utee94

Yup. CP's directors are very clear in their goals-- they want to win State. Every year. BOA events are nice, and they're fun, but UIL competitions is the business they are in, and their focus will always be in that direction. With respect to CP and Rouse in 2024, though, I will point out that CP and Rouse were split 50/50 on results in BOA appearances this year. CP finished ahead of Rouse in both prelims and finals for BOA-Austin, and the reverse was true in San Antonio. I think it would have been interesting if Rouse had come to Grand Nats this year-- I believe there's a good chance another reversal would have been the result. Cedar Park turned in some scorching runs in Indy. 😀

I'll add the same thing I've pointed out before on other threads, I think some Texas band fans become accustomed to the UIL score sheets and metrics, and expect BOA to be scored in the same way. And, it's just not. Some folks prefer the UIL scoresheets and some folks prefer the BOA scoresheets but either way, when you attend a BOA event, you know how it's going to be scored. There's no sense in complaining about it, everyone knows ahead of time what the deal is.

Wow what a finish for CP, so proud of those kids, they really blew the roof off of Lucas Oil. Congrats to all the finalists, and all the participants all weekend, what a great time. Now I can't wait for the 2025 show announcement in May... 😀

I'm not Leandermomma 😀 , but yes, CP and Leander flew.

Man what a day, I'm beat. Wait it's not over? SO happy for team Texas, they sure made the finals reveal dramatic for us, didn't they? Best of luck to all the Texas schools in finals, and to everyone else as well, because these are just some unbelievable shows and they all deserve huge accolades. What a fun day. But hey... I'd be okay if we stopped referring to this as a "Texas Lite" year, yeah?

I'm quite pleased with a 1:00/12:00 performance time. Now it's time for bed. G'night all!

The trombone solo and the entire ballad are beautiful. Really nicely done. I think they should play in the next round.

Leander killed it, maybe their best run of the year, too. They sound SO good!

Holy cow I'm still panting from the field exit. From the field I think that may have been CP's best run all year. So proud of the kids, they were pretty emotional. Now it's time to wait and see.

Somebody better check Leander's prop room to make sure Miamisburg didn't steal their sunglasses! Oh and I'm a sucker for anyone that uses a-Ha in their show.

Yeah no doubt! It's fun but it's definitely a little disorienting.

Seems like they also gave (most of) the Texas bands Friday prelim times so there'd be less travel and missing school.

Really nice job from Friendswood there, I never got a chance to see it at State.

Here's a sample of the 7-judge adjudication sheets. Not sure if they're the most recent or not, they're on the UIL site so probably the current ones. They list details on what each judge is looking for, and the range that each judge will score based on observation. https://www.uiltexas.org/files/music/State_7-Judge_Adjudication_Sheets.pdf

The UIL scoresheets and metrics aren't secret, all directors have free access to them at the start of each season. It's true that some bands do more than others to tailor their shows specifically to maximize scoring against those metrics-- that's simply what it takes to place well, and win, the competition. If the goal is to win UIL competitions then that is the smart and correct thing to do. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised or upset about that? I feel like some people expect BOA-style scoring at UIL, and it's just not going to happen. The BOA scoresheets are different, they reward some aspects of a show more than the UIL sheets do, and they reward some aspects less than the UIL sheets do. This is why we see things like Vandegrift placing 5th in BOASA finals, but 2nd at State. It wasn't just that they had "better runs" at State, it's that their show and their style of play and marching is more aligned to the UIL metrics. Some people prefer the BOA style scoring and some people prefer the UIL style scoring, but either way, the fact remains that they are different, and emphasize different aspects of a marching band and its show. And I don't agree that there's any such thing as "the best show." That's entirely subjective and fans' opinions and judges' opinions will vary significantly on that. There's not ever going to be a consensus and that's fine.

Had to miss the last bands and announcements last night in order to load trucks for the trip to Indy, but huge congrats to Hebron for the gold, and to all of the other Finalists. Such a great few days of marching band shows.

Today multicam is working for me and high cam isn't. It was the exact opposite last week for 5A.

I remember unloading our trucks next to theirs in the parking lot of the KRAC back on that hot September Saturday, and looking over at those props, and wondering WTH is going on over there? I've had a chance to see their show a few times over the months and it really has grown and impressed, it's a lot of fun. Anybody using Wrecking Ball as a ballad is obviously thinking outside the box, and we can always count on Cedar Ridge to do something quirky and unusual. I think they're such a great part of the fabric of Central Texas marching, I don't ever want to see them change.

They look good to me, and apparently to the prelim judges as well-- at least, good enough to take 2nd in prelims. I think you might have a blind spot here.

That's fair, but honestly I like their show this year better than last year.

I only caught a few but these are really so enjoyable!

For CP it was just the long commute affecting the need for rest, and the need for kids to have some time for doing schoolwork. I can't speak for Vandegrift but it wouldn't surprise me if it were something similar. Ha. Or probably this, knowing Vandy.

Yeah just saw the final itinerary for CP for the weekend, in our Mandatory Booster Club Meeting (aka, "the speech" to the kids to behave themselves and don't do any of the things I did on my high school band trips! 😃). First buses with about 2/3 of the band leave the hotel at 2 AM Sunday morning, so I'm not sure they're even going to have time to take a shower before heading out. Good thing I won't be on that airplane with them...

It'll definitely be leaked among the bands-- within an hour of release everyone at every high school that competed, will know the placements. So if you really wanna know, ask someone in one of the bands. Or their parents. Or their friends. Or...

Having Eddie Van Halen's guitar as a prop is always going to get a big thumbs up from me!