2024 BOA San Antonio Super Regional (Nov. 8 & 9)

[tubapop]

58 minutes ago, whitewing09 said:

Very much enjoying watching the livestream for this! Have a lot of notes, but will share only the spiciest takes.  
 

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but this seems to be the first time since 2014 that the top three weren’t all medalists in prelims. Love the unpredictability. 

This year was such a good one for show design. A lot of bands putting out shows a wide range of shows. it was honestly so hard to guess placements each band performs at such a high level, each with their own flairs. A lot of musical flexing in these shows! Very exciting.

FloMo’s show is a GE bomb and they execute it so well. With all the colors, it  evoked memories of Pop! 

 

Really really loved pearland’s show. I think it’s my favorite take on themes from Respighi. overall they’ve really glowed up in the past few years.

I feel like Rouse is the new Marian Catholic in some ways? Their ensemble size seems relatively small, but their musicality and movement are -chefs kiss- I hope that we see them at Indy soon. 

It’s so cool to see new bands in finals! 

 

 

 

 

I was disappointed by Pearland's music book, or the arrangement, anyway. It didn't take full advantage of their strengths. When you have the biggest band in the competition, which is capable of blowing the roof off and sound good doing it, and you're playing Pines of Rome - that's the arrangement you go with? It could have been so thrilling if they'd really let the brass loose.

[rouseglazer1]

12 hours ago, personofaperson said:

Last 5 Out:

14-15th: 88.950 (CUTOFF)
-------------------------------
16th. Leander: 88.300
17th. Keller - 87.900
18th. Cypress Woods - 87.650
19th. James Bowie - 87.250
19th. Waxahachie - 87.250

thanks for this! for my own convenience im gonna add the rest of the prelims results to this add some more im sure it will also help a lot of you who also have a hard time reading the score sheet

Prelims

1. Hebron HS - 95.400 (0.30 penalty 🙁)
2. Flower Mound HS - 94.850
3. Vandegrift HS - 94.750
4. The Woodlands HS - 94.250
5. Vista Ridge HS - 94.050
6. Marcus HS - 93.550
7. Rouse HS - 92.900
8. Pearland HS - 91.750
9. Cedar Park HS - 91.700
10. Coppell HS - 91.650
11.  Ronald Reagan HS - 91.050
12. Seven Lakes HS - 90.750
13.  Cedar Ridge HS - 90.600
(Tie) 14. Round Rock HS and McNeil HS - 88.950

Prelims: 16-30

16. Leander - 88.300
17. Keller - 87.900
18th. Cypress Woods - 87.650
19th. James Bowie - 87.250
19th. Waxahachie - 87.250
21st. Westlake - 87.200
22nd. Dripping Springs - 87.150
23rd. Westwood - 86.900
24th. Wylie - 86.750
25th. Cy-Fair - 86.575
26th. CTJ - 86.200
27th. Dawson - 85.900
28th. MG Johnson - 85.550
29th. LD Bell - 85.450
30th. Lake Travis - 84.850

Top 40 (in order): Southlake Carroll, Sachse, Hendrickson, College Park, TIE between McKinney and Wylie East, Winston Churchill, Forney, Rock Hill, Foster

[11BandMan11]

This was one of the highest, if not the highest, achieving and best SASR I've ever seen! "Texcellence" in the marching arts is very VERY much on display this year. Even though Leander didn't make finals, they'll still end up somewhere in the top 6-8 at BOA Grand Nats this year - just shows how insanely good the performances are, and the level of competition across the SASR. 

Favorite part of the SASR this year? Immediately after the results were announced, you could see all the kids who are friends across the different programs within Leander ISD and Lewisville ISD especially, but all the programs immediately hyping each other up. The future is bright with these kids leading the way! 

[lauren91]

2 hours ago, utee94 said:

Oh wow, that's really terrible if y'all took a penalty for that!

But I'm not surprised it happened, someone did the same thing to us during Prelims performance as we were headed into the tunnel to exit, it was really weird.  I've moved props/front ensemble equipment for prelims and finals for 2 UIL State tournaments and prelims and finals for 3 BOASA tournaments and this was the only time something like that has ever happened.  I literally had to just push props around the person trying to stop us, to make way for all of the equipment behind me.  There's only one way out and it's crazy to block the exiting band from using ANY of that exit tunnel as they're trying to move equipment off the field in order to make it in time.

