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

[slowbrass]

I attended Hebron’s send off performance this afternoon with a few of my old band buddies. As I suspected they did have a few visual tweaks left to add which were on display today, including a cool addition to the closer that I’ll leave as a surprise. Everything about the show itself is very effective and they have an extremely high ceiling. HOWEVER, they seem to be stuck in the mud when it comes to achieving the program. Mushiness in the music, unsteadiness in the tempo, and it culminated with a very obvious tear in the closer. No doubt they’ve had better runs but there’s only a week until everything is done and dusted. I’m an alum myself so I’m rooting hard for them to lock in and perform as best they can, but if nothing changes they’re gonna shock some people in Indianapolis, and not in a good way.

[Hard Core Band Fan]

  On 11/4/2023 at 8:30 PM, slowbrass said:

I attended Hebron’s send off performance this afternoon with a few of my old band buddies. As I suspected they did have a few visual tweaks left to add which were on display today, including a cool addition to the closer that I’ll leave as a surprise. Everything about the show itself is very effective and they have an extremely high ceiling. HOWEVER, they seem to be stuck in the mud when it comes to achieving the program. Mushiness in the music, unsteadiness in the tempo, and it culminated with a very obvious tear in the closer. No doubt they’ve had better runs but there’s only a week until everything is done and dusted. I’m an alum myself so I’m rooting hard for them to lock in and perform as best they can, but if nothing changes they’re gonna shock some people in Indianapolis, and not in a good way.

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Although huge jumps are rare in this last week, they are possible. I remember Round Rock in 2013 going from the bottom of San Antonio to 4th in finals at the Grand Nationals. They raised their score 6 points in that one week. I am wishing a huge jump for Hebron and really, all Texas bands this next week!

[Vidal28]

  On 11/4/2023 at 8:30 PM, slowbrass said:

I attended Hebron’s send off performance this afternoon with a few of my old band buddies. As I suspected they did have a few visual tweaks left to add which were on display today, including a cool addition to the closer that I’ll leave as a surprise. Everything about the show itself is very effective and they have an extremely high ceiling. HOWEVER, they seem to be stuck in the mud when it comes to achieving the program. Mushiness in the music, unsteadiness in the tempo, and it culminated with a very obvious tear in the closer. No doubt they’ve had better runs but there’s only a week until everything is done and dusted. I’m an alum myself so I’m rooting hard for them to lock in and perform as best they can, but if nothing changes they’re gonna shock some people in Indianapolis, and not in a good way.

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One thing Hebron struggles with nearly every year is that they have very uncharacteristic moments of tearing, tempo wise, front-to-back mostly, not really side-to-side, I just find it odd that it happens, and it can’t happen if they wanna get to where they want to at Grand Nats.

[LostChoirGuy]

Hoping Keller can add something to make their closer pop also, as it's really lacking in the wow moments that can bring in the GE. 

[Vidal28]

  On 11/5/2023 at 12:42 AM, LostChoirGuy said:

Hoping Keller can add something to make their closer pop also, as it's really lacking in the wow moments that can bring in the GE. 

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Idk, I had a really fun time just taking in the winds at the end!!

[LoveTexasBands]

  On 11/5/2023 at 12:16 AM, Vidal28 said:

One thing Hebron struggles with nearly every year is that they have very uncharacteristic moments of tearing, tempo wise, front-to-back mostly, not really side-to-side, I just find it odd that it happens, and it can’t happen if they wanna get to where they want to at Grand Nats.

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Hebron will be fine at Grand Nats. Their UIL performances, both at area and state, were very strong, finals better than prelims in both cases - the judging on visuals was curious at state, but it is what it is when the quality is that close. Their performance at the football game last night had great energy. They'll tighten up all week and should peak around semi-finals and carry the momentum into finals. That's seems to be how they design the process and I think they're right on track. The show is very typically difficult both musically and visually and well-designed and, if they nail it, they'll be tough to beat. It will be fun to watch - lots of great bands at Grand Nats this year!

[LostChoirGuy]

  On 11/5/2023 at 12:55 AM, Vidal28 said:

Idk, I had a really fun time just taking in the winds at the end!!

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I honestly thought the Keller winds were the best I can ever remember them during UIL finals and was flabbergasted that they got 14th.

[Nny14]

[packwick]

  On 11/4/2023 at 8:30 PM, slowbrass said:

I attended Hebron’s send off performance this afternoon with a few of my old band buddies. As I suspected they did have a few visual tweaks left to add which were on display today, including a cool addition to the closer that I’ll leave as a surprise. Everything about the show itself is very effective and they have an extremely high ceiling. HOWEVER, they seem to be stuck in the mud when it comes to achieving the program. Mushiness in the music, unsteadiness in the tempo, and it culminated with a very obvious tear in the closer. No doubt they’ve had better runs but there’s only a week until everything is done and dusted. I’m an alum myself so I’m rooting hard for them to lock in and perform as best they can, but if nothing changes they’re gonna shock some people in Indianapolis, and not in a good way.

