TXMarchingMadness87654

Um, Haltom's show is VERY challenging. Their music and marching drill are very difficult. They struggled at Area, yes, but they were one point from State, showing that even though their show wasn't as spot on as they've done before and as it could be, they put out a very challenging show. They always play hard music. It's part of the reason their Symphonic Winds make it to State in TMEA. Also, their drill flies around the field. It was simply not as clean as they're capable of doing. That is all. I have no idea what happened with Flower Mound. Their show is a-mazing. They played with a lot of confidence and I definitely wouldn't say it's "not as challenging," either. One judge in music gave them 3rd place for goodness sakes. Also, I thought that Hebron, Plano East, and Richland landed their shows very cleanly on the field, not "pretty clean."

Yep. I, too, saw the actual finals caps. I can't remember Plano East(sorry guys and congrats to you!!). But the other scores are right on the money. Side note: The order was actually listed in reverse from 7th to 1st AT the finals announcement. First alternate announced, Flower Mound, was 7th. Next alternate, Haltom, was 6th. Then, he said the finalists are: Richland(5), LD Bell(4), Plano East(3), Hebron(2), and Marcus(1). So we knew before we left what place everyone was, including Haltom.

This is all I can remember about scoring for finals for Area B Marcus - 5 Hebron - 13 Plano East - 21(?-I think) LD Bell - 24 Richland - 25 Haltom - 26 Check out 4, 5, & 6. Just wow.

Well, I haven't seen the schools in west Texas perform, so this is kind of hard for me. I have seen Keller HS perform and they have a great show. Nice crisp sound & awesome drill. I also appreciate that they are able to tell their story w/o a bunch of props. So I'm going to say they're a lock for State and probably a first place contender, to say the least. Based on the past results, I'll put El Paso Coronado, Keller Fossil Ridge, and Americas in the top as well. Northwest will probably make finals and I've heard good things about Timber Creek and Keller Central, so I'll add them to finals, as well. Wish I knew more. This is such a strange area for me. I can't imagine traveling 5 hours for Area, but I guess Area B is spoiled that way. lol Good luck and safe travels to all!

Looks like they've already got it set up to live stream. yay! Hope everyone posts lots of updates from each area! Looking forward to following along and will try to update from Area B when possible.

Brandon-wow. Thanks! How nice of you to go through and answer my questions, even the silly ones. ha I began my high school career in 1985 and graduated in 1989. *sigh* Anyway, I went to Irving Mac and unless my memory has completely abandoned me, I don't remember competing past our regular UIL Region competition. I'm sure it was director choice. I know we had about one or two weeks of regular football season to do "fun shows" after UIL was over, a "luxury" most bands don't indulge in now, since they DO compete at higher levels. We were small back then, as I believe Mac is now, about 125 members. All I remember is receiving sweepstakes every year. Thank you for the history of these competitions. I had no idea when they began. Exactly. It's much easier to have a football State championship every year, financially, than it would to have a State championship for 1A-5A marching bands every year. As far as the Alaska and four-state question, that was more of a "there's no way to compare Texas to other states" kind of thing. Since Alaska is the only state with more land than Texas, I threw it in there. I had a feeling it was way too cold and, well, too dark for them to have any kind of marching band state competition. Things are just different for them there. Imagine the tuning issues! I had no four states in mind, but just thought it would take about four states to compare in size(square miles & travel issues) to Texas. I'm sure there are lots of fantastic bands in other states, though, as evidenced by how well they do in Grand Nats and/or other BOA competitions where Texas bands participate against them. I'm glad you brought up the curriculum situation in both OK and CO, Denver, CO, in particular. I think we take for granted how good we have it here. Not only is music education in Texas important and, dare I say, vital, it is held in the highest regard in many school districts, even with our "football!!!!" mentality here. There are lots of fine arts departments that are highly funded and promoted by various school districts. I can't imagine, having a three-band-kid family, living in a place where band wasn't a large part of the school. I'm very thankful!!! Thanks again for taking the time to respond to my post. I appreciate the insight and information you provided.

