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Good, or not really, morning Some really disappointing and unacceptable discussion here. Have cleaned it up here and some people you won't be hearing from again. Personal attacks on specific band members are incredibly inappropriate and disgusting to read. And are totally unacceptable for this website. It's not how we do things here. Please continue to discuss (passionately!) things you may like or didn't, but there is a very clear line that was crossed on here. We are better than this.

All 6 Leander ISD schools has advanced to the UIL State Marching Band Contest according to the Vista Ridge HS Band Instagram page

And it’s any bands game any year. Keller is out for the first time since 2014. CTJ is out for the first time since 2009. Nobody is safe. You don’t get to San Antonio finals on accident.

As someone from Rockwall. I just wanted to say one thing in this forum about them. We killed it. We absolutely killed it this season. School history was made with this show and we will keep writing history until there’s nothing left to write. As a senior who had the same thing happen to her during her freshman year (one placement off from state) it’s a bittersweet full circle. I appreciate everything this band has done for each other, some of the best community I’ve been apart of, and I may just be a random guard member to everyone in my band but in reality I am so dedicated and so invested in how this band succeeds and I can’t wait to sit back, relax, and watch the next generation of our colorguard, band, and people grow. Jacket fight never dies. -The obnoxious guard captain

Leander ISD doing what Leander ISD does. Celebrate it's students and staff.

I thought it'd be cool to make a graph showing the 5A State bands' placement relative to their band sizes. Got the member numbers from the UIL program Some points of interest and outliers: -Of the Top 10 largest bands, only 6 made finals. -Of the Top 5 largest bands, 4 were in the top half of finals, with the other one (Lake Belton, 4th largest band) missing finals at 13th, making them the largest band outside of finals with 223 members -Cedar Park (5A Champ) was significantly larger than any other band here, ranking as the biggest group with 267, far ahead of Lonestar's 2nd rank with 225 members. -Roma was the smallest band in finals, tying for the 26th largest band (154 members) and placing 12th in the competition. -BC was the second smallest band in finals, ranking as the 25th largest band, squeaking ahead of Roma with 155 members. They placed 9th in the competition. -Argyle was not too much larger, ranking as the 21st largest band with 168 members and placed 7th in the competition. -Glenn placed impressively high (16th in the competition) considering they were the 3rd smallest (36th largest) band here. -The largest size difference between two bands that placed next to each other in competition was a 98 member difference between Lakeview Centennial, who placed 34th in competition and had 198 members, and Lopez ECHS, who placed 35th in competition and had only 100 members. Lopez ECHS was also notably the smallest band at the competition by 20 members (Liberty Hill was 2nd smallest), while LC was the 11th largest band. -Close behind this difference is Glenn and Pieper. Glenn placed 16th in competition, just ahead of Pieper in 17th. Glenn (36th largest), with only 1 member more than Liberty Hill, had only 121 performers. Pieper (Tied 7th largest) had 215, making it a 94-member difference for the two bands. -Other neighboring bands with gaps in member size that are worth noting are Argyle and Lonestar's difference of 57, College Station and Liberty Hill's difference of 70, and Lake Belton and Colleyville Heritage's difference of 63. NUMBERS ARE COOL!

I’m actually quite satisfied with them!! I have been ranking FloMo high for a few weeks now and it feels justified after the SASR results. That show is INCREDIBLE!!! I was screaming!!! 😂 I’m so happy for those kids This show was very Broken Arrow-ish but with that special Flo-touch added to it. It was perfection last night!!! I was also quite thrilled for McNeil and Seven Lakes to get into finals. We often say that we want to see some fresh faces in the SASR finals, and we got some!! McNeil is a fantastic program musically and so it’s nice to see them having success now in marching competition as well. And Seven Lakes honestly just blew me away yesterday. What a fantastic show!! What a performance! Congratulations to both of these phenomenal programs! There were so many amazing performances this weekend and I was so happy to experience them all live again in the Alamodome with my fellow band friends. And I can’t wait to get to Indy next weekend and do it all over again! Lastly I just want to say something about my amazing Leander kiddos (yes, they feel like they are my kids, lol). While I was definitely sad they didn’t make finals, it was quite comforting to see them soooooooo close to the cutoff. Leander has been underrated a bit in general this season, but I knew they were performing exceptionally well all year and this really just proved it to me even more with the highly competitive environment that this year’s SASR was. I know the prelims performance could have been a little rough for them after the medical delay (oh how I hope that sweet guard girl is okay), but they came right out and killed it after the emergency situation was handled and they were just an absolute joy to watch perform. Keep it up Leander! You will be great in Lucas Oil Stadium and I can’t wait to be there live to witness it!! Ok everyone, go get some well deserved rest as we push through one more week of competition. Good luck to everyone at state and GN this week!! GO BAND!!! 😊

you do not know what a hot take is

Every Area B band in this contest made state finals😳

He’s alright, he’s back at home now and fine.

