Question On Judging Systems

[eatmyshorts5]

I always keep on hearing about the judging systems of BOA and UIL and how their flawed and things like that.

 

So i have one question to ask but...

 

How do the BOA and UIL judging systems work?

[takigan]

UIL: 5 judges. Judges are picked by UIL board with the judges having to meet a set of minimum requirements to be considered (certain number of years teaching in Texas, number of Division 1s attained with a band program....a couple other requirements as well). In prelims, 3 judges are assigned to judge Music (making music more important in prelims), 2 to marching and for finals they switch posts. For each band that performs, the judge assigns a 3 digit score and gives comments on a comment sheet (I think they provide an audio recording as well, though I'm not sure). After all bands have performed, each judge provides a 1st-Last ranking of the bands based on the criteria they judged. They then and add up the numerical ranking totals to figure out the score (A band that receives first place from all 5 judges will receive 5 points....1 for each first place ranking, a band that gets ranked 11th by all 5 judges will receive 55 points, 11 for each 11th place ranking).....the band with the least amount of points wins and it goes from there.

 

One of the flaws with the ranking system is that it doesn't take into consideration subtle differences....the last place band will still be 1 point behind the next to last place band, even if their marching/playing was WAY worse and even if the first place band is on an entirely different level, only a 5 point seperation will seperate them from 2nd place.....this can create inconsistencies if a band excels in playing but is god-awful in marching or vice versa.

 

BOA: 8 judges. BOA selects their judges, and the judges they select are usually much more diverse and often heavily involved in the entertainment aspects of the Music Industry, including but not limited to BOA. 1 Judge is assigned to Individual Music Execution and is an on-field judge, 1 is assigned to Ensemble Music Execution and is an in-stands judge. These 2 judges judge using a 20 point scale and their scores are averaged out. 1 is assigned to Individual Visual Execution and is on-field, and 1 is assigned to the stands as an Ensemble Visual Execution judge. These 2 Visual judges judge on a 20 point scale and their scores are averaged out. Then you have 2 judges that are assigned to General Effect in Music. These are 20-point scales that are added together. 1 more judge is assigned to Visual General Effect which also utilizes a 20 point scale. Its score is added to the General Effect Total from the music judges to create the Overall General Effect score. Then the Visual Execution and Music Execution averaged scores are added to the Overall General Effect score to get the Total Score. The bands are then ranked by this score. There's 1 more judge remaining (a Chief Judge) though I'm not entirely sure what his job is, lol.

 

The multi-component system is quite effective, though BOA garners the most criticism from being a system that rewards programs that have complex designs (often requiring a lot of money to put together) and putting less emphasis on the kids and their hard work.

 

 

Those are the basic structure of the 2 systems. Keep in mind whatever a staff member/moderator says takes priority over what I say because I frankly don't understand the more specific components of the 2 systems (namely how tie breakers are decided and the criteria that involves each judging category).

[treblemaker]

To add on to takigan this is my compare and contrast essay I wrote for English this year.

 

*yes I know I am a nerd*

 

In the world of marching band there are many different styles of judging but none are more debated than the Bands Of America (BOA) system and the Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL). Bands Of America is a nation-wide music advocacy organization, while University Interscholastic League is the governing body of any extra curricular activity in the state of Texas. It is through this paper that I will discuss the differences between the two organizations adjudication process and how one band is deemed successful over another band.

When a band steps onto the field at a BOA event, the main aspects the judges are looking for are related to the overall general effect of the bands eight-minute production. The caption of overall General Effect is weighted 60% of the total score. General Effect is defined as the overall mood and feel of the show. The judges listen to how well the music fits with what they are seeing on the field. Many bands use this judging system as an opportunity to make their show a complete production, which may include having a specific story told to the audience.

When a band walks onto the field for a UIL event, they are going to be judged on how well they execute their visual moves and musical cues. Their show still needs to have flow from piece to piece, but having a theme to the show is much less significant than that of a BOA style show. UIL judging sheets do not have criteria for General Effect. At a UIL competition, the judges rank bands in ordinals. They place bands in what they think their placement should be.

Additionally, in UIL, there are normally five judges. Three judges evaluate music, while the last two judges evaluate marching. Each band is given a placement from every judge and then the placements are added together. It is through these rankings that bands are given a final placement. The bands are then ranked from lowest score to highest and the band with the lowest score wins. For example, Band A receives the following rankings from the 5 judges: Judge 1 = 1; Judge 2 = 1; Judge 3 = 1; Judge 4 = 3; Judge 5 = 2. When added up it makes eight. Band B gets placed Judge 1 =2; Judge 2 = 2; Judge 3 = 3; Judge 4 = 1; Judge 5 = 1, adding up to get nine. According to UIL, Band A would wins because their overall score is lower than Band B.

The BOA system, on the other hand, gives each band a score in different captions. There are seven judges total. The judging panel is broken up into the following captions or assignments: Music Performance Individual, Music Performance Ensemble, Visual Performance Individual, Visual Performance Ensemble, Visual General Effect and Music General Effect. Music General Effect has two judges allocated to the caption. Judges come to a score by averaging the Music Individual and Music Ensemble scores together to come up with anywhere between 0 and 20 points for this section. For the visual portion, judges come to a score by averaging the Visual Performance Individual and the Visual Performance Ensemble together to come up with a score between 0 and 20 points for this section. Those averages are then added to the General Effect scores in both music and visual and are totaled together. The band with the highest total score out of 100 points wins.

When a band staff is determining their goals and areas of concentration for their show, they take into consideration whether it is a State Marching Band year or not. If it is not a State Marching Band year, the emphasis may be more focused towards a BOA style show. A marching band show for a State year usually focuses around a musical theme, with emphasis on executing music and marching as well as possible. A marching band show with an emphasis on competing in the BOA circuit is a show with a more focused theme. Musical and visual effects are created in order to satisfy the General Effect captions of the BOA system.

[kdnblue142]

WOW!!!

 

Thanks for the info-had lots of questions about this stuff but didn't want to seem so 'ignorant' haha

you even answered my unasked question about captions-thanks again!!

[eatmyshorts5]

Wow guys thanks a lot. I honestly was not expecting such a thorough answer.

[LeanderMomma]

I know this is an ancient thread but I thought it was a good one for explaining basic BOA and UIL differences. I am determined in the off season this year to learn as much as I can about both. I want to be especially prepared for BOA season next fall. I had someone in the MFA forum explain a lot of things to me but there is still so much to learn! DanPod, when can you do a YouTube reaction video for us, and point out what makes the judges happy?

[FloMoParent]

Here is the UIL actual judges sheet: http://www.uiltexas.org/files/music/Area:State_CS.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2HBRyGA_6dJzWPsj2iBcgnfsC44hdPd1UO1FE82KNMV-_UyF17JmGsV7U

[takigan]

There's an old post I wrote around the same time (10-ish years ago) where I'm talking about how TMAA influences UIL judging, and it's total cringe because I really had no clue what I was talking about.  I thought this was that post, but this isn't it.  I actually hope we never run into that one :/ .

[LeanderMomma]

There's an old post I wrote around the same time (10-ish years ago) where I'm talking about how TMAA influences UIL judging, and it's total cringe because I really had no clue what I was talking about. I thought this was that post, but this isn't it. I actually hope we never run into that one :/ .

Sounded pretty smart to me.