I'm going to add a word or several here, as a band parent. I'm on the "10-year-plan" when it comes to marching band. I have a senior, freshman, and 6th grader in band. I was in marching band in high school. We didn't ever go to area, even though we got sweepstakes every year I was there. I have no idea why. My husband played sports and, in his words when we discuss what instruments are played in the family(french horn, sax, clarinet & mom played flute), he "plays the radio." All this marching band stuff is (four years)new for him and certainly the State UIL competition thing is new for me. All that being said, I like the current system of State every other year. Why? 1)It gives the band a "break" on finances. We live in a very low income area. We have some of the lowest band fees around and there are still kids who can't pay. One child had an asthma attack at practice and didn't have an inhaler because they were waiting on their parents' social security check. Not rich kids here. 2)It makes getting to State even more exciting and more important. 3)It gives the band the opportunity to participate in more/different competitions in "off" years, which is always fun! I've never thought about comparing State marching comp. to football season having State championship every year. There are two divisions in 5A State football(big and small based off of population). I know this because we've had to play the state champions from both divisions over the years. lol So that means when 5A State championships in football come around, you are transporting the participants from four schools to the venue(yes, that means football team, band, cheerleaders, and drill team), still no comparison for 38 or 39 bands. Also, I would never compare Texas to another state. We're a lot bigger size wise. Does Alaska have marching bands? Is there a four state, yearly competition where every band from the four states are involved? Then, maybe we would have something to compare. lol Texas is just different. The band my kids are involved in actually prefers UIL, so I have nothing bad to say about it. And I agree that if the Alamodome is good enough for a super regional BOA competition, I suppose it's good enough for UIL State. Is there a part of me that would like it every year? Sure. I love marching season and the extra added parameter of heart palpitations that occur when my kids are on the field vying for a spot at the State level. However, I'm fine with the way it is right now. I think the directors at my kids' school are fine with it, too. Of course, my kids would like to compete for it every year. They'd also like it if they each had their own t.v. in their rooms, unlimited access to ice cream sundaes, and every video game system known to man. They're kids, even my 17-year-old. They don't have to pony up the dough to pay for anything yet. It's up to adults to be financially responsible. I do get where you're coming from, though. You made some good points and I can certainly sense your frustration. However, I can't agree with you. It's not viable to have it every year and I think UIL is doing a great job in the way they're handling it. I like the judging at UIL, too, obviously. There's no way most of the bands are going to "give up" on UIL for BOA or USBands. Not going to happen. Sorry.

1) 9:00 Socorro HS 2) 9:15 Montwood HS 3) 9:30 Odessa HS 4) 9:45 Lubbock Coronado HS 5) 10:00 Tascosa HS *BREAK* 6) 10:30 Keller Central HS 7) 10:45 Timber Creek HS 8) 11:00 Americas HS 9) 11:15 Franklin HS 10) 11:30 Cooper HS *LUNCH BREAK* 11) 12:45 Eastwood HS 12) 1:00 El Dorado HS 13) 1:15 Keller HS 14) 1:30 San Angelo Central HS 15) 1:45 Midland HS *BREAK* 16) 2:15 Bel Air HS 17) 2:30 El Paso Coronado HS 18) 2:45 Fossil Ridge HS 19) 3:00 Permian HS 20) 3:15 Lee HS *BREAK* 21) 3:45 Northwest HS 22) 4:00 Ryan HS 23) 4:15 Abilene HS 4:30 Drum Major Retreat Finals begin at 6:45 9:00 Drum Major Retreat 9:15 Results announced **4 Advance** Just thought it would be nice to have a thread for this area, too. Quite a widespread group of bands!

I'm not going to rank them by # because I feel some "shaking up" in the air. However, I will say who I think will advance to State: In alpha order: Flower Mound, Haltom, Hebron, LD Bell, Marcus Hebron beat LD Bell two years ago to obtain 2nd place. There were no finals last time. In my humble opinion, Hebron's show is better this year than two years ago, so who knows what could happen?(especially since the weather looks wonderful and I believe there will be finals this time) Flower Mound was 8th two years ago, but I have a friend who has a child in that band and I've heard great things about their show. This could be their year to make State. Richland's show is interesting and, of course, full of talented kids, but it's a very young band. They actually had a bunch of kids quit or graduate. Last night, I saw errors in the color guard that I've never seen from Richland before, and that could be because about 10 or so graduated in May, including a girl I've known for about 10 years who was one of the best. So what might seem like minor oopsies in color guard seem larger when it comes to Richland. Is that fair? Not really. Again, I like their show. I have friends whose children are in that band. I would love to see them make it to State, and they are certainly on the bubble. I just don't know. Haltom's show is much improved from PEMI. It was not perfect, but their sound and very fast drill are top notch. They also have a woodwind feature, with saxophones standing out, that is brilliant. With a few more "clean ups" they are definitely in the mix. Their show is very "UIL-ly" for lack of a better term. haha That leaves LD Bell & Marcus, two bands we know will be in the top five. Won't it be interesting to see if they're #1 & #2 this time? This is going to be a great contest!