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oh they'll be fine.

[Vidal28]

  On 11/5/2023 at 4:19 AM, LoveTexasBands said:

Hebron will be fine at Grand Nats. Their UIL performances, both at area and state, were very strong, finals better than prelims in both cases - the judging on visuals was curious at state, but it is what it is when the quality is that close. Their performance at the football game last night had great energy. They'll tighten up all week and should peak around semi-finals and carry the momentum into finals. That's seems to be how they design the process and I think they're right on track. The show is very typically difficult both musically and visually and well-designed and, if they nail it, they'll be tough to beat. It will be fun to watch - lots of great bands at Grand Nats this year!

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Oh no I’m sure they’ll be fine, I’m rooting for them to get the eagle, it’s just the recurring issue I see from them on the musical side, which is of course their strong suit. I can’t wait to see the final product soon enough!

[Rubisco]

  On 11/5/2023 at 6:02 AM, GeekBoy54 said:

Predicitions for the Texas Bands as of now:

Hebron - Top 4

The Woodlands - Top 4

Pearland - Top Half of Finals

Round Rock - Bottom Half of Finals, but comfortably in

Keller - Borderline Bottom Half or just outside of Finals

Claudia Taylor Johnson - Borderline Bottom Half or just outside of finals

Dripping Springs - Just outside of finals

James Bowie - Hopefully they'll be in semi-finals

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I really, really want at least 7 Texas bands in finals, but will "begrudgingly" accept 6. Only half of finals, what a disappointment! 😂

I really do think there's a strong possibility for two Texas bands in the top 3 here. Musically, I find both Hebron's and The Woodlands' shows quite a bit more exciting than Carmel's or Avon's, although I know that's not all there is to effect, and both Carmel and Avon are visual aces. Really, I could shake them up and spill them out of a hat. Nevertheless, I've got my fingers crossed for a Texas win. Also, I'm hoping for a first-time visual caption finals win for Texas. I think TWHS may do it. Their visual scores at BOA San Antonio were giant. 19.5, 19.6, and 19.6 -- that translates to a 97.5 for individual and two 98s for upstairs.

 

[packwick]

  On 11/5/2023 at 6:17 AM, Rubisco said:

Also, I'm hoping for a first-time visual caption finals win for Texas. I think TWHS may do it. Their visual scores at BOA San Antonio were giant. 19.5, 19.6, and 19.6 -- that translates to a 97.5 for individual and two 98s for upstairs.

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that 19.55 avg i think is the highest vis perf average in BOA SA history, so maybe.

[quenslays]

After this weekend here are my predictions for finals.

1.Hebron

2.Carmel

3.Woodlands

4.Avon

5.William Mason

6.Blue Springs

7.Pearland

8.Brownsburg

9.Round Rock

10.Dripping Springs

11.Keller

12.CTJ

[Tubalord11]

Good morning, everyone! Crazy to think that we are already at the final moment of the marching band season. After some crazy results over this past week with UIL 6A state and Boa San Antonio, here are my final predictions for this comp. It's going to be beyond competitive for those last 3 spots between so many bands, and it will be very fun to see how everything plays out! I'll be spending all next Saturday watching Semis/finals, so I'm super pumped for that! Good luck to all the bands competing for the last time this season at this huge competition, and here we go: 

 

1st. Hebron (music/GE) 

2nd. Carmel (visual) 

3rd. The Woodlands 

4th. Avon 

5th. Blue Springs 

6th. William Mason 

7th. Pearland 

8th. Brownsburg

9th. Round Rock 

10th. Dripping Springs

11th. Keller 

12th. CTJ/Fishers/Bentonville 

 

I'd say 1st-9th are pretty much locks at this point, with RR being the only one with any potential imo of not making finals due to wacky judging, but I think they will be in. The real battle is for those last 3 spots. DS has been having and incredible year, making it to state, finals at boa Austin, TMC, and winning BOA Waco! Keller has been having a bit of a rough season, but I have no doubt they have been cleaning like crazy and have been working really hard to make finals. CTJ, same case as Keller, but seeing them make finals at SA was definitely a big relief, and Fishers and Bentonville are both having super strong years as well. James Bowie could also make a case for finals if they really clean up, scored pretty well at SA, but they will need to have their best performance of the season in Semis if they wanna break into finals. I feel like Dartmouth could surprise us as well. They won a boa comp on the 28th with an 86.65, (had an 88.35 in prelims!) so they could be a surprise finalist for sure, probably will win class AA. Will an super exciting weekend and I can't wait for this Saturday!!! 

[Dallas Hobbs]

Omg omg you guys it’s that time of the year again! The biggest, most prestigious marching band competition in the nation!😭😩 So excited for the performances and to continue to make my totally inaccurate placement predictions! 
 

