bchorn

And despite all the varying band sizes you mentioned...all three schools have the same overall student population.

As soon as I logged off from the last post, I came across this KXAN article about central texas marching bands. And in this article, the Marble Falls band director says their goal this year was simply to make Area finals...which they did...and then qualified for state! https://www.kxan.com/news/local/central-texas-high-schools-make-history-in-state-marching-band-competition/

thank you...and I should add that Round Rock has a long tradition of excellence...advancing to state twelve times since 1979. So if a school like Round Rock isn't aiming to win state every year...then I don't think it's realistic to expect every other band in the state to have that goal as well. Realistically, I think there are only a handful of bands in the state that aim to win it all in 6A. Everyone else is aiming to advance to state and to place as high as they possibly can.

You can still have a positive mindset of doing your absolute best without having to set your goal as winning it all. In fact, a positive mindset recognizes that you can't control outcomes...all you can control is the effort you put into it. And as long as you feel like you did your best, that's all that matters. So I'm not being a debbie downer here. I'm just talking about setting realistic goals...and then next year setting higher goals than what you accomplished. And keep improving from there.

Leander ISD schools benefit from a variety of factors. * No orchestra programs so band gets additional band directors (instead of orchestra directors) * 100-200 kids that would have chosen orchestra now go to band...which increases the size of the band. * some LISD schools incorporate JV drill team into color guard for band....which increases size of the band. Would you believe that Vandergrift, Vista Ridge, McNeil, and Cedar Ridge all have about the same student populations? ~2600 students. But you couldn't tell looking at the bands...because of all the stuff LISD does to push students into band. Marching bands benefit greatly from economies of scale....so having more kids in band makes every dollar spent on band dues go a lot further. More techs...better designers...better props. And all this attracts better band directors to these schools as well.

I think you're mistaking the timeframe I'm talking about here because I'm strictly talking about within that particular season. Were the Vista Ridge kids expecting to win it all in 2016? I don't think so. I think it's perfectly normal to set your expectations higher than what you did the season before. That's human nature.

I completely disagree. I think its delusional thinking that every band goes to the state marching contest with the mindset that they are going to win state. I don't even think every band believes they have a chance at making finals. The bands with a chance to win state know who they are...and everyone else has the mindset of trying to get the highest placement possible.

Speaking of RRISD percussion, anyone know why Cedar Ridge is not attending Lonestar Classic? Westwood and McNeil are going there this year. Would love to see some more RRISD bands there.

Ah, ok. I'm not as familiar with the history which is why I said probably. Thanks for keeping me honest.

@MikeKyu: Yep...and now McNeil probably has the distinction of probably being the first band to compete in BOA San Antonio Super Regionals finals without qualifying for state that same year.

Here's a video of Saturday night's retreat. McNeil and Cedar Ridge are lined up right next to each other on the right side between the 25 and the 10. They look similar sizes to me...with maybe Cedar Ridge being a little larger. https://youtu.be/Ze_VSJfpH48?t=2261

If you watch videos of McNeil and Cedar Ridge, they both seem like similar sized bands to me.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned how well Area D did at these finals with FOUR participants! Way to go Area D! Area J had three...who also happened to be the medalists! 🤯 Area H had four...2 from 6A and 2 from 5A. And then B, E, F, and I each one a piece.

2nd-5th point spread was less than a point. 8th-11th point spread was also less than a point And 14th-23rd was only 2 points. For contrast, 13th and 14th was separated by 1.65 points. So many very deserving bands to take that final 14th spot. Thank goodness there was a tie so that we could at least get one extra deserving band into finals.

You are correct. I hadn't seen the prelims sheet. I was just assuming by how close they scored in finals.

^^^^^^^ Nailed it. Looking at the scores from finals, I think its obvious that McNeil and Seven Lakes tied for 5th place in panel 2.

There are many very deserving bands who did not make finals today. This contest is extremely stacked. I can understand if fans from bands who didn't make finals are bitter.

I've heard that a bands reputation can influence the judges at UIL...moreso than other contests. So I wonder if those histories affected the scoring at UIL.

That's fair. It must suck for McNeil to not make state for the first time because they were beat by two schools that have a long history of making state.

Can we use the fact that McNeil just beat Dripping springs and CTJ a week after UIL judges placed those two bands above McNeil as exhibit 156 of how wonky UIL judging can be?

I don't see Wakeland on the schedule. Are they a last minute addition?

Yes, the Reagan parents were annoying because they were distracting me from enjoying Reagan's show.

I would be shocked if any of the next 4 comes from panel 2. In fact, I think who ever wins that fifth spot in panel 2 will finish at the bottom of finals. Panel 1 is just that strong IMHO. The top 4 in panel 2 are strong as well.

IMHO...6th-9th is essentially a tie. So I don't think Bowie's 9th place finish means they were really 4 spots worse than Dripping Springs. also, from looking at the rankings, the judges were clearly judging within each respective half. Only in a few instances did they rank bands outside their respective half.

Welcome to the world of UIL judging where wild unexplainable judging like this happens every year. I'm really interested to see how these all the Area D finals bands do at BOA next weekend to see if their placements hold when a more consisting judging standard is applied.