RandomBandDad

Yes the UIL dictates out of school hours to practice. Most block schools work it so there is band every day during the fall semester, not just every other day. "A" schedule has marching and "B" schedule the individual band the student is in. Non of this time counts toward the number of hours allowed as it's during the school day. It is literally an extra 40 minutes per day of practice. By this point of the season they have had an extra 35-40 hours of practice.

I find it interesting that the top 5 all run a block schedule as do many, if not most, of the top programs in the state. This allows so much extra time for preparation that other schools just don't have. To me it's amazing how well these other schools do given their time limitations compared to the block schedule schools. It almost seems like there should be a separate category. My two cents. It was a great finals, and congratulations to the bands representing area J at state. Forgive me if this topic has been beaten to death in the past, I'm fairly new.