Question: Which contest is the most tense, nerve-wracking, most dramatic spectacle for you? For me it’s Area contests because I get how important it is to programs to qualify for state. Second is the awards ceremony at BOA prelims because it feels like qualifying for state when a group makes finals 

[Tubalord11]

  On 11/5/2023 at 8:03 PM, Dallas Hobbs said:

Omg omg you guys it’s that time of the year again! The biggest, most prestigious marching band competition in the nation!😭😩 So excited for the performances and to continue to make my totally inaccurate placement predictions! 
 

Question: Which contest is the most tense, nerve-wracking, most dramatic spectacle for you? For me it’s Area contests because I get how important it is to programs to qualify for state. Second is the awards ceremony at BOA prelims because it feels like qualifying for state when a group makes finals 

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Area is by far the most stressful for me, prelims and finals! Just such a dreadful contest imo, but really prelims are always the most stressful because you know, you either make finals and are happy or don’t and may be sad/disappointed. Finals is more of the fun one because bands may place higher than expected and everyone is happy for everyone with prelims being more self focused. Results are just stressful to sit through in general 

[AldoFullilove122]

Could someone go into detail on how Semi-Finals work? Number of bands, how they are chosen, performance order, etc.

[Dallas Hobbs]

  On 11/5/2023 at 9:35 PM, AldoFullilove122 said:

Could someone go into detail on how Semi-Finals work? Number of bands, how they are chosen, performance order, etc.

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I know that they take the top 11 scoring bands from panels 1 and 2, then take the next 8 highest bands after combining the panels’ scores. Also, extra bands in an underrepresented class will be taken to ensure that equitable representation of the four classes is present in semifinals (I think the quota is a minimum of 4 per class. Can anyone confirm or correct this?) So if no class 1A bands placed in the top 30, then they’ll take I believe the 4 highest scoring 1A bands from prelims. 

[Dallas Hobbs]

  On 11/5/2023 at 9:31 PM, Tubalord11 said:

Area is by far the most stressful for me, prelims and finals! Just such a dreadful contest imo, but really prelims are always the most stressful because you know, you either make finals and are happy or don’t and may be sad/disappointed. Finals is more of the fun one because bands may place higher than expected and everyone is happy for everyone with prelims being more self focused. Results are just stressful to sit through in general 

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Definitely see your point! I think most people are happy with just making state and don’t stress if they don’t make finals. They like it when they place higher than previous years though, lol. In general bands tend to be happy with making finals at competitions because it makes them feel like they’re in an elite tier of bands. 

[Dallas Hobbs]

  On 11/5/2023 at 9:35 PM, AldoFullilove122 said:

Could someone go into detail on how Semi-Finals work? Number of bands, how they are chosen, performance order, etc.

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Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is determined by random draw, btw. Also, semifinals is where they determine class awards (class placements and caption awards), and where they select the 12 Grand National finalists. 

[AldoFullilove122]

  On 11/5/2023 at 10:56 PM, Dallas Hobbs said:

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is determined by random draw, btw. Also, semifinals is where they determine class awards (class placements and caption awards), and where they select the 12 Grand National finalists. 

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So prelims awards(?) is just the announcement of semi-finalist bands, Then semi-finals would just act as a normal regional prelims without any ties to how the bands did in prelims?

[seafoodbuffet]

  On 11/5/2023 at 11:58 PM, AldoFullilove122 said:

So prelims awards(?) is just the announcement of semi-finalist bands, Then semi-finals would just act as a normal regional prelims without any ties to how the bands did in prelims?

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Right, each round is a new contest where the results of previous rounds aren’t taken into consideration (aside from approximate performance time).

[seafoodbuffet]

  On 11/5/2023 at 10:56 PM, Dallas Hobbs said:

Someone correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is determined by random draw, btw. Also, semifinals is where they determine class awards (class placements and caption awards), and where they select the 12 Grand National finalists. 

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Note there’s both a semi finals draw and a finals draw that determines performance order within a band’s cohort (top/bottom six for finals, and top  22/next 8/class representatives for semi’s)

[AldoFullilove122]

  On 11/6/2023 at 12:47 AM, seafoodbuffet said:

Note there’s both a semi finals draw and a finals draw that determines performance order within a band’s cohort (top/bottom six for finals, and top  22/next 8/class representatives for semi’s)

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Thank you this was mostly what I was wondering because I wasn’t sure if all 30+ bands in semis just went randomly due to a draw or if it was like a normal boa finals with something similar to the top/bottom six

[Dallas Hobbs]

  On 11/6/2023 at 12:47 AM, seafoodbuffet said:

Note there’s both a semi finals draw and a finals draw that determines performance order within a band’s cohort (top/bottom six for finals, and top  22/next 8/class representatives for semi’s)

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So, semis performance order is necessary class representatives -> next 8 -> top 22, all shuffled in random order?

Edited November 6, 2023 by Dallas Hobbs