Although it does show online that Peter Warshaw is at JJ Pearce, he apparently is at Leander now. He was one of the judges last night at Region 5. I haven't checked to see if any of the other judges were at any of the other Area B Region contests. Would be interesting to see.

I love that there are five advancing, too. Does anyone know why Plano Senior High and Plano West don't go to Area? Plano Sr. earned Sweepstakes and Plano West got two I's and one II. Just wondering. If I remember correctly, MANY years ago when I was in band, we went to UIL Region, got our sweepstakes and that was it. I don't remember even knowing about area competition. I'm not sure why we didn't go. Anyway, just wondering if anyone knows why they aren't going. Thanks!

1) 9:30 Lewisville HS 2) 9:45 Marcus HS 3) 10:00 Haltom HS 4) 10:15 Martin HS *BREAK* 5) 10:45 Hebron HS 6) 11:00 Grapevine HS 7) 11:15 LD Bell HS 8) 11:30 North Crowley HS 9) 11:45 Mansfield HS *LUNCH BREAK* 10) 12:45 Weatherford HS 11) 1:00 Paschal HS 12) 1:15 RL Turner HS 13) 1:30 Timberview HS 14) 1:45 McKinney HS 15) 2:00 Southlake Carroll HS 16) 2:15 Allen HS 17) 2:30 Arlington HS *BREAK* 18) 3:00 Flower Mound HS 19) 3:15 Sam Houston HS 20) 3:30 Richland HS 21) 3:45 Colleyville Heritage HS 22) 4:00 Boyd HS 23) 4:15 Bowie HS 24) 4:30 Plano East HS 25) 4:45 Trinity HS 5:00 Drum Major Retreat & Certification Finals begin at 7:30. TCU performs at 10:00pm. After that, they will have the Drum Major retreat and announce who advances. 25 bands = 5 Advancing to State. JUDGES: Peter Warshaw Tom Shine Rick Yancey Brian Merrill Richard Crain

Area B 5A: http://www.uilforms.com/regions/2/AREA%20M...%20Oct%2027.pdf

Wow. Keller Central and Keller Timber Creek are performing pretty early for so far away. Even Keller HS is fairly early. Makes me sleepy just looking at it. I'm sure they'll handle it perfectly fine, though. Safe travels for all bands going to area competitions this weekend. It's going to be a great Saturday for marching bands!

Region 5: (10/23/2012) Arlington I Bowie I Haltom I Lamar II LD Bell I Mansfield I Martin I Richland I Sam Houston I Timberview I Trinity I Full results: http://www.uilforms.com/marchrptuilpublic.asp So if you're keeping count, that makes 27 eligible to go to Area B on Saturday. Congratulations to all bands who advanced to Area today!

"Results for the next couple of years could be all over the place until a new power takes control for good." That sums it up nicely. Well put. The next few years could definitely be interesting. It's just near impossible to call, and, well, I kinda like that! It makes it exciting when it could be a newbie to the #1 spot.(or an oldie revived! ha) Really makes the upcoming contests nailbiters, doesn't it? Love it!

http://www.uilforms.com/regions/5/SCHEDULE...%20Oct%2023.pdf Schedule for Region 5 today. Can someone tell me what the "draw" is for? At first, I thought maybe for area, but since there are four regions in Area B, that doesn't seem like the right purpose. Just curious. Good luck to all bands competing today!

I was going to say the same thing. It would certainly make more sense for the original judges hired to take the "bigger" role. Side note on that Area G schedule: WOW! That's crazy and yet a-mazing at the same time. A special "best wishes and good luck" to those bands competing that looooooong day. Good luck to all bands who have advanced to area and those who will be at region today and advancing to area. This is where the fun begins!

