Samuel Culper

One of CP's two tenors had their instrument come completely disconnected from its harness and the kid was carrying it and trying to remount it for more than a minute while continuing his drill, running into the other tenor at one point. At the same time, there was a CG girl that tripped and went completely down on the field.

All 12 Region 29 bands received 1s. So we just need 4 of 6 from Region 11 to secure 4 State slots.

Why?

That helps

I was really impressed with Lake Belton. They have come a very long way. Churchill's show is so very entertaining. Just a treat to watch. And McNeil's sound is fantastic. By far the best I have ever heard from them.

They sounded terrific in Prelims

Area contest to be held at Gupton Stadium in Cedar Park - Saturday, October 21st Region 11 Contest - Saturday, Oct 14th, Rutledge Stadium 8:30 - Judson 8:45 - Steele 9:00 - East Central 9:15 - Clemens 9:30 - Eagle Pass 9:45 - Del Rio Region 29 contest - Wednesday, Oct 11th, Farris Stadium 6:30 - Jay 6:45 - Holmes 7:00 - John Marshall 7:15 - Sotomayor 7:30 - Warren 7:45 - Clark 8:05 - Harlan 8:20 - Brandeis 8:35 - Brennan 8:50 - O'Connor 9:05 - Taft 9:20 - Stevens Region 32 Contest - Wednesday, Oct 11th, Gupton Stadium 7:30 - Vista Ridge 8:45 - Westlake 9:00 - Vandegrift 9:15 - Lake Travis

The more interesting bit to me is that, maybe not this upcoming cycle but certainly by the 2026 realignment, Vandy will be moving down to 5A. Their numbers are headed downward and the projections are that will continue.

Finals Schedule:

Prelims Schedule:

I'm excited about Vista Ridge's result here. 3rd is their highest finish at this contest and they have a nice track record in recent years of improving relative to the bands in front of them when they get to San Antonio. 2022 Austin San Antonio Vandegrift 1 4 Cedar Ridge 2 9 Cedar Park 3 10 Vista Ridge 4 5 2021 Austin San Antonio Vandegrift 1 2 CTJ 2 3 Rouse 3 13 Cedar Park 4 11 Vista Ridge 5 12 2019 Austin San Antonio Vandegrift 1 2 Leander 2 4 CTJ 3 7 Vista Ridge 4 3 2018 Austin San Antonio CTJ 1 5 Leander 2 6 Vandegrift 3 7 Vista Ridge 4 4

I think this is absolutely the case where the kids are concerned. The parents are another story. In my experience, the more involved the parents are, the more likely they are to be very supportive of ALL bands and all band kids. They root hardest for their school, of course, but also root hard for sister schools and genuinely are excited for everyone's success. The less involved parents seem more likely to engage in the bad-mouthing of other bands. I think being involved and seeing just how much it takes to bring a competitive show to life makes you appreciate the hard work ALL of these kids put in.

Lake Travis is definitely the surprise of finals.

*contests *contests

I agree that whoever does make finals will be a worthy band. The talent in Texas *IS* that deep. But, I think that once BOA made the decision to move this contest to two panels without a Semifinals, it made it critical in the name of fairness for them to try very earnestly to balance the dispersion of the bands at the top within the schedule.

Agreed. Panel 2 is going to leave some frustrated kids. I wish they had balanced this better.

Panel 1 - Cedar Park, Cedar Ridge, Westlake, Rouse, Vandegrift, LD Bell Panel 2 - Round Rock, Vista Ridge, CTJ, Leander, James Bowie, Ronald Reagan, Marcus, Wakeland, The Woodlands Looks pretty unbalanced to me.

Which is why it was so exciting when Avon came down. I'm disappointed none of the other big hitters make the same choice.

Two years in a row with ZERO participation from out of state?

Drop: Vista Ridge

Age of Discovery is a great name, but it wouldn't have fit the show. Lost & Found was perfect.

Vista Ridge 2018 was Lost and Found

Vista Ridge used Ara batur as one of their source pieces back in '15. What a gorgeous piece of music.

Gupton Stadium - Cedar Park Currently Registered: Belton Brenham Hutto John B. Connally Lake Belton Lehman Liberty Hill Louis D. Brandeis McNeil Medina Valley New Braunfels Round Rock (JV) Sandra Day O'Connor Stony Point Weiss William H. Taft Winston Churchill