utee94

Fair enough. It's an interesting topic, I think I'll ask my kids about it this weekend and see what the sentiment is around their friend groups in band.

You seem to be taking this discussion as some kind of attack. Why?

Yeah if my kids' band tried to do that, I'd nip it in the bud, or pull them out. That's ridiculous. Those Saturdays are about the only time my kids have, to catch up on schoolwork or even, heaven forbid, sleep. I don't have a strong opinion on this. Good for them, I guess? I can't speak for my own kids' marching band, but when I was a high school student, I didn't know anyone in my high school band, that preferred concert season over marching season. Most of us viewed concert season as "the time to focus on other stuff."

I have to agree so I guess I have an unpopular opinion as well. I'm okay with changing the 10-hour rule to 15-hour rule, because it sounds like that really only affects the dynamics of rehearsal during Summer Band. But I'd be absolutely opposed to allowing any more practice time during the schoolyear. I am delighted that my children enjoy band so much, and I'm also delighted that they are fortunate enough to be attending a school with a marching band that performs, and achieves, at the highest level of State competition. But the primary purpose of school, is school. Not marching band. And band in Texas even in its current form, is nearly all-consuming. When I was in high school I was in band, drama, and choir. I had time for all of that, because no one extracurricular was allowed to dominate. Things are different now. It sounds like in other states, the bands are allowed to rehearse even longer hours during the schoolyear? That's absolutely crazy to me and if Texas ever made a move in that direction, I'd be similarly forced to pull my kids from band so they could focus on the true purpose of school.

Yup, looks like it's 3 for Vandy and 1 for Hebron. IF this wiki article is correct-- It's an interesting view of the Texas state champs in all classifications over the years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_UIL_State_Marching_Band_Competition_Winners

Cedar Park - Vandegrift is also a big rivalry. Less so since Vandy went 6A and CP stayed 5A, but Vandy was "born of" CP back in the day, and many of the teachers and band instructors have moved from one to the other and cross-pollinated. Also, some might not know, that one of the band directors at CP, is married to one of the band directors at Vista Ridge. Lots of fun, friendly competition and back-and-forth between those two groups, as well. Like @natertater21000 said, it feels less like rivalry and more like positive support from group to group. Except, EVERYONE still desperately wants to beat Vandegrift. When you're the best, you're always going to have that target.

I watched y'all at UIL State Finals and thoroughly enjoyed your show. Congratulations on a great year and a fantastic finish!

😀

Yes. Obviously. That's precisely the point.

Nice. Sure would like to see Carmel and Avon head down to San Antonio regularly.

I thought I saw this on another thread, but it's probably appropriate to discuss it here. I pulled these dates for UIL State from a thread that @LeanderMomma posted on, but if these tentative dates end up being correct, that's going to be a very tough turnaround for the top 6A bands to play State Finals on Tuesday afternoon 11/12 and then get to Indy in time for prelims as early as the morning of 11/14. November 4, 5, 6, 2024: 1A/3A/5A Contests (dates tentative and site tbd)November 11, 12, 13, 2024: 2A/4A/6A Contests (dates tentative and site tbd) It would obviously be easier for the 5A bands to make it to Indy and, although it hasn't been announced yet, I'm assuming BOA-SA will slot in during the weekend in between State competitions, like this year, so it would be 11/8-11/9.

Gotcha. That makes sense.

Does it? Should it? It's your ranking and you can do it however you like, but personally I prefer UIL scoring rubric over the BOA scoring metrics, and in general I like the type of marching induced by UIL guidelines more than I like the type of marching that becomes manifested when trying to create a show that scores well for BOA. Just a personal preference of course.

They finished 8th in finals at BOA-Austin as well, which had a stacked list of participants. I was lucky enough to get to see Westwood's show several times this season, and not only did I enjoy it, but I enjoyed how the directors grew it and fleshed it out over the season, and how the players improved in execution seemingly every single time they performed. It was really nicely done all the way around. My friends with kids at Cedar Ridge, on the other hand, might not agree with me.

