Area E Bands

[Charthebuf]

 

Look kid you should not be on here gloating right now. You are doing a piss poor job of representing your band. Yes it is exciting to go to state, heck my alma mater (Stephen F. Austin) is going back to state for the first time in nearly a decade. There are 3 other bands who advanced to state from this area and there were the 16 other bands who qualified to make area, they all put their heart and souls out on the field. I say congrats to all the bands who advanced to area, area finals, and on to state. You should do the same.

the funny part is that's a grown man your talking to

[tvr1997]

How sad, a grown man talking like that...

[VictoryRun]

Whether the bands made finals or not, state or not, I would just like to take a moment to congratulate all the hard working students. Just in the past two years this area has progressed so much that being called a finalist or even a participant at this competition is nothing to be taken lightly. All bands absolutely brought it today and for that, I feel the students deserve to be given credit where credit is due. Congrats to ALL bands...

[jn4]

This for falls was our redemption year from not making state 2 years ago. This was exhilarating for our band, and we're all hyped up for state. But also, congratulations to all the bands that performed yesterday, and special congrats to Cy-Creek; that's exciting to see them on the rise. Congrats also to Stephen F. Austin. sure you beat us in Prelims and finals yesterday, but man, y'all are doing something awesome to come out so strong!

[LKendrick]

This for falls was our redemption year from not making state 2 years ago. This was exhilarating for our band, and we're all hyped up for state. But also, congratulations to all the bands that performed yesterday, and special congrats to Cy-Creek; that's exciting to see them on the rise. Congrats also to Stephen F. Austin. sure you beat us in Prelims and finals yesterday, but man, y'all are doing something awesome to come out so strong!

 

Congrats to you guys, love the show!

[king_leonides]

Along those lines.....

 

Can anyone tell me, with a straight face, that LD Bell is not one of the top 37 bands in this state? Why are they not going to the Alamodome, but 37 other outfits are? 

 

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the UIL's alignment system is grossly unfair, and is in need of a complete makeover. There are bands from Area B/C/E that cannot get a sniff of the Alamodome, but they are clear among the top 15 or 20 bands in the state, in any year. It is really sad - well, pathetic, actually. 

 

Conversely, there are bands from area G who will be appearing there, who could not beat LD Bell under any circumstances, period. Look at the scores for 2012, if you have any doubt. Area G bands are all at the bottom of the table for prelims. If Bell were allowed to compete in areas C/A/G, they would crush the competition - and we all know that. 

 

LD Bell should be at that show on the 4th, and it is a travesty that they are not. 

[Bobbyishere]

Does anyone have the results for finals and prelims? Im really confused on why Seven Lakes or Morton Ranch didn't advance to state. And why James E. Taylor didn't even get close to making finals while Cy-Creek some how did.... I guess just looking at the numbers would help a little.

[trombone18]

Does anyone have the results for finals and prelims? Im really confused on why Seven Lakes or Morton Ranch didn't advance to state. And why James E. Taylor didn't even get close to making finals while Cy-Creek some how did.... I guess just looking at the numbers would help a little.

http://www.uilforms.com/regions/13/AREA%20MARCHING/AREA%20MARCHING%20INFORMATION.htm

 

Results not up yet, but they will eventually put up the full recap on here.

[Miracles]

I know some parts of prelims

 

1.) Clements

2.) SFA.

3.) Cypress Falls

4.) Langham

5.) Cy-Fair

6.) Morton (?)

7.) Seven Lakes

8.) Dulles (?)

9.) Travis (?)

10.) Cy-Creek

[HighToes]

I know some parts of prelims

 

1.) Clements

2.) SFA.

3.) Cypress Falls

4.) Langham

5.) Cy-Fair

6.) Morton (?)

7.) Seven Lakes

8.) Dulles (?)

9.) Travis (?)

