Chupacabra1222

As a band director in NISD at O'Connor I can say with certainty that the realignment was in the best interest of all schools in the State. TMEA decided to realign for the first time in many years and with so many large schools it's understandable why. UIL likewise followed suit and used very similar zones to the TMEA lines. In reality, these new UIL zones create closer proximity contests for most/not all schools and lessens the burden for all in general in terms of travel. I applaud all the Area H schools and finalists, it was an honor to share the field with so many great bands. I wish the very best to Vandegrift, Leander, Westlake and Vista Ridge who will represent the Area to the fullest degree. I'm saddened that O'Connor did not advance for the first time in a long time, but I also think that as stated above the NISD schools and ourselves are stronger and will continue to be in the future. Best wishes to all bands at State and BOA. Wesley Perkins O'Connor HS Band

Demise is a strong word, very strong bands there still this year: Hendrickson Round Rock Dripping Springs O'Connor Hays New Braunfels Quality is still really good... All the above bands are having a great season! Smaller sure but that's describing more and more local contests as BOA and other contests are drawing interest. Here's the schedule: 5A MCCallum- 2:00 Boerne Champion- 2:15 Seguin- 2:30 Medina Valley- 2:45 Dripping Springs- 3:00 Class 5A Awards Ceremony 3:20 Break 6A Round Rock- 3:45 Hays- 4:15 New Braunfels- 4:30 Del Valle- 4:45 O’Connor- 5:00 Hendrickson- 5:15 Class 6A Awards Ceremony 5:30 Finals- 7 PM? I believe

Nevermind, I stand Corrected- Westlake is indeed in the redraw of Region 32.

At first glance I didn't catch this, but Westlake on UIL Forms is actually Region 18 with Austin ISD I believe. So with 11, 29 and 32 together that would only include the Leander ISD schools and Lake Travis I believe. The schools we know will be there are Leander, Vandy and Vista. After that it's going to be a dog fight between Judson, O'Connor, Lake Travis, Wagner(maybe) and Stevens.

If the contest has finals.... Rain rain stay away, I think the following are possible finalists Marcus Hebron Keller Rowlett Dawson New Braunfels O'Connor Allen Berkner Martin Plus these bands could likely be finalists.... Boyd Trinity Hays

Look out for Stevens.... They are a very good group that most may not know. I'm betting they'll be in finals around 8-10

This is such a great venue- I've performed there as a member way back in the day and still enjoy seeing our students compete there. No matter who shows or doesn't each band there will have a great experience in the longest running marching contest in the state:) Best of luck to all bands there on Sarurday!

As someone with a good knowledge of this area I'd say that these bands are a good bet for finals in no order: CTJ Harlingen O'Connor Wagner Clear Creek Hanna United South Harlingen South Edinburg North Sharyland

True and Very True

Not sure. I'm just guessing that since all bands were placed randomly in the two stadium sites, one site could conceivably have the top 10 bands overall....

O'Connor is in Area G... Not area D. That said, Judson was an area D finalist in 2012, they'll be a strong contender. My guess for finals would be: 1) CTJ 2) Bowie 3) Round Rock 4) Reagan 5) Cedar Ridge 6) Hendrickson 7) Westlake 8) Westwood 9) Pflugerville 10) Anderson

True but to hold a score if you perform 1st in finals is pretty crazy since 19 others go after that. It's tougher than 10 bands because judges have to keep track of worthy performances for State for much longer. Best of luck... U at Gus or Farris?

Actually I was way off.... There are 41 bands split between the two sites, 10 bands from each site will be chosen for finals for a grand total of 20 that evening. Out of the 20 bands 8 will advance to State.

It is my understanding that since there are two seperate sites there will be 7 chosen from each for finals. So 14 bands in finals, 7-8 advance. As to my guesses.... Farris: Harlingen O'Connor United South Lopez Hanna United Warren Gus Harlingen South San Benito Brandeis Stevens Alexander PSJA N Palmview State Advancers: Harlingen, O'Connor, Harlingen South, Brandeis, Hanna, Lopez, San Benito

Marcus in 8th... Homework- when was last time Marcus placed 8th at any contest before this?

70-90% chance of Rain between 6-9 pm.... Hope our band gets at least a prelims run at 5:30 before the heavens open...

While I understand your passion for your academics and the desire to do well beyond the scope of high school, you are using tunnel vision in your summary. My father was a counselor for 30 years and recently retired and I can tell you without a doubt your assesment of what colleges want and need is off. Colleges and universities have their criteria to earn acceptance sure, but beyond that the admissions want to be able to see that you can balance multilple activities at once.... Why? Because even those in the top ten or top ten percent will likely not earn full scholarships which is not common anymore. So to compensate I happen to know for a fact that major universities want to see more than just grades. If you can't function in college while holding a job, work well with others, or function in a high stress environment you're not going to impress. It's band and the other extra curricular activities that give that important piece of the puzzle. Ultimately your career depends not upon what you know in a specific class, but how well you can think and assess situations and work within a team environement.Those from your school attending UT Austin are not just accepted to UT, but are likely saving housing monies by being close. That is the reality in many big cities. I am a band director that like your band will be taking our students to Duncanville on Saturday and must travel a great distance. That said, I know your directors are commited to excellence needed in the academic classroom and support you. For such a long trip homework/study is a must for our and any students. It's not because I tell them too, but because the individual students have a high priority to show the same pride in their academics as the field. To refute your point..... Our band in the 15 years in existance has had the Valedictorian or Salutatorian 13 times. The only two that did not occur we had the 3rd and 4th ranked students respectively. Each year we have multiple people in the top 10 as well. The past two Valedictorians we have are now at MIT and thriving. Trust me, band was huge in their life and they were far more involved than just our program. Times change, courses do as well, but what is expected in the work force does not. In the end us old folk are not any less educated than today's youth, it was just different but with the same goal. As a band director I hold very little value to getting a trophy as to making an impact on our youth and help prepare them for the real world. Enjoy your time with your amazing band program as it will be gone before you know it. Make everlasting memories and manage your stress, just remember you control your academics and the balancing act that it requires. Have a great show this weekend, best wishes:) W P

