2023 BOA Grand National Championships (Nov. 9-11)

[yayband914]

OFFICIAL LINEUP AS OF 07/13/2023

Confirmed (89):
Archbishop Alter H.S., OH
Archbishop Carroll H.S., OH
Arlington H.S., TN
Avon H.S., IN
Avon H.S., OH
Bartlett H.S., TN
Beechwood H.S., KY
Bellbrook H.S., OH
Bentonville H.S., AR
Blue Springs H.S., MO
Blue Valley H.S., KS
Brownsburg H.S., IN
Cabell Midland H.S., WV
Carlisle H.S., OH
Carmel H.S., IN
Carroll H.S., IN
Center Grove H.S., IN
Centerville H.S., OH
Chattahootchee H.S., GA
Christian Academy of Louisville, KY
Christian County H.S., KY
Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX
Clinton-Massie H.S., OH
Collinsville H.S., IL
Columbus Schools, IN
Dartmouth H.S., MA
Dripping Springs H.S., TX
East Clinton H.S., OH
Estill County H.S., KY
Fairfield Jr./Sr. H.S., IN
Finneytown H.S., OH
Fishers H.S., IN
Grayson County H.S., KY
Green Hope H.S., NC
Greenon Jr./Sr. H.S., OH
Hamilton H.S., OH
Hebron H.S., TX
Hickory H.S., VA
Homestead H.S., IN
Huron Valley, MI
James Bowie H.S., TX
John Hardin H.S., KY
Keller H.S., TX
Lake Central H.S., IN
Lake Hamilton H.S., AR
Lawrence Township, IN
Lebanon H.S., OH
Logan Elm H.S., OH
Marian Catholic H.S., IL
Meade County H.S., KY
Miamisburg H.S., OH
Milford H.S., OH
Monrovia H.S., IN
Morton H.S., IL
Mount Pleasant H.S., MI
Munster H.S., IN
Nation Ford H.S., SC
Neosho H.S., MO
Nordonia H.S., OH
Norton H.S., OH
Ohio County H.S., KY
Orleans Jr./Sr. H.S., IN
Pearland H.S., TX
Pinecrest Academy of Nevada Cadence, NV
Piqua H.S., OH
Plymouth-Canton E.P., MI
Rockford H.S., MI
Round Rock H.S., TX
Russell Independent H.S., KY
Shawe Memorial H.S., IN
Southwestern H.S., KY
St. Clairsville H.S., OH
Station Camp H.S., TN
Sullivan H.S., MO
Taylor H.S., OH
The Woodlands H.S., TX
Tippecanoe H.S., OH
TL Hanna H.S., SC
Tri County H.S., MI
Tri-Valley H.S., IL
Walled Lake Schools, MI
Walter E. Stebbins H.S., OH
Warren Local H.S., OH
West Carrollton H.S., OH
William Howard Taft H.S., IL
William Mason H.S., OH
Wilmington H.S., OH
Woodford County H.S., KY
Worthington Kilbourne H.S., OH

[Vidal28]

On 7/14/2023 at 12:43 AM, Rubisco said:

All in all, I'm hoping that this event ends up more like 2019 than 2021 for our attending TX bands -- at least in terms of performance near the top. Actually, a 2003 situation would be even more ideal. We're 20 years overdue!

Hebron is mighty consistent, and even more so with their placements at the top lately, so you probably won’t see them falling to a 6th, 7th finish like some groups traveling on an “off” year have. The Woodlands has some great momentum, and I see them contending for medals, super solid 4th place in 2021 and being the best of that year’s Texas contingent bodes well. I’m really curious to see what the ceilings of CTJ, Round Rock, and Keller could be and what they do with their shows that could get people asking if they all merit a top half showing in finals. It’s gonna be hard with the Indiana bands, Mason, Blue Springs and other Texas contenders right there, of course. It’ll be very dependent on the show for them how far they’re able to go. In 2019, Texas pushed CARMEL out of the podium…Avon hasn’t placed below top 3 in 15 YEARS!! Will this group be able to do that to one of the Indiana bands again? We’ll see!

[packwick]

MotherBoy BOA Grand Nats 2023 will be happening, been a loooong time since we've done it. prob some of semis and all of finals, well maybe not the retreat, will wanna gtfo before the flood. besides i know that the retreat won't be as good as the one w/ the real authentic God Bless The USA singer lol.

great seats for finals!!!