 

yea it was that and then there was also miscommunication with our band parents as to how far they could go on the field and help with props, so we got deducted for that aswell. I guess they had no tag

[Tubalord11]

Good afternoon everyone! BIG congratulations to Flower Mound on the win!! I knew after seeing them at Bedford this show was going to be something real special at the end of the season, and boy was it!! While I and many others may not agree with all the results, everyone was just so fabulous last night, and it was one of the most talented group of finalist from top to bottom I’ve ever seen. I’m really excited to see how some of these programs do tomorrow for state, and for those whose season ended yesterday, congratulations on all your hard work, and thank you for entertaining us with your awesome shows all season long!! 

[Ruprecht88]

42 minutes ago, rouseglazer1 said:

thanks for this! for my own convenience im gonna add the rest of the prelims results to this add some more im sure it will also help a lot of you who also have a hard time reading the score sheet

Prelims

1. Hebron HS - 95.400 (0.30 penalty 🙁)
2. Flower Mound HS - 94.850
3. Vandegrift HS - 94.750
4. The Woodlands HS - 94.250
5. Vista Ridge HS - 94.050
6. Marcus HS - 93.550
7. Rouse HS - 92.900
8. Pearland HS - 91.750
9. Cedar Park HS - 91.700
10. Coppell HS - 91.650
11.  Ronald Reagan HS - 91.050
12. Seven Lakes HS - 90.750
13.  Cedar Ridge HS - 90.600
(Tie) 14. Round Rock HS and McNeil HS - 88.950

Prelims: 16-30

16. Leander - 88.300
17. Keller - 87.900
18th. Cypress Woods - 87.650
19th. James Bowie - 87.250
19th. Waxahachie - 87.250
21st. Westlake - 87.200
22nd. Dripping Springs - 87.150
23rd. Westwood - 86.900
24th. Wylie - 86.750
25th. Cy-Fair - 86.575
26th. CTJ - 86.200
27th. Dawson - 85.900
28th. MG Johnson - 85.550
29th. LD Bell - 85.450
30th. Lake Travis - 84.850

Top 40 (in order): Southlake Carroll, Sachse, Hendrickson, College Park, TIE between McKinney and Wylie East, Winston Churchill, Forney, Rock Hill, Foster

I personally think the prelims numbers are a much more accurate representation of the landscape than finals. 

[Baritone Legend]

Is anyone able to pull up the top thirty bands in the nation? Hornrank is stuck on 2023 for me but I really want to see

[rouseglazer1]

7 minutes ago, Baritone Legend said:

Is anyone able to pull up the top thirty bands in the nation? Hornrank is stuck on 2023 for me but I really want to see

1. Avon, IN
2. Carmel, IN
3. Vandegrift, TX
4. Hebron, TX
5. Blue Springs, MO
6. Tarpon Springs, FL
7. Flower Mound, TX
8. Broken Arrow, OK
9. William Mason, OH
10. Cedar Park, TX
11. The Woodlands, TX
12. Marcus, TX
13. Rouse, TX
14. Pearland, TX
15. Cedar Ridge, TX
16. Vista Ridge, TX
17. Ronald Reagan, TX
18. Wakeland, TX
19. Bentonville, AR
20. Coppell, TX
21. Prosper, TX
22. Bridgeland, TX
23. James Bowie, TX
24. Westlake, TX
25. Leander, TX
26. O’Fallon Township, IL
27. American Fork, UT
28. Round Rock, TX
29. Dripping Springs, TX
30. Lafayette, KY
31. James F. Byrnes, SC
32. McNeil, TX
First Out – Wando, SC

Next 10 (alphabetical order)
Brownsburg, IN
Castle, IN
Cy-Fair, TX
Cypress Woods, TX
Dobyns-Bennett, TN
Kiski Area, PA
Owasso, OK
Southlake Carroll, TX
Stoneman Douglas, FL
Vista Murrieta, CA
 

 

[Baritone Legend]

1 minute ago, rouseglazer1 said:

