tastiestbiscuit123

There's really no saying. I personally think the top half/bottom half system screwed Krum over and robbed them of State last year, especially since they tied for that 5th place spot, but Robinson had judge's preference only because they were in the top half in Prelims. I feel like (and hope) Krum will come back with a vengeance and work harder for it this year, so an exhibition performance definitely isn't out of the question. That said, Gatesville did make State Finals last year and competed well against the other finalists (they were the only new finalist last year, as the other nine had been in State Finals the previous year), and have also earned that exhibition the last two years (even if last year was uncontested lol). Both programs have totally improved in the last few years. From State Alternate in 2021 to State Finalist in 2024, Gatesville is undoubtedly a new powerhouse in 4A as a whole; from a few spots out of Area Finals in 2021 to State Alternate in 2024, Krum is a powerhouse in Area B and climbing up the ladder across the class. I see some similarities between the two programs, but in a way that Krum is what Gatesville was a couple of years ago. This is going to be a lot closer than most people realize, and I feel like both programs will walk away with at least one caption, even though only one program will win the exhibition. Krum has the past to make up for, and Gatesville has pressure on it to continue the legacy of the past five years, so both could excel (or crack under the pressure). It is important to know that this contest isn't too indicative of the season. While it's a good initial peek at what's to come, I assume neither of the two programs has its whole show on the field, and there's still 5 weeks until Area—a lot can happen in that time.

I went to this contest last year, and it was so cool. I've looked at results and stuff like that, but it was the first time I had physically been to a marching contest smaller than 4A, and they did NOT disappoint. Even with their small sizes, some of those bands still managed to give me chills. Hitchcock's jump from 5th to 2nd was so well-deserved, and I was ecstatic when they made it to State Finals; those kids tore that field up at Area. I hope Hitchcock is some new powerhouse in the making, that'd be pretty cool. I'll be keeping my eye out to see if they get 1st (fingers crossed 🤞) at the contest. Last year was the second year they made State, so here's to hoping. Whitney has been kinda of sad to watch their regression. They used to fight for State placements, and last year's performance shocked me. When their name wasn't called for Finals, I was a little upset, but I hope they use that for a comeback. I hope that a band comes out of nowhere. 3A Area D contests have been pretty much the same for years, and even with the realignment, it just felt like the same results were posted as in years past. The bottom five hop around the same ten or so bands, but other than that, it's just business as usual. I hope someone comes and shakes up the playing field, either in Area Finalists or State Qualifiers. That'd be cool to see.

