UIL Texas State Championships

[mtroym]

Frank Troyka should not be able to judge prelims due to his employment in the Richardson ISD. This is an obvious conflict of intrerest.

[gabe211]

Wow the Poteet disqualification made local news.

Edited November 2, 2011 by gabe211

[drummerjoe]

Wow the Poteet disqualification made local news.

 

Well it's a big deal.

[Danpod]

Frank Troyka should not be able to judge prelims due to his employment in the Richardson ISD. This is an obvious conflict of intrerest.

 

He would be judging only one Richardson ISD program, J.J. Pearce, that does not compete in the same conference as the program he is currently in charge of. I've known Frank for a long time. Trust me. This is NOT a conflict of interest.

[Cookie_MonsterSR]

Wow the Poteet disqualification made local news.

 

I was very disappointed when i heard that the decision was final.

[mtroym]

UIL TMAA judges are not allowed to adjudicate in the region they work or reside. Why would or should Frank Troyka be allowed to judge JJ Pearce. Conference is not the issue.

I've known Frank for over 25 years. Frank Troyka is quite possibly one of the best marching band judges in the state of Texas. However, in light of the current situation, all conflicts must be resolved immediately -- real or imagined. Frankly (pardon the pun), I'm wondering why Dick Floyd has not addressed the matter.

[Donezo]

What also kind of sucks is that Poteet has to forfeit their first division rating, which will break their UIL Sweepstakes streak that's been going since the late 80s. That bit seems a bit cruel, but I guess it makes sense as the violation was at Region.

 

This got me thinking about how athletic programs are punished for participating ineligible students. If an ineligible student plays at a game, is the only consequence forfeiting the result of the game? If that's the case and it's just the regular season of football or basketball, then that team still has a shot at making the playoffs even with an extra loss. It seems like the stakes are much higher for fine arts programs, and I don't really like that.

 

I wonder if Poteet's head director will receive an official reprimand from UIL. Was that the case with The Woodlands?

[Xenon]

If an ineligible student plays at a game, is the only consequence forfeiting the result of the game?

 

Yes, that is the minimum allowed consequence. And often times, the ineligible student played in multiple games before the situation was found and so the team often forfeits multiple games.

[Shadow Weaver]

Yes, that is the minimum allowed consequence. And often times, the ineligible student played in multiple games before the situation was found and so the team often forfeits multiple games.

 

Several football teams I've known of in the past (New Braunfels Canyon last year) have had to forfeit multiple games due to an ineligible player. They were fortunate in that the games were pre-district, but that just makes oversight all the more important in Marching band. It often comes down to one competition, and I believe that the UIL is highly interested in applying the rules evenly. I don't know the exact guidelines for ineligible players, but as has been pointed out, Poteet received the minimum penalty. If the Poteet band director had discovered the oversight and then KNOWINGLY allowed his band to compete, the consequences could have been much more grave for the Poteet band.

 

That doesn't mean it doesn't totally suck for the school that "drops the ball" so to speak, however unintentional. In fact, it was very generous of the UIL to allow Poteet the opportunity to compete at Area, meet the 15 band minimum, and allow for the opportunity of an alternate band to go in their stead.

 

Poteet has been successful over many, many years at the UIL 4A Texas State Marching band competition, and this ruling should not diminish the hard work and accomplishments of the students. They're not any less performers because of this ruling, and in the face of pretty clear-cut rules, there's little room for interpretation.

 

Congratulations to the Forney band, and represent your community with class at State!

[RHSTuba]

What about 2A do you guys think Queen City will maintain dominance? Also anybody know anything about Redwater HS I've heard they are good?

[Fata1]

I'll be pulling for the Area B bands and Dripping Springs. I'd like to see Friendswood do well, too. I can't wait to see how Centennial places. They've done amazing this year.

[NickRC]

What about 2A do you guys think Queen City will maintain dominance? Also anybody know anything about Redwater HS I've heard they are good?

It's very possible for Queen City to maintain its dominance but they were beat a couple of times this season. I would watch Cameron Yoe they basically swept Area D. I picked them as my dark horse and I'm sticking with that!

[borchnork]

I'll be pulling for the Area B bands and Dripping Springs. I'd like to see Friendswood do well, too. I can't wait to see how Centennial places. They've done amazing this year.

 

 

Thanks for the support. All my hopes are for a repeat title for DS.

 

I really enjoyed seeing Southwest at Area this year. GREAT musical selections and some of that drill was intense.

[Fata1]

Thanks for the support. All my hopes are for a repeat title for DS.

 

I really enjoyed seeing Southwest at Area this year. GREAT musical selections and some of that drill was intense.

 

The success of Centennial gives me hope for what Southwest can achieve in two years. You guys made state in '07, missed in '09, and are on track to do amazing thing this year. We made it in '09 and missed it this year so hopefully Southwest will be right back in the thick of things in two more years.

[borchnork]

The success of Centennial gives me hope for what Southwest can achieve in two years. You guys made state in '07, missed in '09, and are on track to do amazing thing this year. We made it in '09 and missed it this year so hopefully Southwest will be right back in the thick of things in two more years.