10.) Cy-Creek

All correct, the system is funny. Out of the three music judges two of them gave Cy Fair 3rd and the other gave Cy Fair 10th. In marching one judge gave Cy Fair 4th the other gave Cy Fair 8th. This years area events are just crazy. With that said I do believe seven lakes had a state level skilled show.

[whitewing09]

Along those lines.....

 

Can anyone tell me, with a straight face, that LD Bell is not one of the top 37 bands in this state? Why are they not going to the Alamodome, but 37 other outfits are? 

 

I have said it before, and I will say it again: the UIL's alignment system is grossly unfair, and is in need of a complete makeover. There are bands from Area B/C/E that cannot get a sniff of the Alamodome, but they are clear among the top 15 or 20 bands in the state, in any year. It is really sad - well, pathetic, actually. 

 

Conversely, there are bands from area G who will be appearing there, who could not beat LD Bell under any circumstances, period. Look at the scores for 2012, if you have any doubt. Area G bands are all at the bottom of the table for prelims. If Bell were allowed to compete in areas C/A/G, they would crush the competition - and we all know that. 

 

LD Bell should be at that show on the 4th, and it is a travesty that they are not. 

 

There are plenty of other bands who could have placed very well at the state competition who didn't make past their area. It's sad to see some great bands miss out, but how could you possibly draw the lines in a "fair" way that would ensure that all the bands who "deserve" to go to state get the chance? What does "fair" even mean or "deserve" for that matter?

 

I think it is fair to include bands from all of the regions of vastly different cultures and demographics in the state. I think it would be unfair to draw the lines that would marginalize certain regions. 

[king_leonides]

Does anyone have the results for finals and prelims? Im really confused on why Seven Lakes or Morton Ranch didn't advance to state. And why James E. Taylor didn't even get close to making finals while Cy-Creek some how did.... I guess just looking at the numbers would help a little.

 

Yes. Thanks to my inside contacts at the UIL, I have an exclusive interview with the head judge from yesterday's show. Here it is: 

 

 

Here is his comments: "It's all there, black and white, clear as crystal! You get nothing! You lose! Good day, sir!"

 

Seriously, after 35 years of watching this activity, I can only react with skepticism and disillusionment. 

[king_leonides]

There are plenty of other bands who could have placed very well at the state competition who didn't make past their area. It's sad to see some great bands miss out, but how could you possibly draw the lines in a "fair" way that would ensure that all the bands who "deserve" to go to state get the chance? What does "fair" even mean or "deserve" for that matter?

 

I think it is fair to include bands from all of the regions of vastly different cultures and demographics in the state. I think it would be unfair to draw the lines that would marginalize certain regions. 

 

I honestly would prefer to see the top 30 bands in this state in the Alamodome, regardless of culture, demographics, gender make-up, racial make-up, fashion sense, or any other factors. If that means that 27 of the 30 bands come from the suburbs of DFW, Houston and Austin, so be it. 

 

This activity is already unfair enough as it is. I have no illusions that it will ever be completely fair. That is impossible. At best, we should make it less unfair. And that means that we should strive for a true meritocracy. Much of real life (after marching band) is a meritocracy as well. We are preparing young men and women for real life, after all.

[principalagent]

The point is to showcase the best of what the state has to offer, and unlike what everyone likes to believe, Texas isn't just the big four cities' rich suburbs (this coming from someone who lives in and went to high school in one of said suburbs). All of these bands work hard and deserve to be seen. It wouldn't truly be a state marching contest if we only saw the Texas Triangle.

 

Marching band itself may not be fair, but letting kids who work just as hard as those in any spot of the state have a shot regardless of the large amount of factors that go into why the band hotspots are the way they are (eg: desirability of said urban areas, parental support in their schools, budgets these school districts have, etc) is fairer. At let's be honest, there are spots in more areas than just G and A that could easily go to B and D. Meritocracy is a completely contrived and confounded concept, but maybe txbands isn't the place for a Rawlsian/Nozickian philosophical debate.