I feel like this early in the season, 'doing well' is subjective. Thus far, I would think it's fair to say that no bands have been able to truly and accurately compare themselves to future competitors, just because contests haven't begun yet (and won't get started until next weekend), and bands are still learning movements, music, visuals, and more. In that sense, I believe every band is doing pretty well, given whatever circumstances they have faced. This is why I don't necessarily like early predictions: because they're based on biases, preferences, hopes, what other people say, and previous years' results. That last one is always my biggest issue, primarily because of something my band director always used to tell me, "Last year's band is dead." It's true, the band that marched last year is entirely different from the band that is marching this year. You have lost some of your best players and gained some of your weakest links, and you have to put in the work and effort to bring everyone to the level of last year (and hopefully higher), but it doesn't always happen. What I love about marching band is that every year brings surprises; every year marks the fall of one band and the rise of another. Take 4A Area D 2016, when Castleberry came out of nowhere and made State for the first time, blocking Robinson and Burnet, usual State contenders. Then in 2018, they made it again, and I like to point to them as the reason Robinson fell off until 2023. Or in 2020, when Taylor came out of nowhere and made it to State (and did pretty well there too), even if that was just momentary. Then, in 2021, when Alvarado jumped 4 whole places between Prelims and Finals, knocking Gatesville out of State (who they themselves had made Area Finals for the first time in over 5 years, AND was a State contender for the first time in over 10 years, also out of nowhere), making it for the first time. Then, in 2022, both Alvarado AND Gatesville jumped 3 places, knocking Fredericksburg AND Kennedale out of State, which was HUGE at the time because Kennedale had made it to State every year for SIXTEEN consecutive years, and State Finals for EIGHT consecutive years, and Fredericksburg has always been off and on, but they were still a usual State contender and Gatesville and Alvarado were new to the stage (and I point to this for the decline in Kennedale's program, although I'd love to see their return one day). Then, in 2023, when Venus and La Grange made Area Finals for the first time (I believe), and Gatesville and Alvarado showed their dominance, and Springtown dropped down significantly, and Robinson and Castleberry both came to fight, and China Spring and Alvarado had their highest Area finishes (2023 Area D was such a cool contest, dude). Then, in 2024, Fredericksburg returned and SWEPT the contest, straight 1s in Prelims AND Finals, and Marble Falls shot up and shocked people by making it when they hadn't even been making Finals in previous years, or La Grange slipping into State. Or at 2024 Area B (since that's where Venus is now), China Spring winning the contest over Panther Creek, Aubrey making State for the first time, and Alvarado fighting for 8th-10th Place in Prelims AND Finals with Castleberry and Springtown, all of whom had been in their heyday within the previous two years. In my opinion, predictions will not have validity until the week of Region, because that's the point when almost every single program has the whole show on the field and has been able to compare themselves to other programs at contests. For example, I went against my judgment and made a deep analysis and prediction months before the 2024 season started for Area D based on that year and previous years, and only a few of my predictions came true (like, honestly, 4 or 5 out of almost 12 bands). Until Area (and even during Area), the only thing that should matter is not being better than other bands, but being better than the 2024 Venus High School marching band. Last year was a rough year for Venus. You guys had your worst finish since 2018 (didn't advance to Area in 2018, skipped the 2020 season, 16th in 2021, 13th in 2022, 10th in Prelims in 2023, 9th in Finals, 17th in 2024), and even if you hadn't switched to Area B, you were still beaten by 10 other old Area D bands, which, put together with the bands still in Area D, would've kept you around 17th Place (or maybe even lower) if the realignment hadn't happened. That should be the band's goal: to be better than last year and beat last year's scores. Perhaps your goal should be to finish 15th at Area, or maybe a little higher, like 12th. It's the small wins that count and propel you forward. If you work hard enough, and everyone puts in the time and effort, who knows? Maybe you'll be that dark horse that shoots up and makes Finals again, or even better. You can't expect anything, though, because that's when you get nothing. I'm rooting for you guys 👏

The BOA website does not have Air Academy H.S. listed, only showing 17 enrolled bands, but another part of their website says there are 19 bands enrolled. Does anyone know why this could be?

I thought Ann Richards went up to 5A. It says they did right here: https://realignment.uiltexas.org/alignments/2024/2024_UpDownList.pdf

Madisonville, Jarrell, and Salado are not in Area B, they are in Area D. The rest of Region 8 is in Area B. It's weird.

Each judge gives a score in each category (like each Music Judge gives a score in Ensemble out of 250 points), and the single or double digit under each of those scores represents the placement that band got from that particular judge in that particular area. Under the 'Total' column, an accumulated score out of 1000 points is given based on the scores for each of the previous categories. The number under the Total is how the Judge's score ended up ranking the bands, and is their point total from that judge. At the end, the final 'Total,' the band's total points are listed and their placement in the contest under that. May still be a bit confusing lol.

This is all I know about the Prelims Results: 1st - V.R. Eaton 2nd - China Spring 3rd - Heritage 4th - Alvarado 5th - Creekview 6th/7th - Canton/Arlington Heights (not sure who got what) 8th - Gatesville 9th - North Crowley 10th - Brock

Yeah, this is a list of schools that went up or down in their class and Terrell's not on it: https://realignment.uiltexas.org/alignments/2024/2024_UpDownList.pdf

Yeah, with getting 19th like Madisonville. I think bands like them and maybe even Marble Falls, WImberley, or even Smithville could make it to finals.

