aaron067

I'm going to point out that it costs our group about $60,000 just to attend the state marching contest. Travel, lodging, food, etc. Traveling there and back in a single day is brutal and makes for a not-so-great experience for all involved, and it's just not realistic for those from far west Texas or the panhandle. It would be great for anyone in central Texas, but I'm not sure it's in the best interest of everyone for State to be every year.

Rankings were all over the place.

Results are at 4:30.

Waxahachie has another 45-50 seconds of their closer to add. Some is learned, but there's no stopping point until the end, so they didn't perform any of it for the DMI. It'll be on the field for Area next week.

If it's not based on data or historical patterns, then it's just wishful thinking. If that's the case, please just say so in your post. I didn't mean to sound biting, but there seems to be a lot of baseless conjecture this year.

Based on what exactly? BOA results don’t indicate Area results at all, and, even if they did, Waxahachie was clearly ahead of Carroll in music scores at BOA…even without the last 2 minutes of their show on the field. Visual is what tanked their score two weeks ago, and that’s specifically related to their design issues this year; however, for a band that hasn’t missed a State Finals in over a decade, I wouldn’t expect Waxahachie to show up to Area and be sloppy. They know how to play the UIL game better than most.

Waxahachie has been dealing with some pretty significant design team issues this season. They knew going into DFW that some things were going to get nailed. The staff is retooling after meeting with the judges, and the kids are working hard to make changes that will hopefully see them come out at Area and the two SA contests in a way that makes a positive and memorable impact. Only time will tell how that translates into scores and placement.

Area B: Waxahachie 1 1 1 1 1 Coppell 2 2 3 2 2

Not your fault unless you posted the video, right? On another note, CTJ is looking amazing. Cleanest visual execution I've ever seen from them.

From one month ago and mislabeled, unfortunately.

Waxahachie had a virtual camp in June, so very little was done in the way of actual marching instruction. July had two morning-only marching fundamental rehearsals, and August camp was also only outdoor marching fundamentals with virtual sectionals in the afternoon. We are fortunate to be in an area that is less impacted by COVID than many of the more urban/suburban areas, and we have great support from our district and community; however, do not make the mistake of assuming that we are not working with handicaps just like everyone else. This has definitely been a challenging year in many different ways, but we are committed to creating the most normal (but exceptionally safe) experience for our students as possible within the bounds allowed by the pandemic. There is a video floating around somewhere of our show reveal for this year. We decided to move forward with Plan A, though there have been some alterations to the final product. The show is title Cosmic Renewal and features music from The Planets and Imagine. Hopefully the message of hope and unity strikes a chord with our audiences in these trying times. : )

No, I meant Legacy was going strong at that point in time. I wasn't there, but directors have a verification period after they see the scores and rankings before anything is announced. If Mr. Fugett or a director from any other program suspected something was amiss, they had ample opportunity to have it checked out. I suspect Area B just suffered from a bad judge or two that year. Unfortunately, it happens more often than it should.

Actually, Lake Ridge was first in prelims from what I remember. Not sure about Legacy's placement, but that was definitely a point in time when they were going strong.

6A Area B will be December 5 at Little Elm.

Waxahachie is not attending GN. They have financial and community concerns that have kept them out of a super regional to date, but that could change in the next year or two due to recent changes in administration within the district.

All State jazz results were released a week ago, so I’m assuming he made one of those two ensembles.

Alright...if it makes you feel better, you can have the last word. You obviously have a greater understanding of music education and competitive marching band than I do.

I can promise you that Hebron not being consistently clean at this point in the season has everything to do with the difficulty of their show, which was designed to peak two weeks later than Marcus. So, yes, it is related to the overall pacing of the season. Hebron just needs more time with their program. Secondly, I saw both finals performances and am well aware of why each band ended where they did, but I felt no reason to elaborate on any critical thoughts I may have had. Instead, I chose to focus on the positives and the potential for each band's final performance this season. Finally, I have access to the sheets and can tell you that two judges in prelims also had Marcus ahead in music. They both had Hebron in third, one with Keller in first and the other with Waxahachie in second. So, while their finals run may have had some clarity issues in their closer, it seems the judges also found some issues in their prelims run, as well. My point is that I trust their staff will guide those students through one of the hardest shows out there into what will eventually be some some of the most memorable performances at Grand Nats.

The DMI does use the traditional UIL Area/State scoring system, but to say the judges were all looking for easy, well-executed shows is not respectful of what the Marcus Band has achieved with their show this year. There simply isn't a detail left untouched anywhere in their entire performance, and almost all of it is performed at an extremely high level. Hebron, on the other hand, is pacing itself for a season that's two weeks longer. They may still not be able to top Marcus at San Antonio, but I'm sure those students will pull it together for several amazing performances in Indianapolis. As an aside, at least three of tonight's judges are heavily involved in BOA...two of them have bands that have won a regional this year, and the other often heads up BOA judging panels. I would think they appreciate the nuances and BOA influences in all of the shows tonight.

Is anyone having trouble with no sound on playback with FloMarching?

Actually, Prosper ISD is planning on having 4(!) complete high schools by 2024 or 2025.

The Cadets show reeks of politics, both internal and polarizing cultural issues. Why, oh why, do they feel the need to bring those things onto the marching field?

That's a good question. Unfortunately, I can't answer it with any certainty. My best guess is that people have been wanting to add judges to the state contest for years, and this is a way to do that while making the sheets more specific and the massive gaps in rankings less likely. I also dislike that the three levels of contests all have different sheets, but it's possible that finding 6 qualified judges for all the areas may be a but of a challenge. Also, they're looking at making the Area contest a yearly thing in order to allow band programs the ability to shoot for a UIL championship on non state years without the expense of traveling to state. Unfortunately, the weekend they're looking at is BOASA.

Yes. A committee has come up with and disseminated new forms with a survey to all band directors around the state. The way the survey is worded makes it seems like everything is still up for change if needed. Essentially, the region marching sheets would look pretty similar to the way they always have, but design/difficulty are given a *slightly* more prominent focus. I believe Area is also very similar, but design and demand are given even more credence on each of the sheets, and the term "movement" seems to have replaced "marching" in many instances. There could be more differences, but it's been a few weeks since I looked at them. State sheets are where the biggest changes lie. Essentially, they've proposed something that's more akin to DCI judging: a WW sheet, a brass sheet, a percussion sheet, an individual visual sheet, an ensemble visual sheet, and a design sheet. Each sheet includes content and achievement categories, and all are assigned 200 points. It looks like a separate judge would be responsible for each caption, but that wasn't made clear in the survey. Like I said, it's been a few weeks, so I could have gotten some details wrong...potentially some very important details, but that's what I remember right now off the top of my head.