A Testing Trumpet

This is UIL, Anything is possible indeed.

Now that Finals has wrapped up, who do you think are our advancers?

Can I just say... WOW VISTA RIDGE!!!

Does anyone have the performance times for tonight?

I do think it is rather interesting CTJ went for such a visually demanding show on a State year.

For reference, in 2016 when CTJ opted out of Finals and had a difficult visual program, they placed 5th in prelims. Baring any unforeseen events I have very little doubt that they will advance.

Finalists: James Bowie Ronald Reagan Cedar Ridge Hendrickson Claudia Taylor Johnson Churchill Smithson Valley Round RockHays Westwood (Thanks Danpod!)

Anyone got Finalists?

Since San Antonio advanced 14 Finalists, these were the scores for 14th place (since 2003) 2003: 83.85 2004: 81.60 2005: 82.40 2006: 85.00 2007: 86.65 2008: 82.40 2009: 81.35 2010: 82.90 2011: 84.00 2012: 86.65 2013: 85.30 2014: 85.70 2015: 84.35 2016: 84.55 2017: 90.400 Still can't believe just how competitive 2017 was in comparison to other years.

Finalist Locks- Ronald Reagan Claudia Taylor Johnson Bowie Hendrickson Cedar Ridge Churchill Round Rock Finalist Bubble- Westwood McNeil Lehman Jack C. Hays Comal Canyon New Braunfels Madison MacArthur Harker Heights Belton Stony Point Anderson Akins Smithson Valley Reason I have the bubble so large is due to the fact many of the placements are only possible by saying "Z band went to this contest, where they beat X band, then X band beat Y band at another contest when Y band just beat W band at another contest". Lots of cross-contest judging comparisons that make having conclusive placements very difficult. The bubble is in a sort of order, but I can legitimately see any band in this bubble making finals based upon the evidence I have seen.

Now that all regions in this area have completed their Marching Contest, These are the bands that will advance to Area D; along with their ratings from each Region. ----------------------------------------------------- Region 8- (8/10 Advanced) Belton: 1/1/1 Bryan: 1/1/1 Copperas Cove: 1/1/1 Ellison: 1/1/2 Harker Heights: 1/1/1 Killeen: 1/2/1 Midway: 1/1/1 Temple: 1/1/1 (No Advancement) Shoemaker: 2/2/2 Waco: 2/2/1 ------------------------------------------ Region 12- (11/11 Advanced) Churchill: 1/1/1 Claudia Taylor Johnson: 1/1/1 Comal Canyon: 1/1/1 Legacy of Educational Excellence: 1/1/1 MacArthur: 1/1/1 Madison: 1/1/1 New Braunfels: 1/1/1 Ronald Reagan: 1/1/1 Roosevelt: 1/1/1 San Marcos: 2/1/1 Smithson Valley: 1/1/1 ------------------------------------------ Region 18- (7/7 Advanced) Akins: 1/1/1 Anderson: 1/1/1 Austin: 1/1/1 Bowie: 1/1/1 Del Valle: 2/1/1 Jack C. Hays: 1/1/1 Lehman: 1/1/1 ------------------------------------------ Region 26- (6/6 Advanced) Cedar Ridge: 1/1/1 Hendrickson: 1/1/1 McNeil: 1/1/1 Round Rock: 1/1/1 Stony Point: 1/1/1 Westwood: 1/1/1 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 32 Advance to Area D, from 34 possible. This means that out of the 32 bands participating, 10 bands will make finals and 6 will be certified to State Prelims.

Knowing the panels, these would be my top 10 for each panel. Adjudication Panel 1: 1.Ronald Reagan 2.Leander 3.Hebron 4.Keller 5.Cedar Park 6.Hendrickson 7.LD Bell 8.Cedar Ridge 9.Round Rock 10.Timber Creek ----------------------------------------------------------------- Adjudication Panel 2: 1.CTJ 2.Vandegrift 3.Flower Mound 4.The Woodlands 5.James Bowie 6.Marcus 7.Vista Ridge 8.Oak Ridge 9.Seven Lakes 10.Winston Churchill

Ahh, so that is a function that the Chief Judge executes. Cool.

