2022 6A UIL State

[Dallas Hobbs]

1 hour ago, Rubisco said:

Wow! Vandegrift with the upset here. (I'm just dropping back in now that my election obsession is subsiding. 😄) This has really been a surprisingly competitive season at the very top. Ultimately, I think it's a healthy thing to have a lot of bands at a similar level of awesomeness.

No 6A group has defended the state title since 2014. It’s super competitive and that’s what makes it so much fun to watch! 

[1998-2018]

1 hour ago, BandFan59 said:

This is likely an effect of UIL implementing the top half-bottom half split. Looking at the finals recap last year you could see there was a lot more range in the ordinals bands received from the judges while this year, top half bands were almost exclusively ranked between 1-7 and bottom half bands 8-14. Probably something we should expect to see in the future as well, just seems to be a natural outcome of the split.

With just one UIL data set it seems early for drawing conclusions regarding what is cause versus effect, but it’s an intriguing possibility that bears watching. It does make me wonder if the same thing happened to preliminary scores when BOA implemented the top/bottom split in 2016. We know there has been very little movement across the BOA top/bottom split so adding that data set might be a helpful expansion.

[gemmit48]

I noticed that during prelims, there was a yellow countdown clock running  in the Alamodome during each performance (the remaining time made it easy to tell whether the bit-that-sounds-like-a-finale really was.) During finals, the clock stayed at 0 after the pre-show countdown.  Are the timing rules different for finals? Or was that a mistake?

(Speaking of mistakes, the stadium announcer saying that Reagan was there for prelims on Tuesday was super awkward, especially given the electronics fiasco.)

[Dallas Hobbs]

39 minutes ago, 1998-2018 said:

With just one UIL data set it seems early for drawing conclusions regarding what is cause versus effect, but it’s an intriguing possibility that bears watching. It does make me wonder if the same thing happened to preliminary scores when BOA implemented the top/bottom split in 2016. We know there has been very little movement across the BOA top/bottom split so adding that data set might be a helpful expansion.

It may just be coincidence. At State, there was another shift in 2018( Leander went from 8th to 5th, and CTJ went from 4th to 7th). Another in 2014( CTJ 7th to 3rd, Flower Mound 3rd to 9th). However there was no shift in 2016. Also, interestingly, the top 6 placements made no changes in placement in 2016. 

[Dallas Hobbs]

On 11/8/2022 at 7:05 PM, lost said:

Funnily enough, this is the second time the 4th placing band at San Antonio has gone on to win the state title.

It’s actually the third. Marcus accomplished the same feat in 2014. 

[itsstephenyo]

8 hours ago, gemmit48 said:

I noticed that during prelims, there was a yellow countdown clock running  in the Alamodome during each performance (the remaining time made it easy to tell whether the bit-that-sounds-like-a-finale really was.) During finals, the clock stayed at 0 after the pre-show countdown.  Are the timing rules different for finals? Or was that a mistake?

(Speaking of mistakes, the stadium announcer saying that Reagan was there for prelims on Tuesday was super awkward, especially given the electronics fiasco.)

I believe the timing rules are different for finals. I know Hebron's show actually ran a tad bit over 8min; thus, they typically started the show slightly before the actual designated start time, but they didn't have to do so in finals. 

[SpudMuffin]

I am absolutely blown away by all of the bands at the State contest! 

These discussions tend to only revolve around just the top bands at the contest.  What about the mid-pack bands? What about the bands  that are just happy to make the show?

Can someone give a critique (strengths & weaknesses) of all 42 bands?  All of the bands worked hard to entertain the crowd!

[Dave609]

2 hours ago, SpudMuffin said:

I am absolutely blown away by all of the bands at the State contest! 

These discussions tend to only revolve around just the top bands at the contest.  What about the mid-pack bands? What about the bands  that are just happy to make the show?

Can someone give a critique (strengths & weaknesses) of all 42 bands?  All of the bands worked hard to entertain the crowd!

Most of the prelims stuff is towards the beginning of this topic, where people give their input on those who participated. Evert Band had amazing runs, and this was one of the best years for Marching Band!

