Marching champions invited to U.S.

Press, 9 December 1981, Page 31

Marching champions invited to U.S.

The Canterbury, interDominion and former national senior champion marching team, Newmans Acme Pioneers, has been invited to the biggest parade in the United States. Consistent with the American policy of promoting the biggest and the best, the organisers of the Independence Day parade want to make it bigger than the Thanksgiving parade. To that end, two “units” from each nation “friendly” to the United States are being invited to take part, in New Zealand’s case, a marching team (Acme) and a band, not yet chosen. One of the organisers, coopted from a world-wide travel agency, visited New Zealand recently and asked the New Zealand Marching Association to make a choice. And although Acme is the inter-Dominion champion, that did not gain it the nod. The present New Zealand champion, Moller Majorettes, of Taranaki, has disbanded, and Continental Guards, the runner-up, has just returned from the world championships in the Netherlands.

Acme, third-placed, was thus the choice. The official invitation was to be issued at the Midland association championships in November, but. they were rained out. Instead, it was done over lunch, said Trish Flanagan, the instructor of the club which on Sunday won all three titles in the Canterbury championships, a feat not performed since Roy Cairns’s teams did so in the 19505. : Although the invitation was issued partly through the NZMA, Acme still had to apply for permission to travel, and this has held up fund-raising and the seeking of sponsorships. It is required to pay travel and accommodation to and in the United States, though considerable discounts available through the organisers — because of the huge numbers attending from overseas — will keep the costs down to “only” $BO,OOO.