1. Avon, IN
2. Carmel, IN
3. Vandegrift, TX
4. Hebron, TX
5. Blue Springs, MO
6. Tarpon Springs, FL
7. Flower Mound, TX
8. Broken Arrow, OK
9. William Mason, OH
10. Cedar Park, TX
11. The Woodlands, TX
12. Marcus, TX
13. Rouse, TX
14. Pearland, TX
15. Cedar Ridge, TX
16. Vista Ridge, TX
17. Ronald Reagan, TX
18. Wakeland, TX
19. Bentonville, AR
20. Coppell, TX
21. Prosper, TX
22. Bridgeland, TX
23. James Bowie, TX
24. Westlake, TX
25. Leander, TX
26. O’Fallon Township, IL
27. American Fork, UT
28. Round Rock, TX
29. Dripping Springs, TX
30. Lafayette, KY
31. James F. Byrnes, SC
32. McNeil, TX
First Out – Wando, SC

Next 10 (alphabetical order)
Brownsburg, IN
Castle, IN
Cy-Fair, TX
Cypress Woods, TX
Dobyns-Bennett, TN
Kiski Area, PA
Owasso, OK
Southlake Carroll, TX
Stoneman Douglas, FL
Vista Murrieta, CA
 

 

Aw man, they haven’t updated since 5a state and SASR

[rouseglazer1]

Just now, Baritone Legend said:

Aw man, they haven’t updated since 5a state and SASR

yeah i forgot this is week 9, it'll be updated on tuesday.

[Baritone Legend]

2 minutes ago, rouseglazer1 said:

yeah i forgot this is week 9, it'll be updated on tuesday.

Bet

[Bdc22]

7 minutes ago, Baritone Legend said:

Bet

Should be a pretty good shakeup in some parts considering results between state and SASR.  

[Baritone Legend]

Just now, Bdc22 said:

Should be a pretty good shakeup in some parts considering results between state and SASR.  

Absolutely, cannot wait!

[1998-2018]

1 hour ago, Baritone Legend said:

Is anyone able to pull up the top thirty bands in the nation? Hornrank is stuck on 2023 for me but I really want to see

Skip the Ranking link on the front page and use the link to the forums instead. There you will find a link to the weekly update to the Ranking which also includes the usual reasonable debate, as well as a large dose of absolute nonsense. 

[bchorn]

3 hours ago, rouseglazer1 said:

thanks for this! for my own convenience im gonna add the rest of the prelims results to this add some more im sure it will also help a lot of you who also have a hard time reading the score sheet

Prelims

1. Hebron HS - 95.400 (0.30 penalty 🙁)
2. Flower Mound HS - 94.850
3. Vandegrift HS - 94.750
4. The Woodlands HS - 94.250
5. Vista Ridge HS - 94.050
6. Marcus HS - 93.550
7. Rouse HS - 92.900
8. Pearland HS - 91.750
9. Cedar Park HS - 91.700
10. Coppell HS - 91.650
11.  Ronald Reagan HS - 91.050
12. Seven Lakes HS - 90.750
13.  Cedar Ridge HS - 90.600
(Tie) 14. Round Rock HS and McNeil HS - 88.950

Prelims: 16-30

16. Leander - 88.300
17. Keller - 87.900
18th. Cypress Woods - 87.650
19th. James Bowie - 87.250
19th. Waxahachie - 87.250
21st. Westlake - 87.200
22nd. Dripping Springs - 87.150
23rd. Westwood - 86.900
24th. Wylie - 86.750
25th. Cy-Fair - 86.575
26th. CTJ - 86.200
27th. Dawson - 85.900
28th. MG Johnson - 85.550
29th. LD Bell - 85.450
30th. Lake Travis - 84.850

Top 40 (in order): Southlake Carroll, Sachse, Hendrickson, College Park, TIE between McKinney and Wylie East, Winston Churchill, Forney, Rock Hill, Foster

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.

[Samuel Culper]

So, Vista Ridge placed higher than four bands ahead of them in the latest rankings.

🤔

[Asaiah]

(If anyone needs to ignore a troll, go to Account -> Ignored Users, and add the name)

(Edited for clarity)

[Samuel Culper]

20 minutes ago, Asaiah said:

^^(If anyone needs to ignore this guy, go to Account -> Ignored Users, and add the name)

What did I do?

[Asaiah]

2 minutes ago, Samuel Culper said:

What did I do?