[LeanderMomma]

7 hours ago, packwick said:

MotherBoy BOA Grand Nats 2023 will be happening, been a loooong time since we've done it. prob some of semis and all of finals, well maybe not the retreat, will wanna gtfo before the flood. besides i know that the retreat won't be as good as the one w/ the real authentic God Bless The USA singer lol.

great seats for finals!!!

I’m so excited for you and your mom!  I drag my youngest daughter along with me whenever I can. 😁

[packwick]

13 hours ago, LeanderMomma said:

I’m so excited for you and your mom!  I drag my youngest daughter along with me whenever I can. 😁

hope u get all the MotherGirl BOA your heart desires!!!

[LeanderMomma]

1 minute ago, packwick said:

hope u get all the MotherGirl BOA your heart desires!!!

Unfortunately she’s all growed up now and can’t take off of work to travel with her momma much anymore but we usually at least get to go to BOA San Antonio together, and occasionally GN. If Leander ever goes back to Indy, I’ll be bugging her to go with me for sure!

[LeanderMomma]

Hey y’all, if you follow Indiana bands Avon and Carmel like you should (especially this year with some of our Texas best bands going up against them at GN), you need to fire up your Box5 subscription next weekend because you will have the rare EARLY opportunity to see both on September 16 at BOA Louisville. Here’s the schedule (subtract an hour for Central Time). Don’t miss it!
 

PRELIMS SCHEDULE AS OF 08/15/2023
(All times are in Eastern):

8:00 - Harrison County H.S., KY
8:15 - Daviess County H.S., KY
8:30 - West Clermont H.S., OH
8:45 - Finneytown H.S., OH

BREAK

9:30 - Jackson County Comprehensive H.S., GA
9:45 - DeSoto Central H.S., MS
10:00 - William Henry Harrison H.S., IN
10:15 - Woodford County H.S., KY
10:30 - Oak Hills H.S., OH
10:45 - Hamilton H.S., OH
11:00 - South Oldham H.S., KY
11:15 - Decatur Central H.S., IN

BREAK

12:15 - Castle H.S., IN
12:30 - Campbell County H.S., KY
12:45 - Hamilton Southeastern H.S., IN
1:00 - Avon H.S., IN
1:15 - Ravenwood H.S., TN
1:30 - Lakota East H.S., OH
1:45 - Lawrence Township, IN

BREAK

2:30 - Meade County H.S., KY
2:45 - Floyd Central H.S., IN
3:00 - North Hardin H.S., KY
3:15 - Center Grove H.S., IN
3:30 - Anderson County H.S., KY
3:45 - Franklin Central H.S., IN
4:00 - Carmel H.S., IN
4:15 - EXH. Univ. of Louisville Cardinal Marching Band

[Tubalord11]

1 hour ago, LeanderMomma said:

Hey y’all, if you follow Indiana bands Avon and Carmel like you should (especially this year with some of our Texas best bands going up against them at GN), you need to fire up your Box5 subscription next weekend because you will have the rare EARLY opportunity to see both on September 16 at BOA Louisville. Here’s the schedule (subtract an hour for Central Time). Don’t miss it!
 

PRELIMS SCHEDULE AS OF 08/15/2023
(All times are in Eastern):

8:00 - Harrison County H.S., KY
8:15 - Daviess County H.S., KY
8:30 - West Clermont H.S., OH
8:45 - Finneytown H.S., OH

BREAK

9:30 - Jackson County Comprehensive H.S., GA
9:45 - DeSoto Central H.S., MS
10:00 - William Henry Harrison H.S., IN
10:15 - Woodford County H.S., KY
10:30 - Oak Hills H.S., OH
10:45 - Hamilton H.S., OH
11:00 - South Oldham H.S., KY
11:15 - Decatur Central H.S., IN

BREAK

12:15 - Castle H.S., IN
12:30 - Campbell County H.S., KY
12:45 - Hamilton Southeastern H.S., IN
1:00 - Avon H.S., IN
1:15 - Ravenwood H.S., TN
1:30 - Lakota East H.S., OH
1:45 - Lawrence Township, IN

BREAK

2:30 - Meade County H.S., KY
2:45 - Floyd Central H.S., IN
3:00 - North Hardin H.S., KY
3:15 - Center Grove H.S., IN
3:30 - Anderson County H.S., KY
3:45 - Franklin Central H.S., IN
4:00 - Carmel H.S., IN
4:15 - EXH. Univ. of Louisville Cardinal Marching Band

I plan on watching finals, can’t wait!

