TrenBS

Bowie and Trinity are area B, so they dont count, I think theres a glitch in your sheet or something lmao

Oh absolutely, anything above like 160 marching is nothing to sneeze at much less 360, and frankly Id love to see the visual demand of a 200 member Vandegrift as even with their large numbers is already insane, it may even do them better come their BOA Nationals year visually🤷‍♂️

My prediction, which to be clear Im not familiar below the top 7 so Im basing 8-10 on previous years and other predictions lmao: 1. Wakeland 2. McKinney North (Music over Lone Star) 3. Lone Star (Visuals over North) 4. Lebanon Trail 5. Argyle 6. The Colony 7. Walnut Grove 8. Love Joy 9. Centennial 10. Anna

I’ll speak for McKinney/Boyd and frankly Lone Star in that early draw times typically arent an issue, Boyd at least has been consistently having early call times since 2018 even for later performances for these scenarios, heck we were prepared for a 3AM call time for BOA Katy in 2021 before the directors decided against it purely because we would get home around 3AM, the call time wasnt seen as a problem lol Even last year when Boyd had the earliest call time at Area C where they performed at 8:15 on a 50 minute drive, they placed exactly where they ended up in finals, so 30 extra minutes for performance on a 25-30 minute drive is frankly pretty nice. McKinney, Prosper, and Frisco schools are very strong on consistency, so I doubt these schools with the proximity of Prosper stadium will see MUCH reduction of a score, if at all. Personally I still see Prosper in the top 6 unless their judging stays random for them in general, and while Boyd could place from 8-15, I dont think the performance time is gonna heavily affect their score and wherever they place/score is what they will deserve, along with McKinney High, North, Lone Star, etc. TL;DR, I have confidence in MISD, PISD, and FISDs consistency and I doubt these draw times will determine anything more than +-1 placement these groups, I can’t speak for any other districts of course but these Im confident in. Edit: MISD also starts at 7:30 across the district, so as long as the call time isnt before 5:30, most band members are already on schedule for these call times because of school lol

Different areas have different places they put them (Area Js is somewhere on the region 20 site), but its the draw order where each band is randomly assigned a number for the area order

Their content is never the issue, but the level of execution typically can cause inconsistent scoring for them, specifically their visuals which at Bedford was 2 points below their music scores, and overall placed below Southlake in a majority of the captions who placed below North and Forney at 11th, so unless they take a major step up Id place them around the 8-14 range depending on the bands around them Definitely not throwing shade since their shows are generally great and they perform so well, but this competition is so brutal that the 7-17 bubble feels fairly interchangeable, it just depends on who is better and who is not which makes predictions for this competition fun lol

Im honestly kind of shocked they didn't add more state slots to these areas or make the amount of groups advancing to area create more slots for 6A (4 per slot would be one idea) due to the increased quality of many of these bands and areas. 3 slots would remain for A, 4 slots would go to G, 5 slots to B, C, H, and J, 6 to D, E, and F, and area I would most likely have 6-7. Looking at the rosters, the only 2 areas that would have a feeling of too much slot inflation would maybe be I and E, but at the same time its not a big deal when considering that area B and J would be dropping (taking Timber Creek and Prosper as the examples for taking their 4th slots) SLC, Haltom, Keller Central, Wylie, Wylie East, McKinney Boyd, and my personal dark horses being Lake Ridge and McKinney High, and telling me these bands dont deserve to make state while the justification for these changes being to “allow for more even state qualifier representation across the state” is pretty silly to me. Heres a prediction so that this isnt merely a rant post lol: 1. Keller 2. Coppell 3. L.D. Bell 4. Timber Creek 5. Keller Central 6. Southlake Carroll 7. Haltom 8. Lake Ridge 9. Trinity 10. Boswell

UIL provide opportunities to state level bands challenge: Impossible

Updated 8/20 (11): Heritage H.S. (TX) Highland Park H.S. (TX) Independence H.S. (TX) Lewisville H.S. (TX)* Melissa H.S. (TX) Memorial H.S. (TX) Plano East H.S. (TX) Plano West H.S. (TX) Plano Sr. H.S. (TX) Prosper H.S. (TX)* Walnut Grove H.S. (TX)* *Asterics are ambiguous with previous attendance/calendar, correct if you have more information