You’re in the TOP 40 bands of 250ish across the state. That’s basically the top 16% of 6A bands in the state. While easier said than understood in the moment, these placements do not subtract from what an accomplishment your program has achieved. Congrats on a great season!

The key to being a student on here is: take only the positive comments, and leave only positive comments.

UIL 5A State Finals Results Another Leander ISD sweep. 1. Cedar Park 2. Rouse 3. Leander 4. Wakeland 5. Aledo 6. Lone Star 7. Argyle 8. Hendrickson 9. Burleson Centennial 10. McKinney North 11. Friendswood 12. Roma

Congrats to all the bands here at state. Finalists or not, you are the best of the best. Be proud. 👏👏👏👏

First time posting but long time band fanatic! I am in awe of all these bands! When my oldest son was in band from 2018-2021, I only participated when I could. I never really knew how much time, blood, sweat and tears went in to each performance. All 38 bands have worked so hard to be here and they all deserve our utmost respect ❤️ My youngest son is a Freshman in band and I am finally in a place where I can participate more and experience what goes on behind the scenes. There is no doubt that what my sons band is going through is any different than all other bands here today. They have all worked hard and have had support from parents and community. Predictions are fun and judges have their say...but at the end of it all...our kids won...they gave it their all and we cheered them on and we won't stop! Congratulations to all 38..5A bands! I can definitely appreciate the competition but the comradery is next level!!!

FOUR TEXAS FINALISTS?!?!?! So excited for everyone!!! Friendswood and Argyle had such amazing performances as well congratulations on your seasons!!! Excited to see finals to close out the marching season!!

seeing people compliment my solo which was such an emotional moment for me literally makes me even more emotional you all are so kind thank you 🤍 regardless of results i’ll always look on this season with such happy memories 😸

This isn't a UIL situation where those tend to leak. You're better off trying to find the nuclear codes than BOA prelims results before the end of the competition.

Thank you, Lone Star, for giving us the opportunity to enjoy this show!! The growth of this program over the past few seasons has been extraordinary, and this year was no different. Super clean stuff from the WW's going into the opening hit, which was SO powerful!! That ballad has made me so emotional all season long, and today was no different. That trombone soloists were on point all season long, and the whole T-bone choir was just so beautiful. Visually as clean as it could have been, really great work on the cover downs, and a super strong finish. They have become one of my favorite HS marching bands, with the quality of not only the shows but the performers themselves increasing each year. Amazing performance Lonestar!!

As a parent of two of these kids I'm less concerned about "form" and more concerned about my kids getting enough sleep and getting their homework done. Luckily today and tomorrow were holidays for Leander ISD but they'll be missing Friday at school due to BOA-San Antonio and 2 days next week due to BOA-Grand Nationals. They'll be spending enough time in hotels over the next 2 weeks, so I'm more than fine with ALL of them coming home today.

Bridgeland was hosting this contest and I volunteered, so I can shed a little light. First things first, Bridgeland was just providing volunteers. Not at all in charge of high level decisions about the contest. That is the state UIL and the venue is operated by CFISD employees who were voluntold to participate. i think that uil and CFISD did the best they could under the circumstances. They can’t control the rain and they cannot afford domed stadiums for all the area contests. That is a financial and logistical impossibility. they provided indoor shelter to the bands that were stranded in the rain, inside Berry center. They covered instruments and equipment the best they could. Tarps were used for equipment left in the parking lot and for front ensembles on the field for Cy woods. Who by the way eventually won the contest with all equipment seemingly working as it should. All volunteers, uil, and CFISD employees worked together to make the best of a bad situation. yes, the students didn’t get to put their best foot forward. But there were a lot of positives. For one, the kids learned to deal with some adversity. As a parent I don’t necessarily want my kids cruising through their teen years with no challenges where they have to rise to meet the moment. That is what champions do. That is what everyday heroes do. That is what adults have to do. Strange scoring/judging debates aside, that is what cy woods did, and congrats to them for doing so. As a volunteer who directed the students off the field after performing, I didn’t encounter ONE sourpuss kid. They were all clearly tired but focused, and consistently polite and respectful. “Yes sir no sir thank you sir good luck to Bridgeland sir.” I saw social media videos on Bridgeland’s page with all the Bridgeland kids high fiving the Katy kids as they headed out to perform. i think ALL of the bands had a hard night and they all rose to the occasion, if not in victory or in advancing to state, then to being a total class act in difficult circumstances. Band contests aside, this music community is raising some great adults, leaders, and human beings of tomorrow.