[Hard Core Band Fan]

Yep, just renewed my subscription yesterday. Went up $15 this year, although they did send me a 15% discount code.

[LeanderMomma]

1 hour ago, Hard Core Band Fan said:

Yep, just renewed my subscription yesterday. Went up $15 this year, although they did send me a 15% discount code.

Same!  I also hope they will do the next day replay like FloMarching has begun doing with WGI and DCI!

[ReveriesOp24]

On 2/14/2023 at 12:56 PM, bancl said:

Early thoughts on the confirmed Team Texas bands:

Locks for Finals:

Hebron - Championship Contender.  If their visual product can match their incredible players, the sky is the limit!

Woodlands - Always innovative, world-class guard.  Probably a lock for the top half if they continue with the style from the last couple of seasons.

CTJ - Will be interested to see how they do with a new director, but a finalist until they prove they aren't.

Round Rock - Breakout year in 2022.  Always incredible percussion, but the rest of the band stepped up to join them.  Expect great things from them!

Keller - Had a "down" year in 2022, and still made finals at BOA SA and 6A State comfortably.  One of the best playing groups in the nation.  If they bring a great product, they could really make a statement.

High Bubble:

Pearland - Has really been on the rise the last few years.  Hasn't made the jump into the "lock" category for BOA SA and UIL State, which is what gives me pause.  However, they will play and move really, really well, and depending on what the national representation is could absolutely knock off a band from another state and make it in!  

Mid Bubble:

James Bowie - Hasn't made BOA SA finals since 2019 or UIL 6A finals since 2014... finished just behind Pearland for the last spot at the Super Regional last year.  In another year, they would be a lock but there may be too many heavy-hitters for them to break in.  That being said, they did finish 3rd at the Orlando regional last year so we know their product travels!  

Semi-Finalist:

Dripping Springs - They have always played well, and will likely place high in semis.  Again, in another year they would be in the mix for finals.

Are we talking about Arlington Bowie or Austin Bowie?

[Tubalord11]

46 minutes ago, ReveriesOp24 said:

Are we talking about Arlington Bowie or Austin Bowie?

Austin 

[gregorydf01]

In a email today from General Effect Media they listed all the States with the number of Bands by state attending BOA competitions in 2023 (665 Bands total).   I thought it would be interesting to find the weighted midpoint location in the US for the attending Bands.

I used the Website "geomidpoint.com" and plotted the Lat. and Long. for each state capitol city with the weight being the number of attending Bands in that State.

I found  the closest Major Cities to the midpoint are Little Rock & Memphis.  The midpoint itself is the town of Melbourne Arkansas. 

My main question on this is for LeanderMomma as I think this is not far from her home.   Was the location you selected for your move out of Texas planned based on being close to the center of the BOA Band World? 🤪

List of Bands by State from GEM:

 

[vacon3`]

Just saw a video of The Woodlands. They sounds and look great, but only have 3 1/2 minutes of their show on the field. Wondering what’s happening there? 

[packwick]

3 hours ago, vacon3` said:

Just saw a video of The Woodlands. They sounds and look great, but only have 3 1/2 minutes of their show on the field. Wondering what’s happening there? 

lol we've been talking about that on the video thread. they have a district rule that prevents them from rehearsing outside when it's too hot so they've had to do a lot of schedule rearranging + playing catch-up.

[LeanderMomma]

On 9/14/2023 at 4:38 PM, gregorydf01 said:

My main question on this is for LeanderMomma as I think this is not far from her home.   Was the location you selected for your move out of Texas planned based on being close to the center of the BOA Band World? 🤪

Haha, no we moved to NW Arkansas because Covid killed my PreK Director job (our preschool was permanently closed) and my hubby was looking for a new job anyway. I’m originally from Memphis and he’s originally from central Arkansas, so with our kids all grown, we decided to move back to his beloved state, with my only stipulation being that it had to be up in the Ozarks. He got a superb job driving a semi for Walmart and I got to retire in some pretty beautiful band country!  Now I’m truly dead center between driving to San Antonio in a day or driving to Indy in a day, not to mention all of the other great competition cities I’m close to!  😁 Life is good!