Looking at the results from last years' Areas D and E contests, I'm thinking something along the lines of: 1st - Burnet (11th at State) 2nd - Fredericksburg (7th at Area D) 3rd - La Grange (12th at Area D) 4th - Freeman ***5th - Taylor (13th at Area D)*** 6th - Legacy Ranch 7th - Columbia (13th at Area E) 8th - Brazosport (14th at Area E) 9th - Bandera (18th at Area D) 10th - Madisonville (19th at Area D) ***State Cutoff The only reason I left Jarrell off (who got 14th at Area D) is because at the Midway Marching Preview, Connally (who didn't make Area last year) beat them in Prelims and Wharton (who got 35th in Area E) was right behind them.

Well Venus made Area Finals last year but still didn't make Springtown Finals. Springtown's a contest with a bunch of really good (and big) bands.

I agree with this ranking because there are more 5A and 6A bands going to Springtown this year than last, and they tend to be better than bands like Gatesville (which is a class 4A). Overall last year, Alvarado tended to perform better than Gatesville in Prelims (and at Area Finals), China Spring has always been a spectacular band, and Canton got 1st at Springtown last year. My only disagreement with the ranking is the lack of Castleberry and the inclusion of Godley. 8th place isn't bad for a band, 24 bands are going to the contest, and getting 8th out of 24 is still amazing.

Music and Marching (Visual)

10 Bands will make Finals, and a 2A and 3A exhibition will be shown (if applicable). The captions (like percussion and guard) will be announced during the Finals DM retreat. Is that what you were asking or were you looking for something more specific?

Here is the schedule for Springtown (as of 9/13/24): 9:30 - Alvord High School (2A) 9:45 - Bowie High School (3A) 10:00 - Winnsboro High School (3A) 10:15 - Milsap High School (3A) 10:30 - Peaster High School (3A) 10:45 - Grandview High School (3A) 11:30 - Benbrook Middle and High Shcool (4A) 11:45 - Godley High School (4A) 12:00 - Music of Brock High School (4A) 12:15 - Mineral Wells High School (4A) 12:30 - Canton High School (4A) 12:45 - Western Hills High School (4A) 1:45 - Alvarado High School (4A) 2:00 - China Spring High School (4A) 2:15 - Kennedale High School (4A) 2:30 - Gatesville High School (4A) 2:45 - Castleberry High School (4A) 3:00 - Venus High School (4A) 3:30 - Heritage High School (5A) 3:45 - Arlington Heights High School (5A) 4:00 - South Hills High School (5A) 4:15 - Creekview High School (5A) 4:30 - V.R. Eaton High School (6A) 4:45 - North Crowley (6A) 5:30 - Prelims Drum Major Retreat 10:30 - Finals Drum Major Retreat

Last year, Canton got 1st and China Spring got 2nd

Looking at last year's results, out of the 48 bands now in 4A Area B, 30 advanced to their respective area contest (whether they were in 3A, 4A, or 5A and Area B or Area D), which would only mean 6 bands advancing to State. Some things of note, 7 of the 48 bands (none of whom received a 1 last year at Region) were noted as Non-Varsity Bands last year, so they wouldn't've even advanced to area if they received a 1. Eagle Mountain is a brand new school this year, so there is no data on them, and I couldn't find anything on Lincoln High School's marching band (not even sure if they've had one up to this point). Looking at both last year's and the previous year's results and which bands have or have not advanced, I'd say we can safely bet that 6 bands will advance to State and hope for 7. Any more than that might be too optimistic. If things go awry though, we might see only 5 bands advance. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst."

What's particularly weird to me about this is that the three bands from southern Region 8 that were staying in Area D are included in this draw while the others that were moved are not. Must be a mistake on the UIL's part...

