New Proposals

[bxOxAxUIL]

So the UIL meets today in regards of the new proposals for the upcoming 2023 year. What do you think the results will be? 

[josephbandfan]

How would ya'll feel about having the state marching contest annually for every conference?

[J-Mike16]

I personally think all 5 proposals will get approved. Would like to see the 7-judge system be implemented this upcoming year however with summer band starting up next month, I don't see it happening until at least 2023 or 2024, depending on if letter E. gets approved or not.

[J-Mike16]

  On 6/14/2022 at 5:42 PM, josephbandfan said:

How would ya'll feel about having the state marching contest annually for every conference?

Expand  

I'm fine with that, however I'm not a director nor a band kid, and I know how stressful state years can get, so doing it year after year would probably have some negative effect with that.

[aer06]

  On 6/14/2022 at 5:42 PM, josephbandfan said:

How would ya'll feel about having the state marching contest annually for every conference?

Expand  

I think it would be a nice change, especially for bands who don't get the chance to compete very much outside of UIL, although there is always that extra stress that comes with state years, I believe that as time passes (if it is passed, it is) that would become less of an issue

[ViewFromTheBox]

https://www.uiltexas.org/files/policy/LC-General-Session-Packet-DRAFT.pdf

There's the link to the draft of the results of the legislative council from the UIL website (probably will be official shortly).

Only proposal that was passed was the one allowing a non-student to help with an amplification issue. The move to 7 judges for 4A was approved in concept (which I guess means we'll see it in 2023/24?). Also, the proposal on reducing the number of bands needed for an area to have a prelims and finals round was also approved in concept.

All others are being studied or monitored.

[aer06]

  On 6/14/2022 at 6:29 PM, ViewFromTheBox said:

https://www.uiltexas.org/files/policy/LC-General-Session-Packet-DRAFT.pdf

There's the link to the draft of the results of the legislative council from the UIL website (probably will be official shortly).

Only proposal that was passed was the one allowing a non-student to help with an amplification issue. The move to 7 judges for 4A was approved in concept (which I guess means we'll see it in 2023/24?). Also, the proposal on reducing the number of bands needed for an area to have a prelims and finals round was also approved in concept.

All others are being studied or monitored.

Expand  

I've never watched one of these before, so forgive me if this is an easily googled question, but what exactly does a proposal being studied/monitored entail?

[bxOxAxUIL]

  On 6/14/2022 at 6:29 PM, ViewFromTheBox said:

https://www.uiltexas.org/files/policy/LC-General-Session-Packet-DRAFT.pdf

There's the link to the draft of the results of the legislative council from the UIL website (probably will be official shortly).

Only proposal that was passed was the one allowing a non-student to help with an amplification issue. The move to 7 judges for 4A was approved in concept (which I guess means we'll see it in 2023/24?). Also, the proposal on reducing the number of bands needed for an area to have a prelims and finals round was also approved in concept.

All others are being studied or monitored.

Expand  

So what does it mean by studied or monitored? 

[ViewFromTheBox]

  On 6/14/2022 at 6:37 PM, certified-reed-eater said:

I've never watched one of these before, so forgive me if this is an easily googled question, but what exactly does a proposal being studied/monitored entail?

Expand  

That is a great question ... that I do not have the answer to.

My guess is that they'll just continue to look into it, ask directors, etc., but I'm not familiar with that terminology.

[LegitAlto1]

  On 6/14/2022 at 5:42 PM, josephbandfan said:

How would ya'll feel about having the state marching contest annually for every conference?

Expand  

It's absolutely insane that this isn't a thing. Think about it: All the other UIL events (all sports, all other fine arts, and academic events) are held EVERY YEAR for ALL classifications. 

[aaron067]

I'm going to point out that it costs our group about $60,000 just to attend the state marching contest.  Travel, lodging, food, etc. Traveling there and back in a single day is brutal and makes for a not-so-great experience for all involved, and it's just not realistic for those from far west Texas or the panhandle.  It would be great for anyone in central Texas, but I'm not sure it's in the best interest of everyone for State to be every year.

[LegitAlto1]

People can totally stop at the Region level if they don't want to participate in State. Happens all of the time! The needs of the very few should not limit the competition of the many.