Thanks! I'll put you on my kids' dialing list. 😛

And I suppose if I haven't already, I'll go ahead and out myself as a CP band parent, and regular pit pack volunteer (the parents who help move equipment and props around). It's been such a joy supporting these kids, watching their incredible hard work pay off, and being able to be down on the field at the Alamodome where the magic happened. 😀 I'm also a former band nerd myself, I played French Horn/Mello for Anderson High in Austin, many years ago. But boy has it all evolved since I was a kid. Seems like a lot of folks would be excited to see CP go to the 2024 Grand Nationals, but I can honestly say it's not really being discussed amongst the band boosters yet, and no specific fundraising has begun. I'm not one of those band parent "insiders" who are privy to the band directors' innermost thoughts, but right now I'd have to say I'd be pretty surprised if CP went to Indianapolis next year. Doesn't mean it won't happen, I have no crystal ball and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express. I just think the band parents would probably have heard something more specific about it by now, if the plan were to do that a year from now, especially considering the additional fundraising that would be required. And I'll be honest-- as a parent that will have TWO kids in the Cedar Park marching band next year, the idea of the sheer expense of that trip, terrifies me! 🤣

Oh no, I was commenting on the idea of CP skipping BOA-SA to go to Indianapolis. Which I think would be a certainty. I agree that there's zero chance CP would skip State. CP values State above everything else.

I think that would almost be a certainty. It's more than just the tremendous added expense of going to Indianapolis, but with State occurring every single year-- during the school week-- and then all the school time it would take to attend the competition in Indiana, taking still MORE time off from school to do a third competition in San Antonio, moves into the realm of being a non-starter. Even if it's only that Friday, that's almost always at the end of a 6-weeks grading period, which is a pretty big deal.

Heh, exactly what I said at UIL State 6A Finals. It seems to be the color of choice this year.

Yup, it was Avon in 2017. They finished 4th in San Antonio. Then they finished 3rd in Indianapolis. I'd love to see all of the big-hitters from GN come down to SA every year, or at least every other year. Finals Results - BOA-SA 2017 96.625 – Claudia Taylor Johnson H.S., TX 95.600 – Hebron H.S., TX 95.575 – Vandegrift H.S., TX 95.375 – Avon H.S., IN 94.875 – Ronald Reagan H.S., TX94.550 – Flower Mound H.S., TX93.475 – Marcus H.S., TX92.275 – Cedar Park H.S., TX91.975 – Keller H.S., TX90.875 – Hendrickson H.S., TX90.700 – The Woodlands H.S., TX89.875 – Cedar Ridge H.S., TX89.150 – James Bowie H.S., TX89.025 – Leander H.S., TX Finals Results - BOA-GN 2017 97.500 – Carmel H.S., IN 96.925 – Broken Arrow H.S., OK 96.475 – Avon H.S., IN 95.700 – Marcus H.S., TX 95.625 – Flower Mound H.S., TX 92.725 – Dobyns-Bennett H.S., TN91.825 – The Woodlands H.S., TX91.200 – Castle H.S., IN91.175 – Blue Springs H.S., MO91.025 – Union H.S., OK89.800 – Marian Catholic H.S., IL89.625 – Round Rock H.S., TX

Well said, both of you. It might be sacrilege around here, but I don't really care about BOA-GN. I don't even really consider "Grand Nationals" to be a national competition. This year there are 28 Ohio programs and 16 Indiana programs. To me it's the Ohio-Indiana Regional with a smattering of other competitors thrown in. The fact that 8 Texas groups managed to put together the necessary funds is nearly miraculous but I don't expect it to be the norm, it's just not realistic. If they want a true National competition, it should rotate sites annually. Until then, I'll enjoy BOA-SA a lot more than the GN competition in Indianapolis because, quite frankly, the competition is tougher in SA. The main reason everyone considers THIS year in Indianapolis to be so special, is because of all the Texas bands attending. Let's switch that and have Avon and Carmel come down to San Antonio, and see how it goes. 2023 BOA-GN Representation: 18 StatesKY 12 BandsWV 1 BandOH 28 BandsIL 5 BandsIN 16 BandsAR 2 BandsGA 1 BandKS 1 BandMA 1 BandMI 6 BandsMO 3 BandsNC 1 BandNV 1 BandPA 1 BandSC 2 BandsTX 8 BandsTN 3 BandsVA 1 Band

I'm just a lurker here but I was reading through this entire thread the other day after Finals, and just had to register in order to quote this post. WOW, how prophetic! Both of these shows were outstanding, and what a treat to get to watch them compete and evolve throughout the year. I also thoroughly enjoyed Wakeland and Forney's shows at State, and of course Leander. I count myself as very fortunate to be able to enjoy so much excellent music and marching here in the Great State of Texas.