Now that March is halfway over, we're coming upon Announcement Season. I know that Gatesville's having their Show Reveal this Friday and was just wondering if any other shows have been announced. Y'all do not know how excited I am for this year! Just got the feeling it's gonna be big and full of twists and surprises, for everyone.

Oh yeah. They might have never made State, but out of the 43 bands in the Area, they got 11th in 2020, 10th in 2021 Prelims (12th in Finals), and 11th in 2022. They almost made finals in all three years—that seems like an Area powerhouse to me. Getting 15th this year marks their worst finish since 2018 (20th Place), but four judges thought thought they were Finalists, so just a little more umph can bring them back. But yes, being so close to the top ten is definitely a powerhouse to me. Now that we've got that additional space opened up from Boerne's departure, they can easily go from 11th to 10th.

Boerne got bumped up? With the spot opened up that means even more for Area D. This year is going to be so interesting.

After this year's results, I think—and this is said every year by everyone—this year is going to be the biggest and most interesting year for Area D. One thing to note is that 2023 was definitely the biggest year for Area D thus far. It was the second time in the UIL Marching Band's 46 year history that Area D sent 6 bands to State and the most bands attended the contest (this year, 32 bands advanced and attended the Area Level, 2021 had 31 bands advance but only 30 attended). It also saw La Grange and Venus High Schools' first time advancing to Finals and their best seasons yet (12th and 9th respectively.), Robinson Advanced to State for the first time in 9 years, Castleberry Advanced for the first time in 5 years, Springtown did not Advance for the first time in 13 years, China Spring and Alvarado saw their best finishes yet (1st and 2nd), and so many more accomplishments were made outside of the Finalists. I know it's big, bold, and kind of high compared to this year's numbers, but I'm confident in saying that I think 36 Bands will Advance to Area this year. Area E, which has 1 less band than Area D (42 compared to 43) had 36 bands at Area, so it is likely. The reason I think this is because there were bands with their first Area appearance in years, showing us and themselves their ability, and even some bands not advance that almost always have. This would allow 12 bands to advance to Finals again, and 7 to advance to State. If this doesn't happen though, it would be a big surprise to me to see less than 6 bands advance to State again. Now, for my 'insight.' This is for State Qualifiers and Area Finalists: State: Of course, China Spring will be a lock, but that and maybe Burnet are the only for sure schools. They've both made State 6 and 5 consecutive times respectively, and this is likely to be a continued trend. China Spring has a high likelihood of even being a State medalist next year with how well they've done in years past. Alvarado and Gatesville are highly likely contenders as well. Once again, Alvarado saw their best finish, and Gatesville saw their third best finish, and even went on to end their season better than ever before. These two schools (one even being a Division 2) getting 2nd and 3rd at Area is just one way to show that Area D is changing, and I think these two will be spearheading this new era of bands. They're not locks like the last two, yet, but I'm sure they will be very soon. Castleberry and Robinson are curious cases. Robinson has been an Area Finalist very consistently and close to making State every year, so they're likely to make it next year, but they may also falter and fall back to just a Finalist. Castleberry, on the other hand, is not as stable. This may have been their first time in five years advancing, but it was also their second time ever advancing (Robinson, for comparison, has been the State Champion 5 times, and have attend plenty more times than that). They did not attend the 2020 Area Season, got 9th in the 2021 Season, and 15th in the 2022 Season. It may have been an extended hiccup, but only time will tell. Fredericksburg has got to come back with a vengeance, I'm banking on it. 5th in Prelims in 2022, dropped to 8th in Finals, and from 8th to 7th (State Alternate) this year, those incoming Seniors are the only ones left who remember advancing to State. Especially if we see 7 State Qualifiers, Fredericksburg can know that they have a high possibility of advancing, if they put in the work of course; nothing is guaranteed. Springtown, woof. The