Band_dad_of_2

Take a look at the bands in Area B...it's the very definition of "depth". It's not a contest of 3 or 4 bands, it's a contest of 10-15 bands. There are 10-12 bands who could/should advance to State. Every band in finals has a legitimate shot of advancing....that's depth! Show me another area where that is the case.

Oh, no!!! My mistake....someone get Plano Senior High on the line!!

Ok, then...now we're getting somewhere!!! All we need now is an old flute from Plano East to use as a sacrifice!!! :lol:

Come on, man...."Firebird Suite" has been done to death!! :lol:

Does anyone have an old glockenspiel that can be sacrificed to the weather gods? At this point, we're desperate....

You know....I was going to say that "at least State won't get rained out" but then I remembered this happened at the Alamodome....the pregame fireworks set off the sprinklers. I think we're safe as long as none of the shows have pyrotechnics.......none of the shows have pyrotechnics, right? RIGHT?!?!

Of course it was...........................

It really does.....I watched the forecast last night. Between today and Tuesday, there could be 3-5 inches of rain in the DFW area.

Completely forgot about the reigning BOA San Antonio champs, I'd place them perhaps behind Reagan, but it's honestly a toss up between 1-6 Heh....how deep is 6A when a band like CTJ can be overlooked!?!?!?!

The Birdville contest has been cancelled due to weather concerns. Flippin' weather!!!! ENOUGH ALREADY!!!

The only "unfair" (I don't like that word) aspect, in my opinion, is small schools having to compete with the larger schools with numbers to have actual tryouts to make their band. I mean, good for them, but the fact that schools with an enrollment of 2200 has to compete with school with 4000, 5000 and 6000 kids seems off-kilter. Example...Allen HS has a JV drumline that goes to competitions and is as big as other schools only drumlines. I know Allen is a bad example because they could split their band in to 3 separate competition bands but the fact still remains that the schools at the top of the enrollment have a distinct advantage because they can choose the best of the best for their competition bands. Those at the bottom of the enrollment spectrum basically use the "foggy mirror" test to fill out their bands. Now, this is definitely not a criticism of the larger bands...they are working under the system provided to them by UIL. It has led to Texas becoming the standard for marching bands across the nation. It's the reason there's enough interest and competition to have TXBands.com! UIL is the problem....they set the cut-off numbers and the number of schools required to be in the different divisions. Maybe there are regulations or standards that require it but why 250 schools in each division? Can that be reduced to create a new division (7A) I don't care if they create 1A-10A, something needs to be done to level the marching field. Condense the enrollment numbers....create 7A for schools 3000-infinity...make 5A 1800 to 3000 and 6A 3000 to infinity. /steps off of my soapbox/ Thanks for letting me vent.....

Yes.....to all of this. And maybe it's not a "decline" as much as it is all of the other bands are rising to the level of their competition. Bands in Coppell and Bell vicinity like Prosper, Haltom, Richland, Waxahachie, etc. are "stepping things up". Bell is Bell...Coppell is Coppell...they're always great. But they have been taken over by FloMo, Hebron, CTJ...those programs stepped it up to other-worldly levels and over-took Bell and even Marcus, to an extent.

heh...."#WHATABAND". That's awesome! Look...if I could find a large sponsor for our band, I would do it in a heartbeat and not apologize for it at all. As a previous poster said, as long as school districts continue to focus on football and under-fund fine arts (even though many bands are more successful than their football teams), bands have to do what they can to pay the bills. Rather than get upset about other bands having big sponsors, why don't we get upset about districts spending $60-$70 mil on stadiums. Wouldn't a $40 mil stadium work just as well? How long fine arts in a district be funded with $10 mil??????

I don't....I guess it's on a rotation or something? Maybe it has to do with the Area's "overseer"(?) or whatever they call it...do they set the location? I was surprised to hear that you said this year's music was the best you've ever heard from Haltom....they sound great but last year's opener still gives me chill bumps. Any way this goes, there are going to be some great (and I mean "great") bands missing out on State this year. As I said earlier, as of now, I wouldn't put Haltom, Richland or Coppell advancing State. Think about this....of these 11 bands, 5 (maybe 6) are going home. If you took any of those bands and dropped them in practically any other area, they're advancing and possibly finishing in the top 3 in their area. And I didn't include the Mansfield schools who finished ahead of Haltom last week (I just don't know enough about them). Coppell Duncanville Keller Keller Central Haltom Richland Plano East Keller Timber Creek LD Bell Prosper Waxahachie

As of today....today....I think you are overrating Haltom and underestimating Waxahachie, Prosper and Coppell (especially Waxahachie). The BISD contest just became an incredibly important contest given the location (Area and the attendees. Now, can we all hold a good thought for the weather...please, no rain!!

