, sousas, fluga/melo/tenor, trombones, trumpet/alto

17. Once all empty cases are loaded, store lift away, student leadership will close and lock door.  Discuss with equipment truck driver, that everything is closed up and that the equipment crew will be back with during the 4th quarter (time depending on location of truck to stadium and flow of the game but normally 7-10 minutes left in the game).

18. Depending on flow of game, normally around 7-10 minutes remaining in the game, the directors will call for equipment crew.  If time gets below this, discuss with student leadership and directors the need to call for equipment crew.  Keep in mind if it’s a running clock; meaning a team is up 30+points and the clock does not stop.  Prep for equipment crew to leave takes some time since the drumline needs to put away their drum stands and load back into cart.

19. Both carts are to be returned to the equipment truck, but the speaker and stand stay with the directors.  A parent / director will bring them back when the band marches back after the game and it can be loaded at the door of the truck by itself.

20. When at the truck, student leadership will unlock and all empty cases will be removed from the truck in the same manner as before the game.  See Home game step 26.

21. Once band arrives, equipment crew will load filled cases back into truck in same sequence as before.  Student leadership will make announcements once each group of equipment is loaded, support as necessary by watching that instruments are complete before moving to the next type and loading is done in a timely/efficient manner:

o   Drumline, sousas, fluga/melo/tenor, trombones, trumpet/alto

o   Ensure speaker and stand are loaded into truck.

22. Once all equipment is loaded, student leadership will close truck door and lock.  Store lift away and let truck drive know everything is closed.

23. Go to your bus and enjoy the bus ride back to GHS.

24. Note: Upon entry to GHS parking lot, students should start to get quiet.  When the bus hits the 2nd speed bump on the back side of GHS, the students will start to sing the alma mater.

25. Once the buses park and it is safe, exit the bus and proceed to the equipment truck.

26. The directors will release the equipment crew.

27. Student leadership will unlock truck.  Operate truck lift to knee height and students / parent volunteers will unload the truck in a timely and efficient manner.

28. All drum line equipment is placed back into storage area including harnesses.  All sousas will be stored in auditorium hallway.  Store carts in storage area and secondary lights get stored on cart by golf cart.

29. Ensure student leadership has key and lock removed from truck, close up truck door, and let driver know they are free to go.