lost

It’s honestly super unfortunate for this area not to be taking 4. LISD was so close to having every single one of their schools qualify to state.

Roma should be safely getting the state qualifier spot they deserve.

Mabank has always been an interesting band. They went to Grand Nats in Indianapolis one year.

I’m a bit weary on Churchill after their placement at the TMC. I’m a bit more optimistic about New Braunfels and McNeil.

I did not realize they were in this area I totally missed them on the list. I definitely have Johnson above Dripping Springs and slightly above Hendrickson and Weiss ? At least for now.

I would like a bigger emphasis on color guard/dance teams.

It wouldn’t even be an upset if Wakeland placed top three. They’re at top three level right now and while we would’ve seen the outcome coming, it would still be 100% deserved.

This is what’s always made uil so nerve-wracking. A really strong, sometimes state-finalist level program might miss state altogether because of a rough run at area finals. Heck we’ve seen strong finalist level bands miss out on area due to timing penalties at region. Every single performance leading up to UIL state matters, they’re all weighted the same and a band really can’t let their guard down at any moment.

Honestly I’m not sure how Weiss’ show will transfer on UIL sheets. It’s a great show but it’s definitely not traditionally UIL styled. Thinking about their dance break and how UIL will see that.

It’s going to be rough if they only advance 3 from this area. My guesses would be Hendrickson, Weiss and either Georgetown or Dripping Springs. I got to see Anderson at Vista Ridge finals and they had probably one of their strongest performances this season to date, so I do see them as an outside shot if they keep consistent with that performance level and have cleaned up the visual a bit.

Also genuine question and no harm meant to the Del Río program, but is there show this year not the same show they performed in 2020? Isn’t there a rule against performing the same show twice at least for UIL?

I think the advancers will be Lake Travis, Westlake, Vandegrift and Vista Ridge but I wouldn’t mind seeing Brandeis take a spot. I can’t remember if Brandeis has ever gone to state.

I think the evidence is Summits placement over at Midland.

Check out what I just found on accident: https://marching.musicforall.org/program-austin-2021/

I was worried Area H wouldn’t take 4. It’s very good to hear that they are. You're definitely right in that Area A will probably end up taking an extra band by that rule. I believe they’re the other recent example where that rule was invoked, at least in 6A.

There wasn’t necessarily a tie, Leander finished 1 point below Westlake.

Bad judge rule. Someone would have to dig up the exact ordinals but essentially Leander was ranked 3rd by two music judges and 3rd by 1 visual judge so they qualified to state based on this fact alone. Any band that gets a 3rd or higher from two music judges and one visual judge also qualifies to state and Leander fit that criteria. Leander finished 1 point below Westlake, so they didn’t tie but Leander still advanced.

Speaking of which I think if any area is likely to invoke the bad judge rule it’s probably going to be H again. I’m pretty sure Area H is only taking 3 and that third spot sure is competitive. Wouldn’t be surprised if the ordinals are a bit mixed and it ends up in a bad judge rule scenario. Would really be a great thing. Maybe it’s my wishful thinking. Maybe Westlake will easily take those 3’s cleanly and leave the other bands with no room. I can’t be sure but I’d like to give Brandeis and Lake Travis the benefit of the doubt.

It’ll suck to lose out 2 whole finalist spots by 1 band. In 2018 I believe if 14 advanced finals would’ve also taken Oak Ridge & Round Rock if I’m not mistaken? I haven’t seen those results sheets in a looooong time.

Would you happen to have a video of them? Or Wando?

Awesome news for Allen. They missed out Area last cycle because of some timing issues at region. Great news to see them get to advance this year.

Speaking of which what’s Duncanville up to? I’ve missed them.

This is just something that happens every few years. The circumstances just come together for a very top heavy year. COVID has affected this contest less than I expected. I think the only band not coming that might be due to COVID/ COVID funding issues is L.D. Bell. The other big bands not attending all have non-covidy reasons. Like Flower Mounds admin not letting them take off days for SA or Prosper opting for a St. Louis trip instead.

This was a very good contest. Congratulations to all performing bands. I would like to repeat what everyone has already said. Don’t spread random rumors especially when they’re totally wrong and with topics as heavy as disqualification. Students do read these boards and that can have negative effects. I feel awful for those JBA kids and I hope the students responsible for those comments are held responsible. They didn’t have to travel to Austin but they did and they did great and behaved very responsibly, nobody deserves those comments and especially not the JBA students. Congratulations to all finalists and a special congratulations to the first few bands out. McNeil almost cracked finals and they’ve been improving immensely. I think we should recognize their work along with Belton who also came quite close.

Wakeland is easily a lock. Wylie East, Lebanon Trail and Lone Star have decent shots. That’s about it.