design analysis was actually Arcadia's best caption at SD. can now see why. clean, clear, logical, correct, connected, musical. tbh expected that to be the case based on the designers and what i saw downstairs.
woodlands is def a lil more chaotic... well, in the opener at least, when the flags are kinda distracting and i dont know where to look. gaudy pink practice flags don't help. other parts are fine. def they have the kids running around more than in arcadia, which on the one hand is rlly impressive, but need to be careful w/ that, w/ clarity and timing.
find woodlands more effective overall, just a much bigger emotional impact, with plenty to tickle the brain and eyes as well. buuut the effect judges could lean hard into aesthetics. thinkin that's prob what happened b/w Carmel and Tarpon in 2023. don't really know how else to explain those effect results, when Tarpon clearly gave a better performance of a more emotionally impactful show, that clearly connected more w/ the audience. felt a lil contrarian tbh. like, c'mon man, those kids killed it!!!
either one this yr b/w A&W would be a first-time champion, which id be thrilled with. warren central would be a first-time medalist, which would also be super cool. been a looooong time since we've seen a top 3 w/o Avon or Carmel.