[BandDad4]

After listening to judges commentary.... man, their useless. Beautiful, great, fantastic... 38th

[SpudMuffin]

24 minutes ago, Dave609 said:

Most of the prelims stuff is towards the beginning of this topic, where people give their input on those who participated. Evert Band had amazing runs, and this was one of the best years for Marching Band!

Most of the stuff at the beginning of this topic was either complaining about the Live Feed, a ton of back and forth discussion about usual finalists bands in each block, more useless discussion about BOA and GN that belongs in a different thread, and three pages of wasted time about recaps.  Very little discussion about other performing bands.

Just trying to get a discussion going that is inclusive about everyone, instead of just 5 or 6 schools. There were several very entertaining and well performed shows from schools that never receive any mention.  

[tamago1]

Ok this might've been passed, but I'm still not understanding how Cy-Fair was placed last in brass, yet days before at BOA SA they get 7th in music ensemble. Really shows you how much can vary contest to contest.

[Vidal28]

22 hours ago, itsstephenyo said:

I wanna say it felt like that, too. I didn't attend the SMBC finals but at Super Regionals, TWHS, Reagan, Hebron, Vandegrift, and Vista were kind of a cut above the rest. 

Agreed, it’s interesting though that the cut above for the top 5 is a 9.5+/10 and then the next several bands are still at a 9.0-9.3/10 still. You can still eek out how the bands seperate themselves though regardless haha

[crunchycookie3]

On 11/9/2022 at 5:07 PM, itsstephenyo said:

I wanna say it felt like that, too. I didn't attend the SMBC finals but at Super Regionals, TWHS, Reagan, Hebron, Vandegrift, and Vista were kind of a cut above the rest. 

Hebron always impresses me by being able to join the ranks of these schools despite being at a *relative* economic disadvantage compared to the rest of the finals programs. Good for them! Still, I would love to see programs like Bell, Cy-Fair, or Duncanville push into this tier as well. Time will tell!

[DallasFan]

11 hours ago, itsstephenyo said:

I believe the timing rules are different for finals. I know Hebron's show actually ran a tad bit over 8min; thus, they typically started the show slightly before the actual designated start time, but they didn't have to do so in finals. 

UIL tells the finalists bands that they won't be running the clock to ensure everyone having the best performance they can. No penalties given essentially. 

[Vidal28]

On 11/9/2022 at 11:59 AM, 1998-2018 said:

That’s an excellent perspective!

With the “It’s always the same bands.”contingent seemingly as dug in and frustrated as ever about the SASR and SMBC, I went back to review the other qualifiers and finishing order from the first time (1998) our program made Finals at a BOA Regional Competition.

1. Spring H.S.

2. Winston Churchill H.S.

3. L.D. Bell H.S.

4. The Woodlands H.S.

5. Seguin H.S.

7. Comeaux H.S.

6. Pflugerville H.S.

8. Cy-Fair H.S.

9. Fossil Ridge H.S.

10. Keller H.S.

Just two of these bands, The Woodlands and Keller, were also in this years SASR Finals. The year previous to this first time Finals appearance Keller finished in 17th place.

For additional comparison I also reviewed the Finalists for the 1998 and 1999 SMBC. Nobody from the 1998 SMBC Finals was also in the 2022 SASR or SMBC. Coppell and Keller are the only Finalist from the 1999 SMBC to also be in the 2022 SASR and SMBC Finals. Again, just two bands. That’s hardly “Always the same bands.”

Admittedly, 1998/1999 was a long time ago, but that’s kind of the point. Making Finals at these competitions can be a long and difficult process, and making Finals constantly is even harder, but turnover does happen regularly. Take the time to review other shorter timelines and you will find results can come in streaks with bands making 4,5,6,7+ consecutive Finals appearances or, more likely, spreading them intermittently across 10+ years, but there will be new names too. (Welcome to the club, Waxahatchie!!!)

If your kid doesn’t make Finals during their four years, take pride in the improvement they were a part of and celebrate the foundation they are building for the kids that follow them.

Like peshbandkid did.