Not you, one of the trolls from last night made a new account and posted. Either deleted it or got insta-banned.

[Ruprecht88]

36 minutes ago, Samuel Culper said:

So, Vista Ridge placed higher than four bands ahead of them in the latest rankings.

🤔

I would expect major changes when the next rankings come out on Tuesday. General Effect Media’s too. 

[1998-2018]

What happened to Leander and Keller?

I had the pleasure of speaking with LeanderMomma shortly after the SASR Finals announcement. While it's safe to say both of us were clearly disappointed, I don't think either of us were particularly surprised. I certainly wasn't. Yes, there were questions and a desire to see the Prelims Recap, but right then it was time to acknowledge, accept, and move forward with some new faces in Finals. Leander and Keller will both be back.

So how did Keller get here?

Too much has been made of the recent significant turnover in Keller's staff. Sure, it doesn't help to lose an extremely talented Director who has been there for 28 years. Especially one who spent several of his summers while at Keller on the Cavaliers staff too. He was very instrumental in leading the Cavalier's to a string of DCI National Campionships. (Kind of helps explain Keller's hornline, doesn't it?) The longterm Assistant Director stepped up as expected and was hired as the new Director. The unexpected part was that he would suddenly resign at the end of his first marching season. A semi-plausible explanation was offered by the school district and the resigning Director, but clearly there was more to the story and full disclosure behind such an abrupt departure was not forthcoming. Questions remain. But the season had ended with Keller's second appearance in the BOA Grand National Championship Finals. So how disruptive could have been? We had weathered the storm and marched forward into concert season with a recently retired director from within the district who accepted the short-term role of Interim Director through the remaining concert season. In June, as this marching season was about to begin the program didn't have a permanent Director. The new Assistant Director, who was previously third in line and also had significant tenure with Keller was approached about assuming the position of Director. He agreed. That meant he was taking over a marching show that was primarily put in place by his two recent predecessors along with the design team.

Turnover at the top generally has other consequences and there has been some minor additional impact, but nothing outside of normal expectations. It's time to look elsewhere for root causes.

Others have pointed out that the last time Keller missed Finals at the SASR was 2014, but that's only part of the story. A couple days later Keller advanced to the Texas SMBC and haven't missed Finals since then.

ANYWHERE!

So yesterday hurt, but in my opinion, and that of others, the seeds for this outcome were planted years ago. After the 2019 show the program moved in a new direction regarding design. I don't have an explanation why, but it was the beginning of a subtle downward spiral. (Watch videos of the 2015-2019 shows versus 2020-2024 shows.) I also can't explain why there hasn't been a proper course correction, other than yesterday being the first full-blown failure. But the declining scores and placements have been there for years now. We finally reached a point where, to use the UIL terminology, content and design problems couldn't be overcome by outstanding levels of achievement. Perhaps a stronger run, like at Area B, might have delayed this outcome temporarily. But don't forget, Keller made Finals at BOA Bedford by just one tenth of a point. This bill was due and payment was going to be demanded.

So what's my point? It's time for change and to look past things that can be true. It's time to see and clearly understand the whole truth before taking impulsive action.

It starts with the design team because there is a limit to what the kids performance can do to overcome design problems. The frustrating part is that while this forum is filled with parents and students who don’t completely understand the subtle nuance of how this is what keeps them out of Finals, Keller knows better. But they still got blindly sucked into the trap. This is likely going to be a rough ride, particularly for the Director, but he's not the problem either. Hang in there Mr. Bloss. You did most of what could be done and the show got better along the way. I still believe you are the correct person to lead the program forward. You inherited this design and therefore the consequences were not your responsibility. 

But fixing the root cause is.

 

TLDR: Three Directors in two years has not been the issue, at all. Five years of declining designs finally caught up to Keller.

[Aquarius]

On 11/8/2024 at 3:35 PM, jetliner said:

putting backwards marching drill over this is attempted murder btw

I saw 2 kids eat it on that trap, I mean tarp. That seems like a questionable choice. 🫣

[band1234323432123432123432]

11 hours ago, Amusicman said:

Does anyone know what Forney’s 2.10 penalty was for?

yup 

[Origin]

2 hours ago, 1998-2018 said:

What happened to Leander and Keller?