So with the next 4 outside the top 5 from each panel, are they comparing bands from both panel one and panel two in the same scoring? if so that's comparing two different competitions. One panel might say some band has a 90 while a similarly skilled band might get an 87 just because of how the judges judge, like how many BOA events have "Score Inflation". Not sure If I am completely understanding that.

Sure, when I get some more free time and we get closer to the contest I may expand it.

Predictions as of 10/14 "Solid" Finalists 1.CTJ 2.Ronald Reagan 3.Vandegrift 4.Flower Mound 5.Leander 6.The Woodlands 7.Hebron -----------------------Bubble----- 8.James Bowie 9.Keller 10.Marcus 11.Vista Ridge 12.Cedar Park 13.Hendrickson 14.LD Bell ----Finals Cutoff---- 15.Cedar Ridge 16.Cy-Fair 17.Oak Ridge 18.Seven Lakes 19.Winston Churchill 20.Round Rock ------------------------------------Top 20 Cutoff Timber Creek James E. Taylor Waxahachie Brazoswood Prosper Wakeland ---------------------Bubble-----

Reagan with an 88 early October

I don't disagree with that, but I don't believe that it is your right to be rude about it. The way it was said could have been better worded then it was; and it's why I was compelled to answer in the way that I did. As a recent member of that band I know that maintaining that legacy of success is very important to them, and saying something like what was said is not only very hurtful to those members, it did not offer any productive analysis of why they thought they lost that success. My point is that you have every right to call out a program on their laurels, if you so choose; but you don't have the right to say something rude to them for it. They have already recognized that it was rude and apologized so it's fine, but I just felt like I should clarify this further.

Round Rock's students have done amazing work, and should be proud of what they have achieved today. Comparing them to the past is not relevant because because they are not that band, they have a new uniform and a new identity. One could look at this and say that they have regressed, or see it as a symptom of a change in the program's direction; and I think when they have had more time to mature with this new direction they could be better then they have ever been. It's only late September, and their is still plenty of time in the season for them to mature. Personally, I'm proud of them tonight for trying something new .

Round Rock in 10th . That's kinda surprising.

1. Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX 83.75 2. Leander H.S., TX 83.1 3. Vandegrift H.S., TX 82.3 4. Vista Ridge H.S., TX 82.05 5. James Bowie H.S., TX 80.05 6. Cedar Park H.S., TX 77.1 7. Cedar Ridge H.S., TX 76.6 8. Hendrickson H.S., TX 75.65 9. Winston Churchill H.S., TX 73.6 10. Round Rock H.S., TX 73.55 Outstanding Music Performance: Leander H.S., TX Outstanding Visual Performance: Vista Ridge H.S., TX Outstanding General Effect: Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX

Interesting list. This tells us Leander, Bowie, CTJ, Vista Ridge, and Vandegrift made the top 5. Cedar Park and Round Rock are in the 6-10 range.

Finals Schedule- 8:30 - Hendrickson 8:42 - Cedar Park 8:54 - Round Rock 9:06 - Cedar Ridge 9:18 - Winston Churchill 9:30 - Vandegrift 9:42 - Vista Ridge 9:54 - Claudia Taylor Johnson 10:06 - James Bowie 10:18 - Leander

Biggest standouts to me from the prelims awards was Vista Ridge beating Cedar Park, and James Bowie beating Round Rock. Cool that Rouse got a class champion spot .

Every year brings new contests, new shows, new people, and most of all; new experiences. It's easy to look at the past and say "this is how this will play out" but in reality the only thing that counts is how you perform when that pedal hits the metal. The sky's the limit, folks .