[LostChoirGuy]

46 minutes ago, LeanderMomma said:

Haha, no we moved to NW Arkansas because Covid killed my PreK Director job (our preschool was permanently closed) and my hubby was looking for a new job anyway. I’m originally from Memphis and he’s originally from central Arkansas, so with our kids all grown, we decided to move back to his beloved state, with my only stipulation being that it had to be up in the Ozarks. He got a superb job driving a semi for Walmart and I got to retire in some pretty beautiful band country!  Now I’m truly dead center between driving to San Antonio in a day or driving to Indy in a day, not to mention all of the other great competition cities I’m close to!  😁 Life is good!

I'm glad you are loving it there! NW Arkansas is really beautiful.  

[itsstephenyo]

Bumping this up.

Anyone that has made the Indy trip from TX, are there any sightseeing things/noteable restaurants in Indianapolis that y'all would recommend? I'll be up there starting Friday but will be semi-babysitting my niece and nephew so I don't wanna make them sit through 12 hrs of prelims... Any recommendations? 

[TWHSParent]

2 hours ago, itsstephenyo said:

Bumping this up.

Anyone that has made the Indy trip from TX, are there any sightseeing things/noteable restaurants in Indianapolis that y'all would recommend? I'll be up there starting Friday but will be semi-babysitting my niece and nephew so I don't wanna make them sit through 12 hrs of prelims... Any recommendations? 

I haven't been to Indy for a few years (2019 was the last time). I found this map of downtown https://www.icclos.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/downtown-indy-skywalks.pdf

There are quite a few things around the skywalk (which is a great thing if it is really cold). Circle Center Mall has shopping, and there are many restaurants around, including in many of the downtown hotels. There are some museums and the Indiana state capital in the vicinity. So I don't have any specific recommendations, but there is plenty to choose from.

[packwick]

well since it's been bumped up...

i really think Pearland may crash the top 6 here. sure it's a familiar style of show, but it's still reeeeally emotionally impactful. last yr after Conroe i was left wondering if Pearland would end up as Cartwright's new LD Bell in terms of sheer competitive dominance, this year i'm thinking about it even more.

ive only seen Mason's opener, wondering how that Wes show compares. hmmm....

i guess Blue Springs would be the other contender. saw an earlier football vid of them, solid show, cool fingerprint motif, didn't quite give me 2018 vibes tho, which it prob needs, at least to land in the top half of finals here.

[Tubalord11]

What are y’all’s thoughts on Hebron winning? I’m personally pulling for them but any Team Texas that gets the dub will make me happy regardless 

[zoomer]

6 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

What are y’all’s thoughts on Hebron winning? I’m personally pulling for them but any Team Texas that gets the dub will make me happy regardless 

I personally feel better about The Woodlands compared to Hebron here.

Depsite the absolutely ridiculous music Hebron is pulling off on the field (again), I'm just not really sold on the visual package as well as the show itself. I don't think music can carry them in Indy, considering Carmel, TWHS, as well as Avon to an extent also play really well.

Houston bands also win every year ending in a 3 sooooo

[packwick]

14 minutes ago, Tubalord11 said:

What are y’all’s thoughts on Hebron winning? I’m personally pulling for them but any Team Texas that gets the dub will make me happy regardless 

i mean i think they're the front runner right now, they could easily easily steamroll over both carmel and twhs in all the music captions. nobody else has that combo of difficulty and achievement, i mean it's like they're Simone Biles or something lol.

on the other hand i think carmel and twhs are currently a little more well-rounded having very high level music + visual + design (+ guard). Hebron has over a month to work on the vis stuff tho, so that could eeeasily shift late season. and again their music is so strong it might not even matter.

[packwick]

11 minutes ago, zoomer said:

Houston bands also win every year ending in a 3 sooooo

soooo Pearland then??? lol

[Tubalord11]

4 minutes ago, packwick said:

soooo Pearland then??? lol

I’d actually cry if they pulled it off