Area H Predictions?

[littlejaw]

Thanks for pointing me to that. I hadn't read through the Area D thread. Just looked odd that they weren't judged in finals. I saw them perform earlier this season and would have been surprised if they hadn't advanced.

My other question still: What's the point of designating an "alternate" band to state? I was at Area H tonight and Brandeis was announced as the alternate. Under what circumstances would an alternate get to play at state? (It seems that Johnson avoided this problem in Area D by not competing in the finals so it didn't come down to them declining the spot.)

Sometimes bands compete with an ineligible marcher due to academics and they would have to give up their spot at state. Or a band ends up unable to make the state competition for reasons out of their control.

[takigan]

Storing them here....because UIL will likely take them down eventually.  Hopefully they won't get lost the next time we update our forum software like the last batch did.

6A_Area_H_Prelims.pdf

6A_Area_H_Finals.pdf

[band78254]

Vista was 7th in Marching from what I saw but they have nice music, they are where they should be I suppose in finals.  The 5th-7th was very tight, can't believe O'Connor fell so far in music from prelims to finals but they had solid marching scores for a mega band with their numbers.  I suppose some of the solo's were off as opposed to the afternoon where they made it as high as 3rd in music.  The top 7 were the same that I had just different order, and I'm still scratching my head now Vandy just beat out Leander when I clearly had Leader taking it.  The better competition will help to continue to push the NISD bands to new heights with 3 good showings from Brandeis, O'Connor and Stevens.

 

There was a lot of speculation that CTJ was planning ahead of time to sit out finals in Area.  I guess the they wanted to avoid the double with grand nationals the very next day, still amazing that they would opt out though CTJ was not poised for a top 5 this year in state as:  Reagan, Vandergift, Leader, Bowie, Round Rock, and maybe even Keller were poised to finish in front.  CTJ's show is more geared toward BOA judging and is a good show but for UIL State would likely not be in top 5.

[typoztypoz]

Vista was 7th in Marching from what I saw but they have nice music, they are where they should be I suppose in finals.  The 5th-7th was very tight, can't believe O'Connor fell so far in music from prelims to finals but they had solid marching scores for a mega band with their numbers.  I suppose some of the solo's were off as opposed to the afternoon where they made it as high as 3rd in music.  The top 7 were the same that I had just different order, and I'm still scratching my head now Vandy just beat out Leander when I clearly had Leader taking it.  The better competition will help to continue to push the NISD bands to new heights with 3 good showings from Brandeis, O'Connor and Stevens.

 

There was a lot of speculation that CTJ was planning ahead of time to sit out finals in Area.  I guess the they wanted to avoid the double with grand nationals the very next day, still amazing that they would opt out though CTJ was not poised for a top 5 this year in state as:  Reagan, Vandergift, Leader, Bowie, Round Rock, and maybe even Keller were poised to finish in front.  CTJ's show is more geared toward BOA judging and is a good show but for UIL State would likely not be in top 5.

 

As an NISD parent, I'm interested in how the realignment of the Area groups happened. Sure feels like gerrymandering to give more Austin-area schools a path to State. I know, I know... It will force the NISD schools to get better, but the results from Area D and Area H do tell the story.

 

I'm not up on the differences between UIL and BOA judging. You've said Johnson's show is geared toward BOA... Could you explain what makes something a good show for UIL vs. BOA?

[principalagent]

The realignment was probably the effect of two different but related factors - Area D was too strong and Area G put in a lot of bands that were, for lack of a better term, uncompetitive at the State Marching Band Contest. Area G also put out more bands than any other Area, including those, like D, that had really strong bands that got left at home. In a way, you're right. Area H was created to relax Area D and create more advancing spots for the Austin bands since Area D was definitely the strongest area finals top to bottom in 2010-2014. The moving up of the Leander schools would have made old Area D even worse. Area D and H could reasonably put 6-8 bands in State Finals - old Area D would likely have left one or two of them at home. It's not quite fair to the NISD bands who had an easier time in old G, but it's perhaps fair to the process and it evened out the advancing numbers relative to the strength of the bands in the areas. (There's a whole new conversation about if the SMBC is about showcasing the best bands in the state overall or representing an even diversity of bands across the state but that conversation tends to go south - especially this weekend. In my opinion, this new alignment is as even as it can be.)

 

As for UIL v. BOA, UIL tends to be more execution focused and BOA looks a little more for design, effect and performance. However, the best bands tend to be at the top of either. If you think about it, a really sharp design can showcase a band's strengths very well. And a band that executes well can more easily sell the effect of their show. While distinct, I believe the lines between "UIL shows" and "BOA shows" are getting blurred with time.

[Mash]

Vista was 7th in Marching from what I saw but they have nice music, they are where they should be I suppose in finals.  The 5th-7th was very tight, can't believe O'Connor fell so far in music from prelims to finals but they had solid marching scores for a mega band with their numbers.  I suppose some of the solo's were off as opposed to the afternoon where they made it as high as 3rd in music.  The top 7 were the same that I had just different order, and I'm still scratching my head now Vandy just beat out Leander when I clearly had Leader taking it.  The better competition will help to continue to push the NISD bands to new heights with 3 good showings from Brandeis, O'Connor and Stevens.

 

I have to disagree on seeing them marching at 7th,  

[SamuelCulper]

The judge that had Vista 9th on marching in Finals was smoking crack.

[Xenon]

Sometimes bands compete with an ineligible marcher due to academics and they would have to give up their spot at state. Or a band ends up unable to make the state competition for reasons out of their control.

This happened to The Woodlands in 2008 and North Shore ended up taking their place at State. TWHS already had the travel arrangements set up and mostly just handed them over to NS since it was a last minute thing.

[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

[SamuelCulper]

Thank you, Mr. Perkins. I really enjoyed O'Connor's show last night. You have some very talented kids.

[Trombone DM and Sgt]

The judges usually change jobs from prelims to finals. And, most judges also have their own preferences in their grading of bands and the type of show they like. So what we saw with Vista from prelims to finals could easily be a switch as music judge J2 in prelims became marching judge J5 in finals, placing the band they saw as 7th in marching at prelims as 9th in music at finals. It isn't as noticeable, but in Westlake's scores, they placed 4th in both marching judges' scores from prelims and then in finals got three straight 4th's from all three music judges. I agree that Vista's 7th and 9th scores weren't really accurate, but this should help explain that it was probably just one judge who gave both scores, and they probably just didn't prefer Vista's show over the others they saw.

 

Also, congrats to all four bands advancing to state!