State Finalists: 1) Vandegrift 2) Cedar Park 3) Dripping Springs 4) Legacy 5) Vista Ridge 6) Leander 7) Friendswood 8) Poteet 9) Birdville 10) Dawson My thoughts

The following bands are going to the Westlake Marching Festival AA Lago Vista AAA Fredericksburg AAAA Lockhart Hays Foster Dripping Springs AAAAA Akins Lake Travis Madison O'Connor Clark Bowie Oak Ridge Judson Anderson Hendrickson Round Rock Should be a great contest.... My finalist guesses 1) Bowie 2) Round Rock 3) Anderson 4) O'Connor 5) Dripping Springs 6) Hendrickson 7) Judson 8) Lake Travis 9) Oak Ridge 10) Akins

First of all, great job by all the bands at the 2012 State Marching Contest.... What an amazing showcase of talent displayed by the 38 bands that competed. Also kudos to Txbands blogging staff and the job they did reporting very vivid accounts of each band performance!! Way to go!! I work with a that band faced a very similiar situation to Rowlett and the numbers they received on Tuesday. In our band we received a large spread between the two marching judges that significantly held us back in placement. That said, and while I wish it didn't occur, I understand it. With a clear UIL Rubric in place that describes the level of excellence acheived in the various areas of performance you would think that it would help control the scores and keep them more balanced. But, it comes down to interpretation and personal opinion.... Case in point, if many bands in the State Marching Contest hit sets, marches in step, have good technique and display it 100% of the time do they all win? No, ultimately with so many great bands comes a very picky demeanor of what best soots the judges ears or eyes. For instance, one of the marching judges felt our pant length was a little too short and drew too much attention away from the foot. The other judge thought the pants helped provide great definition.... Picky? Sure... but it's literally down to execution and the smallest of details. So if one judge loved a straight leg and the other a bent leg technique, they might have differing opinions as to how clear one style is to the other. The same goes for music, some judges feel as though a band should closely resemble a Concert Band on the field while others like a more aggresive approach. With our band on Tuesday we were very clean and marched with impecccable technique. One judge revealed a few things that were minor inconsistencies and gave a good score. The other thought we executed well and had a few minor inconsistencies and scored us low. Both saw the same thing but interpreted what to score differently based on their knowledge.... It's so hard to judge a marching contest but it must be crazy to judge the State Contest. I figure it has to be like judging art. Someone might really like Monet, but yet another prefers Picasso, neither is worng in their opinion but they might feel differently in their opinions of what great art is. Just food for thought. By the way I thought Rowlett was fantastic!

Not true..... If you have a name that's recognizable as a consistent top finisher you'll survive the early time slot. I've been on both sides of the coin and it depends upon the mindset of the judging. If judges follow the rubric (guideline written by UIL) and not use median scoring then a group going first stands a chance. In the case of the Area Marching Contests, I feel that the judges do a better job of scoring evenly over the entire period of a day than at State. The reason for this I believe is that judges are chosen from accross the state for Area Contest that have been trained and judged in the UIL Rubric. At State, there is a good mix of those that have been trained and others from out of state/retired. I think UIL tries to get rid of politics by hiring from out of state and college, yet the results do not always reflect the training you see at the lower levels. Case in point Round Rock was 5th in Music and 25th in Music in 2010.... I believe also they were 5th and 25th in Marching as well.... Consistency? Not so much.... That said, I believe the judges get the top of the order correct each year. I believe in Area D Round Rock is a Lock for State even if they are on 1st.... They're a top 10 band in the State this year in my opinion. I think you could say the same thing about Bowie and Johnson.... All three bands may very well be in the top 10 this year.

Guesstimating from what I see with the misiing Areas, there will be 38-40 BAnds at State. Wow.....

Heard from reliable source these are the 10 judges for Area G: (Not Sure who's Prelims or Finals) Scott McAdoo Albert Lo Don Haynes Reagan Brumley Manny Gamez Haracio Gomez John Stuckey Scott Taylor Joey Lucita Charles Aguillon (sorry Spelling)

I'll say: Finalists Harlingen O'Connor Lopez Donna Hanna San Benito Harlingen South Laredo United Brandeis Palmview State: Harlingen O'Connor Donna Lopez Hanna San Benito Harlingen South Palmview Alt. United- Great First Half of show, good band!

Area D in my opinion is maybe the toughest most competitive Area in the State..... The Area with Marcus, Bell, Richland etc. could also claim the same thing.... That said here's how I see Area D Finalists: CTJ Bowie Round Rock Reagan Cedar Ridge Westlake Anderson Hendrickson Churchill Lake Travis State Qualifiers: 1) Bowie 2) CTJ 3) Round Rock 4) Reagan 5) Westlake 6) Hendrickson 7) Anderson Alt.... Churchill