1. Flower Hill 2. Sheepron 3. Endergrift 4. The Woodland Biome 5. Moocus 6. Witchta Ridge 7. Appleland 8. Hopper 9. Ronald Chicken 10. Spruce Ridge 11. Square Stone 12. Dripping Pigs 13. Grassland 14. Waxazombie

For all the band kids reading this that did not make finals (and those that did), listen carefully: you are still amazing, and you still are part of an amazing band program, and nothing will ever take that away from you. I watched every single performance yesterday and they were all spectacular. Every single band is made up of great kids that work hard together towards a common goal. You are making memories, and friends, and learning skills that will last you a lifetime. Hold your head high, you deserve to.

Quick heads up: The recap for yesterday's Prelims contest is NOT publicly available. I deleted the links because if they are found on here, you all are gonna get me in trouble with my Dad and he is gonna yell at me. Seriously, we have a great relationship with the UIL and we don't want to jeopardize that. Thanks for understanding.

After reading some of your comments I think we need to understand that students from all of these bands read these replies. If you support a band go ahead and say all your positives about them. I don’t think we should be going out and saying negative things about other bands. They all work hard and there’s probably a reason why they placed what they did last night. Again if you like a band or bands go and support them if you don’t then don’t talk about them at all. Let’s be proud of everyone regardless if they qualified or not because again they all worked extremely hard!

Maybe it is time for us all to take a step back and look at the big picture here. Less than 10% of all 4A bands qualify for State Marching-to get here is a huge achievement!. Sometimes in the heat of competition it is easy to forget that students are in band because it brings them (and their audiences) JOY! We all know the other benefits-sense of community, lifelong friendships, work ethic, etc. The life long lessons are the biggest benefit, and that includes being humble in a close win as well as dealing with disappointments with grace and appreciation for everyone’s efforts. in a few years the memories of crazy band trips, friends, and creating something special musically as a group will be the sweetest trophy of all. I enjoyed streaming all the bands, not just 4A but all the classifications, and the overwhelming feeling in every interview after a show was how much these kids cared for each other and the pride they brought to the field representing their school, It was wonderful.

14 judges over two rounds with incredible resumes and experience had them first in both rounds. UIL isn't whispering in their ear to somehow magically align their numbers to make Celina win. This panel thought overall that Celina was the best. It's not that complex. I saw them from field level. INCREDIBLE sounds and phenomenal VP with an understated but cohesive product. You may not necessarily like the story they were trying to tell with their show, but they communicated it masterfully. Panther Creek was incredible too. And Davenport. And everyone. 4A is deeper than ever. Our favorite show doesn't always win and that's okay. We don't have the discredit the work of other bands to say we think someone else should have won.

Been lurking for a while but we should absolutely stop underestimating Vista Ridge. I think this is the 4th time since 2018 that they place 4th/5th at BOA Austin, get predicted in the 8th - 11th range, and then end the season top 5. Vista is an elite program that is always forgotten but are honestly the best at late blooming.

Most Texan thing ever to say "only a 10 hour drive"

WHAT A LONG DAY YALL!!! Congrats to the Cedar Ridge band for making it back into finals and the Seven Lakes band for FINALLY getting to the State Finals! This day was filled with many exciting bands from 40 of the best. I congratulate every band here for giving their best show! Although, with this, I have some things to say, and I may get a little negative here. For some of the bands that placed in 20th or below, I am so sorry for what scores you had to go through. Some of the scores down there do not make any sense at all. It seems some the bands who also went in the first block got hit with the worst of these scores. Even then, a lot of these bands got hit with what felt like random numbers to place them on a leaderboard. And I just feel so sad for these kids who worked so hard and probably had some of their best runs just for them to be placed somewhere they did not expect I would like to list some bands that I thought were hit with the worst judging: 1. Woods in 29th?! I did not have this on my bucket list but I am sure one person made a lot of money if they bet this would happen. While I do note that UIL differs from BOA judging, they still do not add up with this. I just feel like something happened and I really want to know what the judges saw for this since I did not see this show as a 29th-place show. Especially after rewatching all shows at midnight. (Do not worry I got sleep) 2. John B Alexander IN LAST?!?!? Like I said previously, that show hit me like a truck! The amount of emotions I was feeling during that show, and the storytelling they had. I am glad their content and design were a bit higher than the other scores but this show was nowhere NEAR last place. 3. Dawson I felt got really hosed as well. Those kids looked and sounded spectacular, especially sounded! But the judges gave them lower music scores for what they had. I really thought these kids would be higher but I guess not... 4. Duncanville placement shocked me. I did not expect that, that's all. 5. Pebble Hills had such extreme difficulty in their music and I was hoping that would reward them in the end, but some aspects did not give them the rewards. It sucks, this band was one of my favorites of the night. OTHER MENTIONS: Dripping Springs Waxahachie Sachse CTJ For the kids who did not make finals this year, know this. It may now be the end of your first or last marching season, but do not let these scores bring you down in any way. Do not let your whole marching season be remembered by bad scores of any kind. It is not about the scores, it's about having fun with your band and other bands along with you. Just making it to the State Finals is amazing enough! You guys made so many new memories with friends and other bands, and you got to perform here, in the dome. Make lifelong memories that you will never forget. That's it for me! I may comment for Grand Nats, but other than that, see yall next year! Love you all! ❤️

