Bad.robot

Cy Woods parent here. As far as I know, we were never scheduled to go to Dayton this year. We have a brand new director. 

This message is mostly aimed to students at Cy-Woods, Cy-Fair, and Bridgeland high schools. I'm a Bridgeland parent and I know many BL kids read this forum, and I imagine the CyWoods/CyFair kids do, too.
I am beyond proud of what our district is starting to do right now. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Houston had some of the best marching bands in the nation. Westfield, Spring, Langham Creek, Clements... nobody knew of Hebron, Vandegrift or Vista Ridge back then. But the directors at those great Houston schools eventually retired or moved on, and their programs declined quickly, with Langham Creek being the last to do so. CFISD's music program has struggled for 17 years, since Langham Creek HS was the big dog and was doing great things on the field. It's been nothing but tumbleweeds since then. But to see what these three bands have put on the field the past couple of years, and especially this year, it just makes me incredibly proud of how we are representing Cypress, CFISD, and Houston in general. It is a renaissance for CFISD and for Houston.
To the Cy-Fair HS kids: Your show this year was so outside-the-box. I've been following marching bands for a long time, and it's one of the most creative show designs I have ever seen. Everything was new, different, original. I have never heard so many kids from other bands "ooh" and "aah" over a show as I did at the area I contest a few weeks ago when you performed in the finals. I've never discussed the meaning of a show so often with parents from BL and other schools. That means you put ART on the field, and that's all in addition to the precision marching, the beautiful and tight woodwind runs, the beautiful brass sound, the amazing guard with its butterflies. It was just a complete package and, knowing we are friendly competition, I was sweating you guys all season and was a little relieved you weren't attending BOA SA - one less contender to worry about. I can't wait to see what you guys cook up next year. I know it's going to be absolutely incredible.
To the Cy-Woods HS kids: You put on a fantastically clean and modern show. The black and yellow popped on the field visually, and it complemented the block formations and diagonals so well. The cleanliness of the front ensemble was noteworthy, and my favorite moment might have been the trumpet-led brass section in the first 1/3 of the show, where you're standing in a diagonal formation on the right side of the field and are building up to a tense moment with a constantly crescendoing double-tonguing master class that is so, so clean and in unison--that is really difficult to pull off, but you did. I'm sure you are aware from the prelims scores that you were incredibly close to making the BOA SA finals. Maybe you felt a little disrespected this season in the judging, and I'm stressed about what that's going to make you do next year.
And to my Bridgeland kids: I can't say enough about you. The show was so beautiful this year. You achieved historic things. There's only one band in the history of Texas that has ascended so quickly from being a new school to being a state finalist - and that one band is Vandegrift. I remember when I was in marching band in HS, I didn't really understand the competing bands and what it meant to place at a certain level. But I hope that when you look at the list of state championship finalists and BOA SA finalists, that you understand what an elite level you are at right now. You were the new kid on the block and nobody knew who you were. And now, everyone knows who you are. In the countless times I walked back and forth from my hotel to the Alamodome this week, I spoke with parents from Hebron, Vandegrift, the Woodlands, students at the University of Houston, former Marcus students who are now in college... they were all so complimentary, and they all knew the name "Bridgeland." One of the UH kids used to play at Pearland and he was the most blunt about the 2022 show. He said, "Yeah, I saw Bridgeland was going on, and I was like, 'who's that?' But their show blew me away, I was like [expletive expletive! expletive!!!] That is AMAZING!" You are on the map now, kiddos. And I am willing to bet the directors are going to really kick it up a notch with next year's show. It is going to be incredible, and I hope you are setting your sights very high. If you're on Bridgeland neighborhood social media, you can see how proud the whole neighborhood is of you guys, with hundreds of likes and comments pouring in. Bravo on a job well done. I hope you never stop striving for greatness in life.
In closing: I'm so pleased to see how the schools in some other districts in our state support each other. Leander ISD, for example -- you'll see fans of all the different HS programs in this district cheering their hearts out for each other. As CFISD starts to re-gain prominence, I hope we do the same for each other. If Bridgeland didn't make the finals, I sure as heck was rooting for Cy Fair or Cy Woods to make it. Stick together and let's go head to head against these other districts that have dominated for too long. 😉 Here's to 2024!

Yes yes yes! So proud of Cy Fair ISD! I'm a Cy Woods parent and appreciate your note. I am also a band director and always want the kids from every band to perform their best. They work so hard and deserve to have their very best run, regardless of their placement. I agree that Cy Fair's show was pretty amazing. Bridgeland's show is so well put together and executed! I've thoroughly enjoyed watching these bands perform this year.
Cy Woods is not at all disappointed with our placement at 17 - we were pleasantly pleased with this being the highest we have ranked at BOA! We traditionally start the year off slowly and gain momentum at the end. This BOA performance was our best run yet. I am always amazed at how the kids can change the show (music and choreography) every week. Woods made some changes on Wednesday that really helped them pull off a nice run. 
Woods' directors are all very young (all under 30-years-old) and have so much talent that they will lead the group to more successes in the future, I have no doubt. We only have one more year of band for my family and I'm already becoming sad there's only one more year! Woods' directors teach the kids to be their best but be compassionate to others and to be good people. I understand Bridgeland's director and Cy Fair's do the same. Reading some of the comments here, I guess there will always be those who take issue with results but have trouble putting their experience in perspective. Band is about so much more than a rating or placement. There are life lessons in winning well and losing well. But all of these bands have won, as they have embraced amazing work ethic and perseverance as well as becoming more amazing musicians. I know I have witnessed my daughter grow into a more confident person because she realizes can do hard things and keep going even when it's difficult.
Congratulations to Bridgeland for their 8th place win! And to all the bands who performed! Looking forward to 2024 also!

cy woods floored me at Conroe in 2021 and they've still got it. it's not a question if they'll break through, it's just a question of when, bc they absolutely will. def part of the Houston Renaissance!!

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

I agree but how do you do it when the UIL scoring system is a ranking?

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

Waxahachie finished after the dome clock hit 0:00. Is that an automatic DQ?

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

it’s a rule everyone plays by. Many shows end 15-30 seconds early to provide some cushion. By pushing the show to 8 minutes, it’s a risk/reward. If it’s not enforced, they get the benefit of extra show elements that they get judged on. 

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

But it is a rule that every director knows. 

Just found this in section 1107 (state competition). 
 
Performance regulations as listed under Section 1105 shall apply to the state marching band contest with the following exception: Any band that leaves the field in less than five minutes or fails to complete its performance in eight minutes shall be disqualified.

3-4 seconds

Waxahachie finished after the dome clock hit 0:00. Is that an automatic DQ?

Don’t sleep on Cypress Woods. They came out on top for Area I at both State and BOA SA last year despite the others beating them at Area. If they have an “on” day, they are fire. They are playing very difficult music very well. They beat Fair in prelims at Area this year (admittedly their finals run was not as good as their prelims run). 

I’ll be there watching later this afternoon and evening. Won’t be filming though. 

I believe Cy Woods and Seven Lakes were hurt by their early slots. We’ll see how they both handled their 12-13 hours between performances 

I believe Cy Woods and Seven Lakes were hurt by their early slots. We’ll see how they both handled their 12-13 hours between performances 

I believe Cy Woods and Seven Lakes were hurt by their early slots. We’ll see how they both handled their 12-13 hours between performances 

I believe Cy Woods and Seven Lakes were hurt by their early slots. We’ll see how they both handled their 12-13 hours between performances 

Area I prelims schedule

I'm probably most excited for this area contest. Most of the Houston-area bands that seem to be on upward trajectories will be here. Lots of talent.