UIL 6A State Marching Contest 2024 (Nov 11-12)

[TrenBS]

11 minutes ago, MoBone said:

Heeeeck no we just got rid of the LISD 3 here in area C, they’re yalls problem now. Lol. Imagine you’re  basically fighting for 1-2 state spots every year, been there done that. Now all of our bands feel like we have a better chance at this thing! 

Boyd alumni here, and we have had to deal with this exact situation since 2008, here's a little history on LISD for fun lmao. At first it was prime Marcus and Bell/Richland, 2010 had Marcus and Bell with Hebron on the rise, then Plano East in 2012, then Flower Mound became strong after 2013, then the realignment that caused areas B and C to look like how most mid-2010s band people recognize (thank god, prime Marcus, AND strong LD Bell with Hebron post-2015 would've been an absolute travesty), then things stayed consistent with Wylie as the state bubble group with replacing 5th with John horn or Sachse for 2018 and 2021 respectively.

2022 and 2023 were in general the most balanced area C (old b) had been in years since Prosper was still recovering after COVID and with Boyd hitting their massive senior class which made the top 4-7 super competitive. Then, the top 4-8 with 2023 and Wylie East moving to 6A, and now the Area J split which has all the problems of 2008 Area B 5A without the 5 bands to state policy that at least gave Richland and Haltom their representation back in the day, so the TRUE area B has had a wild ride leading up to over a decade of realignment, gerrymandering, and rise and falls of many old successful programs lol

This was more of a history lesson rather than "Boyd gets screwed by alignment boo hoo hoo", since really Boyd sucked in marching until 2014 with the director change, and never really made area finals until 2014, and tbh they've never been the potential state qualifying group of the area besides 2016 and 2022, MAYBE 2018 since they were 5th in prelims, but that easily could've been due to the bad judging. Just thought Id give some insight into how truly dominant LISD is and has been, and has really stood the test of time compared to old powerhouses like LD Bell (who are still very very good)

[utee94]

Had to miss the last bands and announcements last night in order to load trucks for the trip to Indy, but huge congrats to Hebron for the gold, and to all of the other Finalists.  Such a great few days of marching band shows.

 

[northtexasbandfan]

The last time Lewisville ISD did not earn at least one medal at this contest (including the pre-6A existence starting in 2015) … was in 2004.😯

[personofaperson]

What a crazy, crazy, crazy contest... and year.
 

Congrats to all the bands who made and preformed the State Marching Contest, not just finals. If I could pick finals bands then I would want everyone to have the chance to preform one more time, because 14 is not enough. While we did see mishaps in scores and honestly some of the biggest robberies of years to come, we have to remember:
We are all winners in life.

CONGRATS TO ALL!

[BandAlumMom]

22 hours ago, TexasEx said:

You’re in the TOP 40 bands of 250ish across the state. That’s basically the top 16% of 6A bands in the state. While easier  said than understood in the moment, these placements do not subtract from what an accomplishment your program has achieved. Congrats on a great season! 

 

21 hours ago, qwertytb12 said:

Nah there are better bands who didnt make state, its unfair to call mcneil, westwood, churchill, and Bowie worse then these bands. And thats just naming a few

I’m not sure what the purpose of this post is.  But I feel like we can acknowledge that some areas are especially competitive to make state in without dismissing the accomplishments of bands from other areas.  

[bchorn]

13 hours ago, Band1234556 said:

Trust me I know what cedar ridge Perc is like, Rick rod knows exactly how but when I was talking about front ensemble I meant by prelims, I thought finals did a good job but there is just really no way to tell exactly what was the reason they were in second unless we see separate front and battery tapes, just my opinion though, cedar ridge is indeed very good at percussion. On the topic of percussion 2 percussion programs I would’ve liked to see and hope to see in the future are Westwood and McNeil. Both did very well in percussion at tmc and both are taught by directors who are currently teaching both wgi at rhythmic force and dci at blue stars and blue knights so lots of great stuff as far as percussion 

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.

[qwertytb12]

29 minutes ago, bchorn said:

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.

Rick Rod is a judge a lonestar, I dont think it would be fair or possible for him to judge his own drumline

[qwertytb12]

30 minutes ago, bchorn said:

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.

I do agree though, RRISD percussion is definitely on the rise, all placed top half at TMC in percussion and someday in the near future I would like to see Mcneil, Westwood, Cedar Ridge, and Round Rock all at the state competition, facing off with a real percussion judge to see who the best percussion section is. I have seen all 4 of their shows and battery lots this year and its so cool to see that level of music being executed that well. I would like to see Round Rock make the trip down but also its a pretty long drive too from austin and im sure Mcneil and Westwood are going to get back at 2 am and especially with it being after San antonio and state, sometimes its just not worth all the trouble, glad to see Westwood and Mcneil going though, cant wait to see what they do after this fabolous year.