Will throw out a prediction, although Im not 100% on this areas bands: 1. Waxahachie 2. Forney 3. Duncanville 4. Sachse 5. Berkner 6. Rockwall 7. Lake Highlands 8. J.J. Pearce 9. Richardson 10. Royce City

I wish I knew more about the bands outside of the typical finalists, I would frankly love to see some of these schools be competitive for area finals or state at some point, Ive got my eye personally on Little Elm and Plano Sr. right now

This, although I think the regular music and visual sheets can be kinda used to get something more objective in terms of individual and ensemble consistency, but at the same time I wouldn't use it very objectively either because McKinney High beat Boyd slightly in music for Prosper, but Boyd was significantly ahead at area in both aspects

I'll make a spitball for this, but the bottom half of finals is completely unpredictable in my opinion: 1. Marcus (Visual, Music) 2. Wakeland (General Effect) 3. Prosper 4. Jenks 5. L.D. Bell 6. Bentonville 7. Keller Central 8. Rock Hill 9. Wylie East 10. McKinney Boyd 11. McKinney North 12. Lone Star Finalist Bubble: Wylie, Mustang, Southlake, McKinney, Azle, Rockwall Realistically, the only locks apart from the top 6 are Keller Central and Wylie East in my opinion given how their show design and execution is very consistent for BOA measures, McKinney Boyd and North have had some pretty good momentum, but this competition got a tight finals bubble, I can see some of these bands finishing either in the top 8-9, or 15th/16th