Keep The Faith

It’s also important to remember that some groups weren’t always in the highest classification(be it 4A, 5A, or 6A currently) up until very recently. Bands like Waxahachie like you mentioned already having a long history of success at UIL, just in the 2nd highest classification. Bands like Vista, Vandy, Cedar Ridge have competed in the highest classification for not too long now and they are all either state champions or medalists now in 6A. You could insert a Rouse, Leander, Cedar Park, Wakeland and several others competing now in 5A into 6A competition and they could all contend for a finals spot at state with all the 6A groups, it’s only “a lot of turnover” simply due to the large volume of groups, and not really because bands are inconsistent or have “fallen off” as some doomers like to say sometimes😂 So many are performing at a high level, and that number hasn’t ever shrunk but has only continued to grow, which we should all see as a great thing for marching band here in the state, as well as how these schools set their students up for success in the second part of the fall and concert season in the spring, it’s very exciting!

[Vin]

On 11/9/2022 at 2:53 PM, TenorSaxMan16 said:

Does anyone have a meaning on what Hebron's show was? I understand it was something with a radio station but like also the ocean? If I'm wrong just tell me lol

It's basically them surfing the radio waves and moving back in time, starting with modern pop (The Weeknd) moving back towards Earth, Wind, and Fire, then reaching classical with Vivaldi's Summer and then Come Sail Away to close. The prop changes indicate a new station. Basically, an "odyssey" through the eras of music, with the Greek Odyssey tying in.

[Dallas Hobbs]

13 hours ago, SpudMuffin said:

I am absolutely blown away by all of the bands at the State contest! 

These discussions tend to only revolve around just the top bands at the contest.  What about the mid-pack bands? What about the bands  that are just happy to make the show?

Can someone give a critique (strengths & weaknesses) of all 42 bands?  All of the bands worked hard to entertain the crowd!

I won’t be able to do all of them but I do wanna point out how the woodwind and brass feature in Marcus High school’s opener has improved. I remember at the HEB contest in early October listening to the woodwinds do those 16th note runs and realizing that at the end of those runs when they play the sustained note it wasn’t always perfectly in tune, but over time they made terrific improvements to that. And with the brass multiple-tonguing feature it wasn’t as clean at HEB as it was when I heard it again in contests later in the season and at state. Really happy to see (or should I say hear?) one of my favorite groups’ performers get better over time! 

[G'townPIT]

I subscribed to NFHS to rewatch finals, the audio is pretty muffled on the low end and the battery is mostly indecipherable. Anyone else have this experience? Trying to figure out how to rewatch BOA SA finals, does box5 have that uploaded? 

[BandFan59]

43 minutes ago, G'townPIT said:

I subscribed to NFHS to rewatch finals, the audio is pretty muffled on the low end and the battery is mostly indecipherable. Anyone else have this experience? Trying to figure out how to rewatch BOA SA finals, does box5 have that uploaded? 

Box5 does not, but if you go into the BOA SA thread on the last page there are links to all of the finals performances

[Dallas Hobbs]

State Prelims Performances

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEXQ7jmWIK-Cf4DaASrtDbE9dmvGkH5Ca

 

State Finals Performances

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEXQ7jmWIK-D0C9Gpt4P9QcYkso7mPnqo

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Dallas Hobbs

[G'townPIT]

Much obliged 

[lost]

On 11/10/2022 at 1:54 AM, Dallas Hobbs said:

It’s actually the third. Marcus accomplished the same feat in 2014. 

That’s interesting!

I guess 4th place it the spot to be if you want a shot at UIL a championship.

[Dallas Hobbs]

11 hours ago, lost said:

That’s interesting!

I guess 4th place it the spot to be if you want a shot at UIL a championship.

Another fun fact is that every biggest conference state year since 2006 the BOA SA champ has medaled at state. 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Dallas Hobbs

[itsstephenyo]

10 hours ago, Dallas Hobbs said:

Another fun fact is that every state year since 2006 the BOA SA champ has medaled at state. 

How many bands have won BOA SA and State in the same year 

[Dave609]

1 hour ago, itsstephenyo said:

How many bands have won BOA SA and State in the same year 

These are the bands that won both BOA SA and State in the Same Year

1994- Spring HS
2000- L.D. Bell HS
2010- Marcus HS
2012- Marcus HS
2016- Flower Mound HS
2021- Hebron HS