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2016 6A UIL State


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So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

 

 

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So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

 

That's supposed to read "Congrats to all of them!!"  :)

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By the way, I don't believe in "locks" - unless the judges have built in bias.  As with any music contest, it's unfortunately got a very subjective element - unlike say, the final of a basketball game where the score is 96-85 . . . somebody clearly won that contest.

 

Certainly need to march/play well, have a sharp visual element, etc.  But any program that puts in the time, resources, and commitment can come up and surprise us all.

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So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

Sadly, LD Bell did not qualify for State in 2014. They were in the area with Hebron, Marcus, FM and got knocked out by another band (I think Haltom)

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I can't confirm it, but I would love to see UIL have a specific dollar figure the school could spend on the show.  I would love to see what schools with less financial support could do.  Leave BOA the big over the top show piece.   It doesn't affect our school, but it is pretty obvious about the amount of money some schools get when you see the props.

I love this idea. There should be a cap on what a school can spend. Lets even the playing field and make it more about the marching and music and less about the glitter and glitz

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Although the props and stuff really are not "technically" judged. they fall under the heading "Visual reinforcement of music" or "General effect" which is just a tiny piece of the entire puzzle, 100 max pts to be exact. (which is a shame as from what I can tell Color Guard falls under this heading....might be wrong though). That being said....I have zero doubt that props and sets do get judged more than technically they should. Judges are human after all and a nice set will increase interest...etc.

I fully support the idea of a cash limit, but that won't do much as some of your bigger bands have many more boosters and parents thus much more likely to have Construction, welders, engineers...etc able to "donate" their time and talents so what may cost one band $100 might cost another $50.

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So, across the 33 Regions, about 250 bands tried out.  202 made Area competitions.  40 made it to San Antonio.

 

All of these band students at all of these programs work hard to attempt to get to SA - Congrats to all of them??

 

That being said, only about 15% make it to the State competition - and only about 5% make the Finals.  That's quite a feat.

 

I know it's history, but of the 40 bands attending this year - I see only 12 that have consistently made the Finals (or very near the Finals) in the last 3 outings (2014, 2012, and 2010) . . . in order of appearance at each of the 8 different Areas.

 

Area B (Keller, Duncanville, LD Bell - don't think they attended in '14, Coppell)

Area C (Flomo - actually didn't make finals I don't think in '12 or '10 - but hard to ignore this year, Hebron, Marcus)

Area D (Reagan, Bowie)

Area F (Spring - not '14, The Woodlands)

Area H (Westlake - not '14)

 

Not appearing this year (either chose not to or didn't advance), but have been stiff competition in the past:

 

CTJohnson

Rowlett

Churchill

 

Fairly new up and comers (at least in this class I think) that could def compete this year:

 

Round Rock

Hendrickson

Vandergrift

Leander

 

Old guard that have been amazing in the past, have fallen off in recent years, but still stand out this year:

 

Plano East

Berkner

I'm sure there's others

 

All that being said, they're all adding and refining shows in this last week.

 

But it will be hard to ignore those previously mentioned 12 . . . it's going to be crowded at the top!

 

One thing that should be hard to forget is that Marcus is the five time defending UIL State Champion -- ten years of being on the top.  Flower Mound is performing in just their second UIL State Finals (moment of silence for "The Greatest Show" aka the Circus Show of 2012).

 

Until Marcus is NOT the State Champion, it is hard for me to predict that they won't be on top again.

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I love this idea. There should be a cap on what a school can spend. Lets even the playing field and make it more about the marching and music and less about the glitter and glitz

 

We have to be careful when we start making decisions with the intention of leveling the playing field. No particular rule or set of rules is going to make things equal for all involved. The rules in place now have been developed over decades of time and they still aren't considered by all to have leveled the field. It is what it is and everyone has to make their best effort according to the guidelines in place. It's not a perfect system, but it's not a bad one either.

 

As far as limiting costs, should this also be expanded to include how much you are spending for your drill and/or arrangements? Or to how much you spend on instrument costs? Does anyone really need a $7,000 bassoon? Or how about how much is being spent on staff, either part-time or full-time? Or electronic equipment? Or uniforms and costumes? Once you start limiting costs, it's just hard to find the place to draw the line. And with UIL, I don't really see props and visual elements having the ability to tip the scale that much, if at all. I see those items tolerated more than appreciated in this system. If you march and play at a high level, you will be judged fairly whether you have the glitz and glamour or not.

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One thing that should be hard to forget is that Marcus is the five time defending UIL State Champion -- ten years of being on the top.  Flower Mound is performing in just their second UIL State Finals (moment of silence for "The Greatest Show" aka the Circus Show of 2012).

 

 

If it makes you feel any better, after PESH went to state with The Bells in 2012 over the Circus Show,  I believe our Associate Band Director left and went to FloMo at the end of the year!   She is really good :) 

And I did enjoy the Circus show very much too :)          

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We have to be careful when we start making decisions with the intention of leveling the playing field. No particular rule or set of rules is going to make things equal for all involved. The rules in place now have been developed over decades of time and they still aren't considered by all to have leveled the field. It is what it is and everyone has to make their best effort according to the guidelines in place. It's not a perfect system, but it's not a bad one either.

 

As far as limiting costs, should this also be expanded to include how much you are spending for your drill and/or arrangements? Or to how much you spend on instrument costs? Does anyone really need a $7,000 bassoon? Or how about how much is being spent on staff, either part-time or full-time? Or electronic equipment? Or uniforms and costumes? Once you start limiting costs, it's just hard to find the place to draw the line. And with UIL, I don't really see props and visual elements having the ability to tip the scale that much, if at all. I see those items tolerated more than appreciated in this system. If you march and play at a high level, you will be judged fairly whether you have the glitz and glamour or not.

Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

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Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

Why does it have to be drawn? This is supposed to be an art form first. Artistic creativity shouldn't be hampered for competition sake. If anything, we should stop ranking bands and come together to enjoy the aristry of the productions. Not that any of this will ever happen, but while we're making pie in the sky wishes I'd rather celebrate the creative process than restrict it.

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Why does it have to be drawn? This is supposed to be an art form first. Artistic creativity shouldn't be hampered for competition sake. If anything, we should stop ranking bands and come together to enjoy the aristry of the productions. Not that any of this will ever happen, but while we're making pie in the sky wishes I'd rather celebrate the creative process than restrict it.

I guess I am just an old-school old-timer :)

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If it makes you feel any better, after PESH went to state with The Bells in 2012 over the Circus Show,  I believe our Associate Band Director left and went to FloMo at the end of the year!   She is really good :)

And I did enjoy the Circus show very much too :)          

She was already at Flower Mound that year.  She started there in the Fall of 2012

 

Very valid points. But when bands start bringing go-karts and bicycles and unicycles into a marching show, some kind of line has to be drawn. I don't have an answer. Just thinking out loud.

FloMo had a unicycle in the circus show, as well as someone on stilts.

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She was already at Flower Mound that year.  She started there in the Fall of 2012

Oops sorry.   I was thinking my son had her for one year at PESH as I remember being in contact with her, but I forgot he was a "Roadie" with the band his sophomore year before. 

(PESH is only years 11 and 12 so they have kids at the 9/10 high schools help with equipment at football games).

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