 

I think something that your kids should know is that it's not that they put on a bad show, because they had a fantastic performance. It's just how ridiculous our Area is that makes it hard for bands to really shine. If you still have friends in the program, let them know not to get discouraged and to come back swinging next state year!

[dawsontrumpet2011]

This is what i see actually playing out though

 

Locks:

Centennial

Cedar Park

Dripping Springs

Dawson

Friendswood

Waxahachie

 

On the bubble:

Poteet(the only reason I put them on the bubble is because of their pending advancement. If they advance they are a lock for finals)

Lake Travis

Vandegrift

Frenship

Boswell

Newman Smith

Wakeland

Sherman

 

Who I think will make up finals:

 

Centennial

Cedar Park

Dripping Springs

Dawson

Friendswood

Lake Travis

Poteet

Vandegrift

Wakeland

Waxahachie

 

The top three spots will be a shoot out between Cedar Park, Dripping Springs, and Waxahachie. Wouldn't be surprised to see Friendswood or Lake Travis in a medal position though.

 

I'm just counting down the days till next Tuesday. It's going to be awesome.

 

 

Dawson will also be uo there in the top 5 at least. I went to their practice yesterday and it was as clean as it has ever been so it is also highly possible that they could be metal worthy.

[borchnork]

Dawson will also be uo there in the top 5 at least. I went to their practice yesterday and it was as clean as it has ever been so it is also highly possible that they could be metal worthy.

 

I really enjoy dawson's show. It says a lot that theyve done so well against friendswood this year

[froggy]

On the Poteet issue...

 

Seeing how an ineligible student can ruin the hard work of many, maybe students around the state will exert more peer pressure to ensure all students pass their classes. I get the concept of teamwork in sports, but if there was ever a team, IMO, it's in the bands. We rely on every single person in that marching band to be there to do their job. Failing a class is letting your team down. Keep your grades up and these things won't be an issue! Rules are rules, and I commend Poteet's director for fessing up. He is teaching his band that a person's integrity is more valuable than almost anything else! From what I see and hear, Poteet has an awesome program, they will come back stronger next year.

 

I also bet that most directors will screen the grades of every student associated with their programs in the future. The smart learn from the mistakes of others!

Edited November 4, 2011 by froggy

[512texan]

There is already significant precedent set forth for this decision which is based upon State Law, not UIL Rules.

 

The Woodlands experienced the same thing last year as have many other bands across the state. Poteet is not the only band to have been disqualified due to breaking State Law via an oversight and not even the only band this year.

 

And the student reportedly wasn't just setting up the sound equipment, he/she was reportedly running the soundboard during the show. But that doesn't even fully matter.

 

The State Law says that the inelligible student isn't even allowed to step on the bus. It doesn't matter whether or not they were on the band class roster, they were certainly on the bus roster and the grades check should have been done from the bus roster.

 

It is certainly a very disheartening situation for the band students, but this is not the fault of the UIL. The UIL made the correct decision per State Law.

[NewMexicoBandsman]

Several football teams I've known of in the past (New Braunfels Canyon last year) have had to forfeit multiple games due to an ineligible player. They were fortunate in that the games were pre-district, but that just makes oversight all the more important in Marching band. It often comes down to one competition, and I believe that the UIL is highly interested in applying the rules evenly. I don't know the exact guidelines for ineligible players, but as has been pointed out, Poteet received the minimum penalty. If the Poteet band director had discovered the oversight and then KNOWINGLY allowed his band to compete, the consequences could have been much more grave for the Poteet band.

 

That doesn't mean it doesn't totally suck for the school that "drops the ball" so to speak, however unintentional. In fact, it was very generous of the UIL to allow Poteet the opportunity to compete at Area, meet the 15 band minimum, and allow for the opportunity of an alternate band to go in their stead.

 

Poteet has been successful over many, many years at the UIL 4A Texas State Marching band competition, and this ruling should not diminish the hard work and accomplishments of the students. They're not any less performers because of this ruling, and in the face of pretty clear-cut rules, there's little room for interpretation.

 

Congratulations to the Forney band, and represent your community with class at State!

 

 

I always thought that the number of bands an area sends was based on its number of 1's at UIL region, rather than upon the number who actually attended area. Was I simply wrong about that?

[Xenon]

I always thought that the number of bands an area sends was based on its number of 1's at UIL region, rather than upon the number who actually attended area. Was I simply wrong about that?

Unfortunately, you were incorrect. I wish it worked that way, and I think that's the spirit of how the system was supposed to work, but unfortunately, some good bands get left at home sometimes due to this quirk in the rules.

 

The way that it works is that the number of bands that advance is purely based upon the number of bands attending the contest, not how many qualified. This means that even if 15 bands got 1's at Region, one of those bands could choose to not attend Area for whatever reason and suddenly only 2 bands advance to State instead of 3.

[quadmom]

I wouldn't count out Boswell's Band of Gold from the finals. The band has had an amazing competition season, placing 1st place at Area. The percussion section has drastically improved over the past two years and has won 1st place captions at several contests - very refreshing to hear "musical percussion". The drill is complicated and the music is quite advanced. These students are producing some amazing music. They could be a dark horse in this race!!!!! Best of luck to all the bands... I can't wait to see all the hard work everyone has put into it... Do your best and "LEAVE IT ON THE FIELD"......