I've heard a few bands and seen some of their drill, and of course, it's so early it frankly how these bands are sounding now doesn't determine anything, but it at least allows me to make a more assertive prediction, especially since we have many more known factors such as sites, draw order, and the actual roster, so here's my prediction: (Also, this is some word vomit, but these also have my takes for these bands going into this season, not just purely for the area contest) 1. Marcus [Visual] (I honestly thought they were gonna win last year, Hebron may have had way harder material but there was a good amount of dirt at the time which the UIL sheets should punish more heavily on rather than difficulty, this was reflected at the SMBC, and with the current state of TX band, should be on the same page in the area contest, and I could see them winning State again for the first time in a while) 2. Hebron [Music] (I don't see them dropping below 2nd unless they over-program, even with how dirty Monomyth was relative to the top 3 at area and top 5 at SMBC, they were still in 1st and 3rd respectively, the only way I see Flower Mound beating them is if they have an insane breakout year or if directors at Hebron leave, which even then I don't see them falling below 3rd anytime soon) 3. Flower Mound (I hope they return to their heavily themed shows from 2021 and 2022, their only main weakness at this contest is that with how the sheets are currently, they don't have a strong factor to counter Hebron in music or Marcus in visual, Flower Mound absolutely has the best balance between their visual and music books, but unless they are objectively better than the top 2 in music or visual, they are usually set up to place 3rd) 4. McKinney Boyd (Gonna preface that 4-7 could be in any order come October, currently though with what I've seen from 4-7 and with no spoilers of course, Boyd and Prosper seem like they'll be more likely to be in the 4-5 range this year, Boyd's music is a large step up in quality and their visuals are significantly cleaner and more difficult than last year, if I had to make a prediction on the sheets, I think Boyd will have the strongest music for the 4-7 range, but visually will place around 5th-6th due to having a smaller group than Prosper/Wylies, regardless of what the order is, it's gonna be an insanely close year) 5. Prosper (Prospers shows I feel like cater to BOA and UIL 50/50, with their writing feeling more effective than most other bands at the area contest, which while it works very well when there are multiple slots in this area which allows the split focus to allow them to move on to the SMBC, only one slot makes me hard-pressed to place them ahead of Boyd as Boyds show is much more UIL friendly but much more difficult than any other year, and with their timeline and end goal realistically being BOA Grand Nationals, the SMBC is likely not a priority and I could see them having more dirt on the field even in late October/early November, if this contest had proper captions [woodwinds, brass, percussion, vis. individual and ensemble], they would be 4th every year, or honestly 3rd last year, but with how the sheets are currently, they are poorly set up for this competition in particular, which if I were the director, honestly wouldn't be concerned because Grand Nationals BOA is a much more important milestone than going to state every single year) 6. Wylie East (This group I have seen very little, but I think this is the year they overtake Wylie, WEast to me has a more difficult show writing than Wylie, but Wylie usually was significantly cleaner than the competition with a very cohesive show that is very digestible for UIL, but WEast has been building steam the past few years with their shows, and I think this will be the year that it clicks for them, it seems off to put them 6th, but it's mainly due to the fact I haven't seen much from them so its really just speculation, I've seen much more from 4, 5, and 7 so I feel comfortable with my current rankings for them, but I could see WEast taking 4th with little contest in the best case scenario) 7. Wylie (Probably a hot take to place them this low, but Wylies best quality to me has been their ability to be insanely clean with a fantastic sound to boot, their shows are generally on the easier side with McKinney Boyd [NOT A BAD THING], but they've been able to dominate the area with their cleanliness and fantastic tone, which I do not see it being as big of a factor this year. Wylie East already had tougher shows while generally not as clean, but across the board, the level of difficulty and demand in the shows this year is much higher, especially with Boyd, Prosper, and my guess on 8th, but Wylie feels fairly similar to last year, if not a little easier on their visuals and music, not spoiling anything at all, but unless they sound irrefutably the best in terms of tone and visually are perfect, I can easily see them losing music captions, again were incredibly early so what I see now could be irrelevant in a week, but personally I see either Boyd, Prosper, or Wylie East as more "state contender" level in terms of difficulty and design in combination with how clean they are already compared to Wylie) 8. McKinney High (They have been on a steady pace the past few years, and finally saw a return to area finals last year since 2016, I know me and many people from McKinney Boyd and North were incredibly excited to see them succeed, and I know for absolute certainty that it wasn't just an "on" year for them, the staff and fine arts directors in MISD have been building this district from the ground up, and this year I believe we're gonna see that with Boyd and High, and potentially North once we see more from them this year, which I doubt there's any concern about their success. Anyways, I can see McKinney High being a dark horse for the 4-7 bubble, from what I've seen from them, musically they could steal multiple captions if they can perform what has been given to them, and visuals I think will be a little behind, but overall they feel like a lock for finals, and would have to have a bad run to place below 10th, in my subjective opinion) 9th and 10th Im not certain on who it could be in all honesty, Rock Hill and Byron feel like safe bets, but I could see a Plano school or Little Elm sneaking in, and Allen would just depend on the show and if they march a show that the area judges would find viable for a finalist position, which admittedly is pretty difficult given how difficult the competition is nowadays. I know I said a ton about a lot of these bands that could be wrong come area, but realistically this year is gonna be a toss up, I THINK Boyd and Prosper will be on the upper half this year, but that's assuming Wylie East doesn't have an insane year, or if Wylie isnt pristinely clean which they can be easily, it makes me wish there were the individual caption scores so this area could be a little more objective in nature, but again, we will just have to see, if you disagree or have any takes Id love to hear them (Im still in band mode from DCI), and regardless of how the results turn out, this is going to be an insanely tough and enjoyable competition!

It is REALLY nice to have a BOA SA level finalists with a competition in DFW, hopefully, this becomes BOA SA for the DFW bands that can't justify doing a 5.5-hour drive before SMBC, or for bands who arent consistent with state qualifying (area J and B having prime candidates)

This is my last update for the stadium, the Region 24 site has the stadium labeled at McKinney ISD, which Im gonna believe since the region site typically isn't inaccurate, which is kind of a relief (partly since it's in my backyard essentially) but also since I think MISD stadium is much better for holding a major competition over Little Elm. The sound in the stadium is also pretty good for performing and logistics are good for spectators, with the main issue being logistics to squeeze all of the bands in, which will most likely be crammed in the visitor lot for the semis. This will likely give McKinney Boyd/High a slight advantage given the minimal travel time for both schools, as well as being comfortable performing at their home stadium they also get to rehearse over the season. It wouldn't make say McKinney Boyd magically go from 7th to 4th with home advantage alone of course, but for predictions and their consistency, the McKinney schools are both gonna have 2 strong runs most likely which places more confidence for them, in my opinion lol

I agree with most of this honestly, this season is looking to be a major step up from the past 2 years, ESPECIALLY in difficulty Kind of surprising to see Cavies get 2nd in percussion, but its so early that can easily be a non factor in a week, otherwise I think Phantom could cause a serious ruckus come finals

