utee94

Yes D3 would obviously impact 5A Area H, with all three State medalists coming from the same Area. But I tend to agree with Danpod, I don't really see it happening. I'm also curious as to this forum's thoughts on C5, allowing broader amplification of instrumentation during the performance? I'm pretty old-school and I already have my reservations about the amplification of front ensemble, soloists, duets, and group choirs, that is currently allowed. This seems like a slippery slope to me (that we're already halfway down). I've always felt like hearing the entire unamplified ensemble playing from the field, is one of the most important aspects of the marching band demonstrating its un-aided capability. But I can tell this is a battle I've long since lost...

Didn't see a discussion on this, it was just posted to the txbands.com facebook page. Sorry if already posted elsewhere or if it should go somewhere else. The UIL Marching Band Rules Advisory Committee held their Fall Meeting this past December. Among the items discussed: - The updated Five-Judge System (Caption Based) for Area Contests will be implemented for Conference 6A/5A/4A in 2025. The rest of the items, old and new business, are proposals only: - Proposal to add caption awards at the UIL State Marching Band Championships. - Proposal to add a Guard Judge for 6A/5A State Marching Band Championships - Proposal to allow “Area Amplification” of wind instruments (Currently, only ten members can be amplified at one time).

Yes, this has been well-known among Texas marching band circles since I was in HS marching band in the 80s.

This year is a BOA-SA and UIL State 5A "Long Weekender" so it's likely we'll be grabbing a room from Friday 11/7 through Tuesday 11/11. I've stayed on the Riverwalk the past couple of years but that was just for a night or two so not too expensive. But for 4+ days, less expensive options are welcome...

I wouldn't be surprised to see CP come back to Waco this year. Due to Grand Nationals in 2024, the band took the year off from both Waco and TMC, but in 2022 attended both of them. 2023 they only did TMC so I'd expect them to do one or both in 2025.

Gonna be tough for likely state-bound 5A schools to get to Grand Nationals this year, with 5A UIL State on 11/10 and 11/11. But it'd be cool to see them go!

I loved the second half of Vista Ridge's show, including and especially the ballad. The first half-- well, I didn't love. And I think that's what kept them out of the very top tier. It was a music and show design thing for me, it definitely was NOT the kids, because they played and marched their hearts out. At BOA San Antonio we sat with a bunch of Vista Ridge parents during Finals, for the last few shows including theirs, and one of the trumpet soloist/duet player's dads was right in front of us. I'll just say it got a bit dusty in there, his eyes were watering during that portion, and consequently some dust must have gotten in my eyes too and they started watering as well. My wife took contraband video of his son playing and sent it to him afterward, and sure enough it got dusty a second time up there in the Alamodome.

Amen, brutha! I don't really want to imagine it because I don't want to think about how it would affect my kids. They already have a tremendous challenge managing their studies during the fall. They're either doing band rehearsal, or football games, or competitions, or they're completely exhausted from all of the above. It leaves very little time for proper study and preparation for their academic requirements.

Agree, as a parent of two high school marching band kids in Texas, the 8-hour rule keeps at least some sanity in the equation. I'll leave it to others to debate whether or not it puts Texas at a disadvantage vis a vis bands from states that have no such rules, I really don't care about that.

They could definitely win. Or they might not. Sure would be fun to be able to watch it actually happen, and find out for real!

I loved FloMo's show, absolutely my favorite at UIL 6A.

I don't know how much their shows cost, but I do know it costs a decent-sized Texas band $500,000 or more to make the trip to Indianapolis. That's a half a million dollars. It's jaw-dropping. That's why I find the somewhat dismissive and cavalier attitude often seen on hornrank from the midwest homers regarding the incredible difficulty and expense of such a trip, to be irritatingly condescending.

Better yet, I'd love for Avon and Carmel to come on down to San Antonio in the same year, and see how they measure up against ALL the top Texas bands.

Ha! Well, competing in the SMBC at all, is still something quite special. When I was in marching band at an AISD 5A school many many years ago, I don't recall us ever even proceeding to Area. We did win the Westlake invitational one year, which shocked the heck out of everyone, including us!

Personally, I'd love to see Cedar Park win. But the streak must inevitably end at some point. I feel extremely blessed that each of my kids has had the chance to be a part of the Cedar Park band and that each was able to contribute their part to winning those state championships. If 2024 was the last year, then they'll still have experienced something very special. And certainly, there are valuable lessons to be learned from NOT winning, as well. Regardless I'm confident that all of the kids and all of the staff in all of the bands that compete, will give it their all, and put together some amazing shows for us to enjoy. How lucky are we to live in a state that allows this kind of emphasis on the arts in general, and the marching arts specifically?

Our band missed the football team's one (and only) playoff game last week due to being out of state at Grand Nationals, but normally, yes. They might learn a new pop song or two and a quick couple of formations to march on the field, plus of course the drill team's weekly number, but the kids have been spending enormous amounts of their time working on the same show since July and honestly, IMO they need and deserve a break. They need that time back for academics, or work, or just personal decompression time.

Looks like @LeanderMomma ought to start a 2025 BOA Grand Nationals thread. There's already one for 5A UIL, so she's falling behind... 😃

I was commenting to my wife this morning that I'm already looking forward to the 2025 show reveal, which won't be happening until May! But for now I'll go out on a limb and predict that Cedar Park and Rouse and Leander will field excellent shows that should all compete for top honors. I'm also really looking forward to seeing what Friendswood and Argyle do, and then there's my absolute favorite show that didn't make Finals this year, Lake Belton. I'm really interested to see what they look like next year as well.

Immature? Why are you trying to pick a fight? I don't feel the need to disagree or argue with your opinion. Incidentally, the smile at the end of my original statement was an indication that I was (at least half) joking. See? You seem weirdly over-sensitive about this. If you're a Rouse parent or student or fan, well, congratulations on an excellent season. I saw your show many times this season and enjoyed it every time.

OK.

Yup. CP's directors are very clear in their goals-- they want to win State. Every year. BOA events are nice, and they're fun, but UIL competitions is the business they are in, and their focus will always be in that direction. With respect to CP and Rouse in 2024, though, I will point out that CP and Rouse were split 50/50 on results in BOA appearances this year. CP finished ahead of Rouse in both prelims and finals for BOA-Austin, and the reverse was true in San Antonio. I think it would have been interesting if Rouse had come to Grand Nats this year-- I believe there's a good chance another reversal would have been the result. Cedar Park turned in some scorching runs in Indy. 😀

I'll add the same thing I've pointed out before on other threads, I think some Texas band fans become accustomed to the UIL score sheets and metrics, and expect BOA to be scored in the same way. And, it's just not. Some folks prefer the UIL scoresheets and some folks prefer the BOA scoresheets but either way, when you attend a BOA event, you know how it's going to be scored. There's no sense in complaining about it, everyone knows ahead of time what the deal is.

Wow what a finish for CP, so proud of those kids, they really blew the roof off of Lucas Oil. Congrats to all the finalists, and all the participants all weekend, what a great time. Now I can't wait for the 2025 show announcement in May... 😀

I'm not Leandermomma 😀 , but yes, CP and Leander flew.

Man what a day, I'm beat. Wait it's not over? SO happy for team Texas, they sure made the finals reveal dramatic for us, didn't they? Best of luck to all the Texas schools in finals, and to everyone else as well, because these are just some unbelievable shows and they all deserve huge accolades. What a fun day. But hey... I'd be okay if we stopped referring to this as a "Texas Lite" year, yeah?