 

And to make another point, it's not like the next band left out in B, C or D would medal, or before this year even make finals (which is debatable as well). And yes, I think realignment is necessary at this point - the regions are fairly imbalanced as it stands now - but at the same time, nothing is going to change. There will always be groups that "deserve it more/less" who may or may not make it to finals / advance to state. Until Texas shrinks in land size to make an Indiana-style process feasible or the metro areas magically move away from I-35, I-45, and I-10 into different corners of the state, band programs will have to learn to roll on to the next opportunity and perform a little harder next time.

[whitewing09]

I honestly would prefer to see the top 30 bands in this state in the Alamodome, regardless of culture, demographics, gender make-up, racial make-up, fashion sense, or any other factors. If that means that 27 of the 30 bands come from the suburbs of DFW, Houston and Austin, so be it. 

 

This activity is already unfair enough as it is. I have no illusions that it will ever be completely fair. That is impossible. At best, we should make it less unfair. And that means that we should strive for a true meritocracy. Much of real life (after marching band) is a meritocracy as well. We are preparing young men and women for real life, after all.

 

Sounds like you should be content with BOA SA then.

 

How do you propose to make it fair? Waving around a pitch fork demanding fairness won't get too far. 

[king_leonides]

Sounds like you should be content with BOA SA then.

 

How do you propose to make it fair? Waving around a pitch fork demanding fairness won't get too far. 

 

 

I see two potential options:  

 

1) Greatly decrease the number of 1s granted. In some regions, in excess of 70% of the of units earn 1s. We can decrease this number, to the point that only the top 15- to 20% of bands in this state earn 1s. What we actually need is a true normal distribution, where the majority of bands earn 2s and 3s, and only a fraction earn 1s. Anyone who earn a 1 could then compete directly in the state championships. With this system, we could actually eliminate the area round entirely. (This is actually the system employed in a great many states.)

 

 

or:

 

2) Only the area champions get an automatic bid to the state championships. The remaining 20 spots would be granted based upon the top scores in the area finals. If 10 of those bends come from area B, then 11 bands would get to attend. Scoring at the area level would have to be on an absolute, not ordinal, basis (similar to BOA or DCI.)  With this approach, every area would have at least some representation, but the really strong areas would get the majority of the spots. 

 

Those would be the two options I would propose, but I am open to other suggestions. 

[king_leonides]

i know that the UIL is considering revamping the format for the marching band championships. They have formed an "ad hoc" committee, to do this. Their recommendations can be found here: 

 

http://www.uiltexas.org/files/MarchingBandCommitteeReport.pdf

 

They are actually tackling a number of the issues we discuss in these boards. They are discussing changes to the scoring system and the frequency of the state championships (which are two other pet peeves of mine.) So at least the UIL recognizes it has a problem, and is taking its first steps to address it. We'll see what comes to fruition from this committee. 

[HighToes]

The point is to showcase the best of what the state has to offer, and unlike what everyone likes to believe, Texas isn't just the big four cities' rich suburbs (this coming from someone who lives in and went to high school in one of said suburbs). All of these bands work hard and deserve to be seen. It wouldn't truly be a state marching contest if we only saw the Texas Triangle.

 

Marching band itself may not be fair, but letting kids who work just as hard as those in any spot of the state have a shot regardless of the large amount of factors that go into why the band hotspots are the way they are (eg: desirability of said urban areas, parental support in their schools, budgets these school districts have, etc) is fairer. At let's be honest, there are spots in more areas than just G and A that could easily go to B and D. Meritocracy is a completely contrived and confounded concept, but maybe txbands isn't the place for a Rawlsian/Nozickian philosophical debate.