[SkooterBooter]

What a great contest!  

Everyone posting here only talks about a few very elite bands.  What about the 30+ other groups that were there?

Let's get a discussion going that gives a review of every band!  What was enjoyable or memorable about each school's performance?  What could be changed to improve the ranking?  How well was each part of the state represented? (There's more to Texas than just a few school districts.)

 

Let's hear your knowledgeable and educated opinions!!!!

[TrenBS]

2 hours ago, SkooterBooter said:

What a great contest!  

Everyone posting here only talks about a few very elite bands.  What about the 30+ other groups that were there?

Let's get a discussion going that gives a review of every band!  What was enjoyable or memorable about each school's performance?  What could be changed to improve the ranking?  How well was each part of the state represented? (There's more to Texas than just a few school districts.)

 

Let's hear your knowledgeable and educated opinions!!!!

I would say the only school who had 100% the wrong placement was Cypress Woods, because they got TWENTY NINTH in brass… they had some of the most symphonic sounds in the stadium and while after watching state I wouldnt put them in finals, they were absolutely placed way too low, they shouldve been in the 18-22 range for sure because they sounded objectively fantastic

 

Otherwise I cant really speak for the other bands outside of a subjective opinion, North Shore definitely needs some respect though cause they sounded great and the show was super enjoyable, one of my favorites from prelims for sure

[rouseglazer1]

4 hours ago, SkooterBooter said:

What a great contest!  

Everyone posting here only talks about a few very elite bands.  What about the 30+ other groups that were there?

Let's get a discussion going that gives a review of every band!  What was enjoyable or memorable about each school's performance?  What could be changed to improve the ranking?  How well was each part of the state represented? (There's more to Texas than just a few school districts.)

 

Let's hear your knowledgeable and educated opinions!!!!

i feel like north shore is extremely underappreciated a lot they sound amazing

[tubapop]

14 minutes ago, rouseglazer1 said:

i feel like north shore is extremely underappreciated a lot they sound amazing

What makes North Shore especially impressive is that it is an economically disadvantaged school (I believe title 1) with the vast majority of students considered "low income." And yet, with the disadvantages they face, they field an amazing show.

[SkooterBooter]

2 hours ago, tubapop said:

What makes North Shore especially impressive is that it is an economically disadvantaged school (I believe title 1) with the vast majority of students considered "low income." And yet, with the disadvantages they face, they field an amazing show.

Agree.  They're not the only ones.  Brownsville Hanna is on the border. 88-92% economically disadvantaged. Except for 2023, they've been a consistent state participant since I think 2006?  I been following them in the Valley - great sounds, cool show, and a giant octopus?????  LOL

[johnjoe]

7 hours ago, SkooterBooter said:

What a great contest!  

Everyone posting here only talks about a few very elite bands.  What about the 30+ other groups that were there?

Let's get a discussion going that gives a review of every band!  What was enjoyable or memorable about each school's performance?  What could be changed to improve the ranking?  How well was each part of the state represented? (There's more to Texas than just a few school districts.)

 

Let's hear your knowledgeable and educated opinions!!!!

i think duncanville had a really amazing show and didn’t deserve 32nd or 40th in content #weneedbetterjudges

[Sideswiperr]

I also didn’t think cypress woods deserved 29th? I thought that was a bit interesting.

[Sideswiperr]

23 minutes ago, Asaiah said:

I think the point of this contest is to determine a champion, not necessarily to correctly order all 40 bands perfectly.

Well yes, but we have bubble bands for a reason lol 

[tubapop]

1 hour ago, Asaiah said:

I think the point of this contest is to determine a champion, not necessarily to correctly order all 40 bands perfectly.

I disagree. Outside the top 5-6 bands, nobody has a chance of being crowned champion. Why even show up? Why isn't state just the top 5 bands? Why bother ranking the rest? It's because those bands outside the top 5 are jockeying to be better than the other bands in their peer group and are wanting to maybe move up to the next peer group. My kid's school, Bridgeland, had zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion. But could they maybe have beat Pearland like they did at BOA Webster (prelims)? Maybe Ronald Reagan? Those were possibilities, and they matter to bands outside the top 5.

[lost]

1 minute ago, tubapop said:

I disagree. Outside the top 5-6 bands, nobody has a chance of being crowned champion. Why even show up? Why isn't state just the top 5 bands? Why bother ranking the rest? It's because those bands outside the top 5 are jockeying to be better than the other bands in their peer group and are wanting to maybe move up to the next peer group. My kid's school, Bridgeland, had zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion. But could they maybe have beat Pearland like they did at BOA Webster? Maybe Ronald Reagan? Those were possibilities, and they matter to bands outside the top 5.

Well there's a problem in mindset here already, going into the contest with "zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion" is a bad mindset. 

[tubapop]

Just now, lost said:

Well there's a problem in mindset here already, going into the contest with "zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion" is a bad mindset. 