Recommended site is Little Elm stadium, honestly kind of disappointed it ended up being this stadium, mainly because theres not really a ton of space to hold every band here, and the humidity in this area is generally pretty high It does have its perks over Mesquite though, the design is way more open which I personally prefer as a performer since sound just projects outwards and doesnt reverb very much (Prosper/McKinney stadiums do this on some level), and finals retreat will be much easier to get every band on and off the field

McKinney also has it at MISD stadium, so Im gonna trust that its there for now, and obviously it will depend on whatever the site says

I mean for an area contest Little Elm isnt exactly the best, its not a crappy stadium at all, but having performed there its not exactly enjoyable to walk around/navigate, and I cant really imagine 20+ bands at the same time being there, along with the area being naturally humid, I would've preferred Mckinney, or honestly Prosper stadium despite the acoustics being a little iffy, mainly on coordination and as a site in general.

Seems kinda off if UIL is trying to get more "equal representation" into state when they will take from 2 of 4 districts at BEST lol, I would need to see a SERIOUS dark horse that can pass the McKinneys, Prosper, and Wylie in a year, which I dont think is realistic all things considered

Its pretty obvious there will be 4 state slots given all of these bands realistically never get even close to a division 2 outside of timing problems, but this is honestly pretty disheartening for any band outside of the standard finalists, McKinney High honestly is a MASSIVE dark horse that I think people should wait and see for their performance, if I were to make a prediction right now with all the information I know, it would look like this (grain of salt, probably incorrect outside of the top like 4): 1. Hebron (Wins WW and Ind.)* 2. Marcus (Wins Brass/Perc.)* 3. Flower Mound (Wins Ens.)* 4. Prosper 5. McKinney Boyd 6. Wylie 7. McKinney High 8. Wylie East 9. Rock Hill 10. Lewisville *(This is assuming the new 5 judge system were in play, if it isnt then switch Marcus and FloMo, along with moving Wylie to 5th and trading the McKinneys, also if you dont agree with the list its ok I kinda threw it together using what Ive seen, could very well be wrong in many ways lol) Looking at this list proposes a very obvious problem of finals (realistically given the past 4 years and whos left in the roster) being comprised of 4 districts alone, but honestly this feels like such a detriment to the bands who honestly down to 9th-10th could perform well at the SMBC, but now have to compete for a single spot due to outside choices, I dont hold this against LISD of course since they simply want to be the best and perform incredibly as a unit, but their stranglehold on this area is honestly very surprising, and as to why they would put them in whats now such a low populated area is beyond me. I dont really get the understanding of why it had to be divided this way outside of distance, in which case moving the Coppell region here along with 3 or 4 wouldve likely been more balanced as 5 slots with Bell and Coppell as the highest leaves room for fighting with Wylie and Prosper (McKinneys will depend on their show writing), as well as making the finalists much more varied district wise, but I dont get to make those kinds of decisions, so what we get is what we get I suppose lol

Yes, once its officially finalized it will not change unless brought to the board for some alternate reason (sudden zone shift/ISD change being an example), so if this ends up being final, it will not change until fall of '26

I was frankly hoping for more regions for marching band, as it stands Area J has FOUR state slots at BEST, with LISD in the area, Im sorry but that is such a stupid move to put them in the brand new area with only 3 regions being comprised of it, so you essentially are forcing the other 18 bands to compete for a SINGLE spot, if its even open with 2+ Dv.2s, while LISD floats to state every year cause the only school that has the potential to compete for top 3 would probably be Prosper given a couple years at best. I hope more changes come, because TMEA/UIL essentially just gave LISD a monopoly and are forcing 5+ state qualifiers that would place comfortably in the top 25 to compete for a single spot, which is not including like 2 dark horses that could really throw a curveball

Welp, TMEA added a 2426 alignment thats visible when googling so I suppose this is fair game to post, and they officially created Area J consisting of 2, 24.. and 25… hopefully some schools get moved around because lets be honest, the only winners are going to be LISD and a toss up between Prosper and Wylie if the current system stays in place, even with McKinney Boyd there was a point gap between them and WEast, and WEast wasnt even top 5 lol, anything else catch anyones eye? Heres the link: https://align.tmea.org/align_2426/index.php