 

 

And to make another point, it's not like the next band left out in B, C or D would medal, or before this year even make finals (which is debatable as well). And yes, I think realignment is necessary at this point - the regions are fairly imbalanced as it stands now - but at the same time, nothing is going to change. There will always be groups that "deserve it more/less" who may or may not make it to finals / advance to state. Until Texas shrinks in land size to make an Indiana-style process feasible or the metro areas magically move away from I-35, I-45, and I-10 into different corners of the state, band programs will have to learn to roll on to the next opportunity and perform a little harder next time.

I would have to agree that their are systens in UIL that allows for some fairness in tx state contest representation and I'm not saying that because I'm marching in a band that advanced, but to meet the half of fairness is another half of unfairness and discrepancies. So if you look at everything it's about 50/50 and a bit different ever year. Can this year be deemed unfair more than fair? I'd say probably, but only with a few historically great bands which is why I guess this year is causing such an outburst. I don't know honestly, maybe this year is a turning point. Some Streaks/history being broken some being created. It's just the way marching band goes man.

[whitewing09]

I see two potential options:  

 

1) Greatly decrease the number of 1s granted. In some regions, in excess of 70% of the of units earn 1s. We can decrease this number, to the point that only the top 15- to 20% of bands in this state earn 1s. What we actually need is a true normal distribution, where the majority of bands earn 2s and 3s, and only a fraction earn 1s. Anyone who earn a 1 could then compete directly in the state championships. With this system, we could actually eliminate the area round entirely. (This is actually the system employed in a great many states.)

 

 

or:

 

2) Only the area champions get an automatic bid to the state championships. The remaining 20 spots would be granted based upon the top scores in the area finals. If 10 of those bends come from area B, then 11 bands would get to attend. Scoring at the area level would have to be on an absolute, not ordinal, basis (similar to BOA or DCI.)  With this approach, ever area would have at least some representation, but the really strong areas would get the majority of the spots. 

 

Those would be the two options I would propose, but I am open to other suggestions. 

 

Definitely think that the first option would be fair, with the revision that 15-20% in region and not in state. The second option would be a bad policy because there would probably be a lot of heterogeneity in scoring between different contest.  

[whitewing09]

I would have to agree that their are systens in UIL that allows for some fairness in tx state contest representation and I'm not saying that because I'm marching in a band that advanced, but to meet the half of fairness is another half of unfairness and discrepancies. So if you look at everything it's about 50/50 and a bit different ever year. Can this year be deemed unfair more than fair? I'd say probably, but only with a few historically great bands which is why I guess this year is causing such an outburst. I don't know honestly, maybe this year is a turning point. Some Streaks/history being broken some being created. It's just the way marching band goes man.

 

I still don't understand how it was unfair. These historically great bands went up against the peers in their area and they lost. Saying that the results are generally fair with exception of a select few in the upper echelon kinda of implies that these programs are entitled to state. I don't really buy it.  

[HighToes]

 

I still don't understand how it was unfair. These historically great bands went up against the peers in their area and they lost. Saying that the results are generally fair with exception of a select few in the upper echelon kinda of implies that these programs are entitled to state. I don't really buy it.

haha I agree with you, I mean I'm marching in a band that advanced so I don't really have a reason to call it unfair but just from my sympathetic point of view I just wished the bands who marched at state level were ALL at state.

[Bobbyishere]

Why haven't the results been posted? I herd one of the judges gave Seven Lakes 17th in music at prelims and I just want to varrify. If that is true do you think that might be a reason their not posting them...? I also herd the judges numbers were not even close to being consistent with one another.

[kingtbone]

Why haven't the results been posted? I herd one of the judges gave Seven Lakes 17th in music at prelims and I just want to varrify. If that is true do you think that might be a reason their not posting them...? I also herd the judges numbers were not even close to being consistent with one another.

[Astros]

Results now posted.

[Bobbyishere]

Wow one judge gave Seven Lakes 18th in music at prelims and 10th at finals.... And Cy-Creek placed higher than Morton Ranch at finals... Im just going to forget this year ever happened and hope they get actual judges in 2016.