Fair point, I meant that to me, as an observer, or to the rest of the community, it wasn't realistic to hope for #1. It may have been realistic to move up to the next bracket, maybe sniffing top 5. But in the kids' minds, I agree, they ought to go in thinking they can win the whole **** thing.

[MadHornist]

1 hour ago, lost said:

Well there's a problem in mindset here already, going into the contest with "zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion" is a bad mindset. 

To be honest, it’s unrealistic for most of the bands competing in the 6A SMBC to have any aspirations of being crowned state champion or to even make it into the top ten.  Most bands lack the size or financial resources that it takes to be an elite band. For them, just making it to state marching competition is their reward.

I don’t mean to take anything away from the top bands because they have definitely earned their placement.  However, it would be nice if the 6A marching band competition was split into two divisions like football. After four years of attending the competition, it’s become obvious that after the top twenty or so, the lower ranked bands don’t get the same attention by the judges in prelims because the judges priority is to select the top bands for finals.

Would a BOA metric like 10th through 12th grade school population be a good way to divide the field, or should the divisions be decided by band size?  

Comments? 
 

[Houston213]

Wow what an exciting state competition. After the finals performances and results here are some stats and information I found interesting as a band nerd. 

- The finalist group was made up of 10 different ISD's and 7 Area champions (B, D, E, F, H, I, and J)

- this is now Hebron's second time being crowned 6A state champion (2021 & 2024) and ties Vandegrift with he most wins in 6A (2022 & 2023). 

- Hebron's scoring was pretty consistent in finals besides the 9th place ranking from the perc judge. 

- Vandergrift ties in numbers with Hebron and makes 2nd place after getting 5th at BOA SA

- Flower Mound places third one day after winning BOA SA. Could this be because their show was more BOA-oriented or did Hebron and Vandegrift just have a better run?

- 6th place Marcus took 1st place in percussion

- Coppell pushes Pearland out of top half in finals.

- Cedar Ridge returns to finals after not making state the previous year

- Seven Lakes makes their first appearance in 6A state finals after also making BOA SA finals for the 1st time

- Bridgeland proves they plan to stay in state finals for years to come with their second state finals appearance at only 8 years of existence. 

- After not making BOA SA finals, Keller manages to secure a state finalist spot in 12th place

- The finalists this year are all the same except for the addition of Cedar Ridge and Seven Lakes who replaced Waxahachie and Cy-Fair from last year. 

 

[Samuel Culper]

41 minutes ago, MadHornist said:

To be honest, it’s unrealistic for most of the bands competing in the 6A SMBC to have any aspirations of being crowned state champion or to even make it into the top ten.  Most bands lack the size or financial resources that it takes to be an elite band. For them, just making it to state marching competition is their reward.

I don’t mean to take anything away from the top bands because they have definitely earned their placement.  However, it would be nice if the 6A marching band competition was split into two divisions like football. After four years of attending the competition, it’s become obvious that after the top twenty or so, the lower ranked bands don’t get the same attention by the judges in prelims because the judges priority is to select the top bands for finals.

Would a BOA metric like 10th through 12th grade school population be a good way to divide the field, or should the divisions be decided by band size?  

Comments? 
 

It's a UIL contest, so they will and should use UIL classifications. Full stop.

And honestly, the rest sounds a lot like irritation at the really good, consistent bands being really good and consistent. 

[Bassmom27]

5 hours ago, tubapop said:

I disagree. Outside the top 5-6 bands, nobody has a chance of being crowned champion. Why even show up? Why isn't state just the top 5 bands? Why bother ranking the rest? It's because those bands outside the top 5 are jockeying to be better than the other bands in their peer group and are wanting to maybe move up to the next peer group. My kid's school, Bridgeland, had zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion. But could they maybe have beat Pearland like they did at BOA Webster (prelims)? Maybe Ronald Reagan? Those were possibilities, and they matter to bands outside the top 5.

THIS!!!  Such a great point!!  They matter!  All of these kids and the ones behind them put in countless hours…give them the respect of accurately following through or why bother?  

[MadHornist]

2 hours ago, Samuel Culper said:

It's a UIL contest, so they will and should use UIL classifications. Full stop.

And honestly, the rest sounds a lot like irritation at the really good, consistent bands being really good and consistent. 

I’m not saying that UIL should use BOA scoring.  I just appreciate how BOA groups bands into classes based on school population.  There are plenty of “really good, consistent bands” at smaller to mid-sized 6A schools, but a 250 person band from a school with 2,500 students is not realistically going to be competitive against a 300-400 person band from a school with 3,000-4,000 students.  
 

Why not create a division two tier for the smaller bands to compete in? 
 

 

 

 

[bchorn]

11 hours ago, lost said:

Well there's a problem in mindset here already, going into the contest with "zero realistic aspirations of being crowned champion" is a bad mindset. 

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.