audible gasps from both sides of the stands, kids and adults alike, when 8th place was announced has got to have hurt the '21 and '22 Area D Champs. I mean, they went from 9th at State in '21 to 15th in '22, but dropping from 1st to 8th in Area has got to bite. These guys are coming into the 2024 Season with maximum effort and will walk into that stadium on November 2nd showing those judges why they belong—or so we're lead to believe. Will this be just a fluke? A one-time mistake that will never happen again? Or, is this only the beginning? Has the King been overthrown for good? We'll see what the answers are in a few months. Last little note is on the other four. Venus and La Grange might surprise given what I said earlier, but I'm not too sure this Season will be their time; I think they need another year or two to establish their dominance. I think it's going to be awhile before we see Kennedale back in the game, if ever. From what I saw of their new Head Director, she seems entirely able to take them to State, but the last two years have not been kind to Kennedale. Skipping the 2021 Season definitely hurt them and may have caused a comeback to be extremely difficult, maybe even impossible. Finally, Boerne: I think they're Area Finalists, but not State Qualifiers. Going into Area this year, I saw and heard so much praise for them, but 9th in Prelims and 11th in Finals kind of told me that maybe the show was a fan favorite, not necessarily a Judge favorite. However, making Area Finals twice may be the confidence boost they need to soar to higher levels. If one thing's for sure, nothing is consistent in Marching Band. These are the only bands I think have a true chance of making it. Maybe Taylor will have a comeback after 3 years, and I think Jarrell got cocky and complacent and will do better next year, but I'm not betting on either. Area Finals: All 12 of the bands previously mentioned are, obviously, very likely to make Finals, but there are other players in the game. Namely, Taylor, Jarrell, and Godley. All three of them were finalists in 2021, got 14th, 9th, and 11th in 2022 (only one made Finals), respectively, and none of them made Finals this year. Next year is what decides for the future for each: are they Area Finalists, or Area Qualifiers? I think, Qualifiers (maybe one will be a Finalist), and I'll explain why in a bit. My wild card, hot take, whatever you want to call it, though, is Benbrook. In 2021, they got 30th Place (out of 30); in 2022, they didn't even Advance to Area; in 2023, they got 16th, beating 15 other bands. As I've said numerous times already, this might be a one-time deal, but I'm not so sure. Look at La Grange, who went from 16th to 12th. If they can do it, so can Benbrook. Other than this, maybe Lake Worth, Bandera, or even Madisonville could shoot up there, but all three of them have been consistently in the teens for years. Wimberley surprised me with 21st, but they also got 21st in 2021, so maybe not too surprising. Manor New Tech might come back and have a possibility of snagging a spot after not making Area this year. Now, I talked a lot about the 'New Era,' and how I think this year will play out given this. What I mean is the changing in bands. Now that the UIL SMBC is every year instead of every other year, and since Lake Belton left Area D back in '21, I think a gap has opened; bands have to work their hardest every single year instead of how it was for 3 decades with every even year (for the case with 4A). I think this was visible in 2022, but definitely evident in 2023. I think bands like Alvarado, Gatesville, Robinson, Venus, La Grange, Boerne, and even Benbrook are proof that the power of the bands is shifting. Another way to look at this is the powerful bands that are losing their power: Burnet, Fredericksburg, Springtown, Taylor, and even Godley and Jarrell. 2024 establishes the fourth year of every year State for 4A, and in my opinion first year of its normalcy, and and I think it will get the ball rolling for the next few years and how they will play out. I really do think 2024 has a lot in store for Area D, and I'm super excited to see where it goes.

I've seen a few critiques about us, but how do y'all feel about Gatesville? We've been really nervous about tomorrow because we haven't been able to gauge ourselves against any bands in two weeks. We won't be going to the football game tonight since it's almost three hours away, so we won't have a performance before the contest. Anything you have to offer is helpful. I think there's a video of our Region performance on YouTube for refrence.