[aaron067]

It's not the few...it's a large chunk of the state, and it's incredibly stressful on districts to finance an overnight trip for such a large group of people on a yearly basis.  If you were to argue in favor of having the families of the band students offset that cost...well, that's even more stressful for most band students and their parents in the state.  

Your comment simply means you fall into one of two categories: you either live within easy driving distance of San Antonio, or your band program/district/community have ample means to ensure that yearly travel isn't a big deal.  Unfortunately, that's not a majority of our state, especially given recent financial struggles in our country.

Also, and this may be a contentious statement, I feel that's it's critical we remember this is the Texas STATE marching contest, not the "Big Marching Contest at the end of the season for those with financial means".  It should be as inclusive as we can possibly make it to ensure the integrity of the amazing music education going on in this great state. 

*For what it's worth, my home band program is one that has been a long-time participant and medalist at the state marching contest and has also participated in BOA, both locally and at San Antonio.  

[vbassoon]

ideally school districts should be able to fund these trips just as much as they'd fund any other athletics, though that's seldom the case here in Texas. Either way, there are other ways around the problem, booster fundraisers, gofundme's; I know people are willing to help these programs. Plus, if they prove to be successful I'm sure it'll be worth it. 

[Rubisco]

As much as I would love having the various UIL state contests every year as a spectator, I think the cost and logistics of that would be stressful for the bands and organizers. The state marching contests are much bigger events in terms of student participation than the state events for other activities/sports. Those other state level events often simply comprise the two remaining teams in a particular conference, whereas at state marching you've got like 30+ groups each with hundreds of kids. Furthermore, the state marching contests usually feature the same bands over and over again, so many (or most) of the groups would have to pay every year.

Also, I think some administrators probably *would* place a lot of pressure on bands to participate in UIL beyond the region level and not give them the option of opting out, since UIL success reflects well on school districts, in things like the Lone Star Cup Contest, etc.

And honestly, I feel like we already pretty much have an optional yearly state level contest at BOA San Antonio, at least in the sense that most (if not all) of the best bands in the state usually attend and compete against each other regardless of class size. You can have smaller titans like Cedar Park, for example, facing off against bigger groups. I do like that UIL gives smaller groups a chance to shine, but I've also long thought that BOA SA is more of a true state contest, because it pits everyone against each other. Participating by itself doesn't quite have the cachet of "making it to state", but still.

[LostChoirGuy]

BOA San Antonio certainly gets us an idea of the best overall bands in the state, but shouldnt be thought of as a replacement state contest as lower divisions are very under-represented.

[LeanderMomma]

It wasn’t broken so why are they “fixing” it?  Every year of going to UIL SMBC is too much of an endeavor for most bands in the state. I liked it the way it was and it’s definitely disappointing to think of the ramifications there will be if this proposal passes. 

[VinoGirl]

I kind of wonder if there is a revenue driver at play here. I'm sure the state contests bring a ton of revenue to San Antonio. I'm sure they want more of it. My daughter's band just moved from 5A to 6A, and when she learned that the coming year would be another UIL state year, she had mixed emotions. Aside from the grueling work that all band kids put in on the road to state, there is pressure to succeed, conflicts with academics, and the cost. It's a lot. I'm landing in the every other year camp. BOA provides annual competition and having UIL state every other year makes it something to really look forward to when it arrives. 

[Vidal28]

School districts state wide could be allocated more funds for travel if that’s what they want smaller schools to do every year😉

I really don’t see why some people think funding for music is a problem of “the few” when there’s lots of stress that goes with even the biggest bands in the state and their fundraising efforts. No matter how small or big your ensemble is, the costs of travel, lodging etc. are still abundant and expensive, and making that a yearly expense when many groups wish to stay in their local area and keep their costs lowered with just shooting for a 1 at region and that typically being the end of their season, an area contest is also added on to that every year now, which for some groups in more widespread areas and regions also require extensive traveling as well. Not every area is DFW, Austin, SA, and Houston.

[BandFan95]

I feel like we had a discussion about this when I first got on this site. 5 million years ago, UIL was king and state was every year. Every school paid their dues and just dealt with it. That was also before big elaborate shows and when marching band focused on marching cleanly and not on putting on a production. When bands switched to focus on productions, it became EXPENSIVE for programs.  

Personally I like having state every year. Gives programs who don't do BOA more exposer to different things and music. However, I can see how doing BOA and UIL would make it very difficult for band programs every single year.