I had the pleasure of speaking with LeanderMomma shortly after the SASR Finals announcement. While it's safe to say both of us were clearly disappointed, I don't think either of us were particularly surprised. I certainly wasn't. Yes, there were questions and a desire to see the Prelims Recap, but right then it was time to acknowledge, accept, and move forward with some new faces in Finals. Leander and Keller will both be back.

So how did Keller get here?

Too much has been made of the recent significant turnover in Keller's staff. Sure, it doesn't help to lose an extremely talented Director who has been there for 28 years. Especially one who spent several of his summers while at Keller on the Cavaliers staff too. He was very instrumental in leading the Cavalier's to a string of DCI National Campionships. (Kind of helps explain Keller's hornline, doesn't it?) The longterm Assistant Director stepped up as expected and was hired as the new Director. The unexpected part was that he would suddenly resign at the end of his first marching season. A semi-plausible explanation was offered by the school district and the resigning Director, but clearly there was more to the story and full disclosure behind such an abrupt departure was not forthcoming. Questions remain. But the season had ended with Keller's second appearance in the BOA Grand National Championship Finals. So how disruptive could have been? We had weathered the storm and marched forward into concert season with a recently retired director from within the district who accepted the short-term role of Interim Director through the remaining concert season. In June, as this marching season was about to begin the program didn't have a permanent Director. The new Assistant Director, who was previously third in line and also had significant tenure with Keller was approached about assuming the position of Director. He agreed. That meant he was taking over a marching show that was primarily put in place by his two recent predecessors along with the design team.

Turnover at the top generally has other consequences and there has been some minor additional impact, but nothing outside of normal expectations. It's time to look elsewhere for root causes.

Others have pointed out that the last time Keller missed Finals at the SASR was 2014, but that's only part of the story. A couple days later Keller advanced to the Texas SMBC and haven't missed Finals since then.

ANYWHERE!

So yesterday hurt, but in my opinion, and that of others, the seeds for this outcome were planted years ago. After the 2019 show the program moved in a new direction regarding design. I don't have an explanation why, but it was the beginning of a subtle downward spiral. (Watch videos of the 2015-2019 shows versus 2020-2024 shows.) I also can't explain why there hasn't been a proper course correction, other than yesterday being the first full-blown failure. But the declining scores and placements have been there for years now. We finally reached a point where, to use the UIL terminology, content and design problems couldn't be overcome by outstanding levels of achievement. Perhaps a stronger run, like at Area B, might have delayed this outcome temporarily. But don't forget, Keller made Finals at BOA Bedford by just one tenth of a point. This bill was due and payment was going to be demanded.

So what's my point? It's time for change and to look past things that can be true. It's time to see and clearly understand the whole truth before taking impulsive action.

It starts with the design team because there is a limit to what the kids performance can do to overcome design problems. The frustrating part is that while this forum is filled with parents and students who don’t completely understand the subtle nuance of how this is what keeps them out of Finals, Keller knows better. But they still got blindly sucked into the trap. This is likely going to be a rough ride, particularly for the Director, but he's not the problem either. Hang in there Mr. Bloss. You did most of what could be done and the show got better along the way. I still believe you are the correct person to lead the program forward. You inherited this design and therefore the consequences were not your responsibility. 

But fixing the root cause is.

 

TLDR: Three Directors in two years has not been the issue, at all. Five years of declining designs finally caught up to Keller.

Didn’t Keller get a new design team last year?? (at least visually). I know they’ve had the same arranger for foreverrr. 

[1998-2018]

1 hour ago, Origin said:

Didn’t Keller get a new design team last year?? (at least visually). I know they’ve had the same arranger for foreverrr. 

Carol Brittin Chambers is definitely not the problem. Or at least highly unlikely she is part of the root problem. Her writing of custom music specifically for Keller is a foundational part of their history of success. But it raises in interesting question. Is it possible that instructions or feedback she has been given more recently could be a contributing factor? Some of the other music selections that lack the necessary demand have certainly been an issue too in recent years. The same goes for drill style and demand choices. (But those are clearly not her area.) The problem, and therefore the solution, has been elusive because there have also been high points along the way.

For example, the recent Sweet Dreams ballad is the best they have ever done, with the possible exception of the 1999 show.

Success can be so distracting from the importance of larger trends...