No worries! It is pretty amazing what these directors, students, and parents do for the performances, as you said, between the goal posts(which we all know exist primarily as a marker for the bands. ) hehe Yes! Best of luck to all the bands. BOA SA should be phenomenal with 60 bands performing and I'm sure the Area contests will be a-mazing as well.

Please know that I think Marcus' show is fantastic and I really enjoy the gates. I didn't think they distracted from the show at all, but merely enhanced it. I agree with you that kids who don't necessarily have a "part" in the show should be used in some way. In fact, my son is one of those kids. He's a freshman this year and is being used in a "compliment" role in his band's show. I'm quite certain that Marcus does not experience what I was referencing before about "not being good enough." My post was definitely not directed at Marcus. In fact, Marcus(students & parents) are the some of the classiest people I've seen and met. If I see a Marcus parent at a competition, I always try to say 'hello' and wish Marcus well and/or congrats, and that is because every parent I've met is very gracious. Y'all make it easy to wish you the best. Also, coming from a multi-band student family(and friends), I know band kids in several Area B bands. I've never heard a negative thing about Marcus. Everyone talks about how talented Marcus band is each year. Sadly, though, I do feel there are some directors whose actions portray(while perhaps not directly to the students, although I know some kids whose directors have directly expressed) that w/o eye-popping, over-the-top props to distract, they wouldn't do as well as they do in contests. That is where my comment is coming from. It was never intended to be directed toward Marcus, their directors, students, or parents. Please let any other parents that you know at Marcus know that we other band parents see how gracious you are and appreciate it. Class act all the way around. Good luck the rest of the season!

"I wish every band would used them." Don't you think there are bands that would like to use them but can't? Well, that's another topic all together. I wish you wouldn't put words in my mouth, erm, my post. I never expressed: "the idea that you can't win without "over-the-top props" (which is the real reason why most people in bands that don't use props dislike them, although few outside of the band world dislike them) is patently false." I said that it could be interpreted that the director doesn't think the band could win without them(not that NO band could win without them). I never said bands can't win w/o them. Good grief. (and again, there are bands that would probably really like to use props but it's not in their budget. Don't assume that when a band doesn't use them, the only reason is because they "don't want to.") I never said I didn't like any props, either. I like props. I like Marcus' gates. They don't distract from the show. I like Hebron's props. Heck. I even like McKinney Boyd's lights, even though I wouldn't necessarily call them "props" per se. I guess that's what they would be classified as, though. Anyway, I mean no offense to LD Bell. I just saw that picture and thought O M G, as did every single person who saw it on my FB page & some who saw it on here. It's over-the-top and I have every right to dislike it and feel that LD Bell, a band who always brings quality shows to the field, doesn't NEED it. I stand by that feeling, because it's my opinion. lol I don't make the rules, so rest easy. My opinion is not going to change a thing. In the mean time, I'm going to continue to wish for less unneeded glitz and more music and marching, where the props don't steal the show but simply help it along. Again, I really, really, really do like props when they are used to enhance and not distract. And I have to agree with mello on this one that directors absolutely do use props to enhance their scores and not just because they are solely serving a purpose in the storytelling of the show. There's lots of ways to tell a story and with some creativity, you can do it without having gigantic, weird props that distract from the rest of the show, or, dare I say, in some cases, hide the flaws. uhm As you pointed out, Avon did just that. They managed to have an entire show tell a story with scarcely a prop. Thanks for that info. It makes me feel even better about my stance. It can be done. You can tell a story with just drill and music and color guard and a few minor props to enhance the show. That's the kind of show I'd like to see! Also, don't assume I'm cynical. I actually don't assume that "a lot of directors" use needless props. Never said "a lot." I think more bands could and should do just what Avon did. That's my wish and I'm sticking to it! I honestly just wanted to express my opinion and perhaps I should've let the shock of the picture wear off first. I apologize for any offense that may have been taken or any upset feelings. This is just a message board about marching bands. It's actually been a nice reprieve from all the political stuff that has taken over every where else. The last thing I want to do is start an online quarrel. I love this board and I love marching band season. I will attempt to quell my immediate, gut reactions to photos in the future. Can't wait for SA. I know it's going to be grand, as usual. Yay for bands! They deserve much more attention than they get. But, I guess that, too, is a whole 'nother topic of discussion. ha Blessings all!