I'm not even going to worry about prelim scores. If history is any guide, they mean less than you think. Every band will rehearse tomorrow morning, make adjustments, and try to show up and put on their best show. Tomorrow is a whole new ballgame with different judges. Good luck to all of these kids who worked so hard to get here. Root for your own band, cheer for them all, and appreciate the work they all did to get here and the amazing shows we're about to see tomorrow. It's really an amazing accomplishment just to make it to state. 260+ bands, 40 make state, 14 make finals. These last 14 are the best of the best, and may they all deliver THEIR personal best tomorrow.

Vista Ridge laughs in your general direction.

Keller high school, Hellen/keller? they mentioned Keller, I’m SORRY I just had to make the connection.. Hellen Keller was an absolute legend.

I’d like to really hope you aren’t an actual member of the Vandegrift community and are just some random kid trolling seeing as you made your account just to say that and went out of your way to affiliate with a band program I think that may be the case.

Final thoughts from tonight. 1. flomo is very very good 2. Nobody else today was as good as flomo 3. I love flomo 4. Flomo can have my kids 5. I will move to flomo so my kids can be at flomo 6. their directors must be magic bcuz the turn around from their bad super hero show in 2022 to this is insane 7. Flomo for sure is on that podium 8. I’m changing my user name to Flomo fan 9. I quit my job to binge watch the flomo YouTube channel

Where my Berkner peeps at? You have some great kids….my daughter is in 6th grade band and came out last night to see her brothers in finals. She wad sad they didn’t make state but she thought it was so cool that Berkner band kids were building each other up and talking about how proud they were to make finals. Thank you. Little Ears are always listening?

Congrats to Lone Star on their best ever state finish as their progression continues to ascend at that level. And Area B … just wow All four make finals and place 4, 6, 7 and 10. Take a bow …

UMMMM ROUSE, HELLO?!?! I don't have many words for what I just witnessed, holy cow!! Opening hit was just so rich with sound, and the preshow visuals, SO CLEAN!! The brass quintet, unreal, they are playing like professionals in a state symphony. That ballad was just so freaking powerful, and the closer, WOW. Drill was so so clean; I mean holy crap Rouse. We'll see what happens tonight, but I'm just shocked by what I just heard and saw, they are gonna be coming in HOT this weekend, amazing job Rouse!!

HOLY TEAM TEXAS ALSO LOVE LEANDER GOING TO FINALISTS

ALL 6 TX BANDS MADE SEMIFINALS, BABY! plus a surprise Marian Catholic. the OG!

What makes North Shore especially impressive is that it is an economically disadvantaged school (I believe title 1) with the vast majority of students considered "low income." And yet, with the disadvantages they face, they field an amazing show.

This is nasty work in the funniest way possible 😭😭

so assuming you are a keller student there is NO possible way to make a BOA Super Regional in TEXAS on accident/by luck, you truly need to have the best performance and come to this competition ready to fight to even make finals. Leander didnt make finals, Bowie didnt make finals, Keller didnt make finals, Southlake Carroll didnt make finals. if McNeil made finals, its because they had an AMAZING run during prelims, and they should be very proud they made it. we never ever talk bad about other bands, because those bands put on a good performance and they make state for a reason.

I miss when this didn’t happen to the forums at every contest.

Let’s remember that we represent a program and district before we say rude things about kids performing to the best of their ability.

Well, those bands didn’t have 2 chances, they had one which was cut off in the middle, and had to restart already fatigued, some had to go incredibly late and were incredibly tired, and it was either restart your show after 30 minutes of having to stay focused, and “re-warm up” over and over, or it was just start where you stopped and hope the judges remember how good you were.

I can't think of a better quote for Area I, specifically Cinco....so much irony this year. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." - Elbert Hubbard

Hello everyone!! Had a great time performing for ya’ll!! Crowd was amazing, and it was a memorable experience for my first time performing in the dome!! Congrats to all our finalist, way to represent area B!!! Argyle already in 5A finals and North for the first time 🎉🎉🎉 can’t wait to watch finals tomorrow!!

It wouldn't be an Area I contest if there wasn't a week's worth of discussion of judging after the fact

But everybody in this forum predicted them fourth which is where they placed?