I am in no way a professional but I recently watched video of Haltom's show and can't help but think that there are just props on the field for what they want to do. They have a big band with a ton of large props that are in the middle of the field for a large part of the show. Frankly, it looked cluttered at times....especially with such a large band roaming though them. When they're compact, it obviously helps the sound...at the same time, that compactness (I may have made up a word!) of the show combined with the difficulty of the show combined with the large props in the middle of the field made things look a little messy. Their sound, though....WOW! Their sound has improved so much over the last few years....it's very bold and brassy. Always a good thing!

And to the original poster's point.....VOLUNTEER!!! I think the biggest step you take is the very first step....some people are afraid that the task is too big or that they weren't in band so they won't know what to do. That couldn't be farther from the truth because once you're in, you're hooked. These kids are amazing and so talented....you can't help but want to be a part of the band once you start volunteering.

The greatest thing about band is that it's a community....there are no "rivals". My favorite pictures are the ones where our kids were interacting with other bands. Like I said in another thread, the best example is the Marcus fans/parents....my first kid's freshman year, I saw them give every band an standing ovation. That set the standard for me. One of my favorite moments from last year was at a competition...our pit crew was done loading and we saw another band struggling with their props. The band director was in a suit trying to load the props with kids in their uniforms. Our group hopped over and gave them a hand and we didn't think anything of it.

5 is almost a certainty....6 is pushing it but there's a possibility. I counted 36 bands in the area....this is from the UIL website. Advancement from Area Contest to State Contest2A/3A/4A Certification. In conferences 2A/3A/4A the music area shall certify the three bands receiving the highest ranking in each conference to the state marching band contest. Should twenty or more bands qualify for advancement in a single conference for the area contest, one band for each five bands that qualifed for advancement to the contest shall be certified for advancement to the state contest. 5A/6A Certification. In Conferences 5A/6A the music area shall certify the two bands receiving the highest ranking in each conference to the state marching band contest. Should fifteen or more bands qualify for advancement in a single conference for the area contest, one band for each five bands that qualifed for advancement to the contest shall be certified for advancement to the state contest. In addition, in area contests advancing two bands, any band that receives a ranking of two or higher from two music judges and one marching judge shall also advance to the state contest. In addition, in contests advancing three or more bands, any band that receives a ranking of three or higher from two music judges and one marching judge shall also advance to the state contest.

Ok.....just be advised that this can change in the next 10 minutes but based on two weeks of contests, I'm making another prediction. Keller - really the only lock - they've backed it up with their results Prosper - I'm going to go ahead and put them in - they've attended two really competitive contests and done exceptionally well Waxahachie - strong band....always strong and good result at BOA DFW Timber Creek - Same as Prosper - good results at deep contests LD Bell - Strong as always Those giving LD Bell a run for their money for the last spotCoppell - didn't make finals at BOA DFW but they're the strongest remaining band based on the last couple of weeks Richland - I thought Haltom was going to win when they showed up on the Mansfield schedule.....welp. Haltom - two 5th place finishes - certainly not what they expected Keller Central - didn't make finals at BOA DFW - difficult to tell where they are right now Plano East Trinity

Anything can happen but I just don't see it happening for the Mansfield schools...and believe me, that's not a knock on them. It just speaks to the depth in this area.

IMO, there's only one, true "lock"....Keller. Everything else is up in the air...I thought Coppell was close to a lock but they didn't make finals at BOA DFW. That was a really deep contest so I have no idea what to make of that. I am in awe at the depth of Area B.

My earlier results were incorrect....Richland actually won the contest based on prelim scores. Sorry for the confusion. 1st - Richland 2nd - Centennial 3rd - Mansfield Lake Ridge 4th - Mansfield Summit 5th - Haltom

"Something has to be going on"? Yes...they're getting beat. My friend, a little advice. You need to be realistic...I assume you're a fan of Haltom because you've been a vehement supporter based on previous posts. At some point, you need to realize that this is the 2nd time in two weeks Haltom has finished 5th. Not 2nd or 3rd.....5th. Can they get it together? Absolutely...they're too good. The problem is...so is every other band.

Results based on prelim scores 1. Burleson Centinnial 2. Richland 3. Lake Ridge 4. Summit 5. Haltom