Was going to say we would have to agree to disagree, but rethought it. I did not say or mean to say I want there to be NO props. I want the over-the-top, unnecessary, big, shiny, silly props to go away. Not all props. I like Marcus' gates and they're big, but nicely added. I like Hebron's instruments in the back. They add dimension w/o getting in the way. Please don't misunderstand me by thinking I want it to go to zero props. No. No. I just don't like the super distracting ones. Hope that clarifies. Now, for real this time, goodnight! Sweet dreams and blessings all!

Then why do they need the big, shiny purple girl? I agree that LD Bell and Marcus have set a standard of excellence not often matched, which is exactly why I find the unneeded, over-the-top props ridiculous. Why? Instead of seeing it as "people too often make it sound like they are mutually exclusive things," why not ask why directors find them necessary, as if saying to their students, "You can't win w/o big, shiny things to dazzle the judges. You're not good enough." <<That would royally irritate me as a parent, btw. So march the most difficult show this year. Play hard music. Use the color guard to their full potential with difficult drill. Leave the shiny, purple, 5-yard-wide props out. You don't NEED them. They distract from your show for many people, as evidenced by the comments on here AND the ones I got when I posted the picture on my FB page. That's what baffles me. It just seems like every year the distracting props are getting bigger and more sparkly. Didn't I read a comment about a band using tents and how distracting they were? What is the most often thing that people complain about distracting them in a band's performance? I still say that I hope the bigger, shinier, over-the-top props eventually fade away. I know. It would leave us with less to talk about and complain about and discuss to the enth degree, but maybe, just maybe, we could talk about music and marching styles. Maybe we could discuss composers(and learn a few things to boot). And maybe, we could become MORE dazzled by the music and the drills and be entertained by them instead. But I guess it's just me. I should add that I thoroughly enjoyed Marcus' show the three or four times I've seen it. I've heard both great and "meh" comments from friends and strangers about LD Bell's show. I have only seen bits of it. I'm always excited about seeing what they will bring, though, and this year is no exception, although the purple girl makes me sad. (and I LOVE purple, btw. It's my favorite color!) I have a special place in my heart for Area B bands. I love them all and follow them all. I don't mean to be at all disrespectful of anyone. I know how hard they all work. I'm just old school and have my own opinions about things. (silly or not) I don't mind if I baffle you. lol I certainly don't expect to be understood by others. haha It's just me. (take it or leave it heh) One thing I know we all have in common: We LOVE marching season! (and I'm devastated that it's a couple of weeks away from the end ) Thanks for the great discussion. I am so glad I found this place! I'm super tired and heading to bed. Sweet dreams to all!

I would rather have both. I want to be entertained, sure. However, with the way some of the props are going these days, instead of a marching band competition, it's evolving into a "who can bring the biggest and shinest toys?" competition at BOA. I appreciate the UIL judges looking more toward the traditional, technical aspect of things. It should be about how well the bands can play and march, instead of who has the prettiest stuff. I actually much prefer Marcus' show this year, not because I didn't like last year's show, but because I can appreciate the use of their props this year much more. They are very good at what they do, too. If I could have it my way, though, I would go back to the days of less props and more music and marching. In fact, I've seen some pretty incredible shows that were both entertaining AND techinically excellent and there were NO props at all used(and let me clarify that I don't consider flags, swords, rifles, etc. "props" per se. I am referring to the giant "things" brought onto the field that can sometimes become more of a distraction than a backdrop to the show). Hebron, for example, does use props, but they sit at the back and are merely the background instead of a distraction. Hebron sounds GREAT and looks fantastic. Keller High uses matches and "burning" flags but no "props" aka giant, useless "things" rolled onto the field. Their show is awesome! Haltom also has zero props and their show is great. Wakeland's use of "falling woodwinds" is entertaining w/o taking over the entire show and looking ridiculous...plus their sound is wonderful! Maybe the whole over-the-top props will begin to fade with time and go by the wayside....like other "fads" from the past. I can only hope...

H-o-l-y M-o-l-e-y I am beginning to agree with my husband. It's beginning to get a bit out of hand, isn't it? They are going to have to start having two categories at competitions. One for those with lots of props and such and one for those who just want to march and play music. Just wow. Wow & WOW