The New York State Field Band Championship was held at the Carrier Dome Sunday. YNN's Erin Clarke tells us about the hard work that goes into getting to the competition.

  To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

SYRACUSE, N.Y -- It takes dedication and long hours of hard work to make it to the New York State Field Band Conference Championship.

"Matt practices all the time. He does solos, so he's always practicing that all over the house and I know he's been up since six o'clock this morning," said Shannon Trudeau of Greece.

"Most of the kids put in well over 200 hours of practice time. Instructors and the design team are in well over 500 hours," said Championship Show Coordinator, Craig Elwood.

Behind these high schoolers are family and friends who make the trek from near and far to see the elaborate show put on.

"Oh they're fantastic," said Carolyn Michik, who came to watch her daughter perform with Rome Free Academy High School.

For many of these bands it's the culmination of their season, but being a part of the band and competing in the state competition is about more than winning. Parents say they see a change in their kids

"They're more attentive. They're more focused. They're focused and they could concentrate on more and they even do better in class," said Angela Ennever of Brentwood.

Those skills could take these youngsters a long way.

In the end, organizers say everyone is a winner.

"These are great kids doing great things and all making their communities proud of them. You'll see a lot of camaraderie today," said Elwood.

The bands competed in six divisions. Results from the competition will be available on the New York State Field Band Championship website, www.nysfbc.org.