Band

Mt. Zion 1A) Toss up- Let's go with Okaw Valley 2A) Lincoln Community 3A) Salem 4A/GC) Mahomet Seymour

EIU Predictions 1A) Honestly not sure... let's go with Casey Westfield 2A) Mt Carmel and Richland County in the top two spots. I'll give the edge to Richland, but for no particular reason other than they were ahead of Mt. Carmel a year ago at Newton. 3A) East Peoria (if they're doing a 1-3A GC then East Peoria is my pick for that as well) 4A) Alton, but it may be pretty close 5A) Granite City 6A) O'Fallon (GC)

BOA Iowa What a mix of bands we see here! I think we'll see 3 different states in the top 3 spots. I'm looking to Lincoln and Rosemont to be in the top two spots here. And I'll call Camdenton in the number 3 spot. But plenty of bands I don't know much about. I think Blue Valley Southwest, Millard South, and Bellevue East make up spots 3-6 in finals, but no promises. Normal A *relatively* newer show (that turns 10 years old this year?), that has become a great contribution to the central Illinois band scene. 1A) Herscher 2)A Sandwhich 3A) Dunlap 4A) Eureka 5) Galesburg (GC) EIU A university show that has shown itself to be friendly to the smaller schools of central and southern Illinois, hosted at a great venue (although a tough push for front ensembles and props). O'Fallon Township is here, so they're the natural choice for GC. Will look forward to seeing a full schedule and making predictions from there. Mt. Zion First outing of the year for Mahomet Seymour, a historic and strong program. Unless there are some surprises regarding who is present, Mahomet looks to be the GC. Prospect Knight of Champions 1A: WWS (but this class is a tough call) 2A: Huntley 3A/GC: Lincoln Way Romeoville A fairly new show in the Illinois line up, but has proven to be a staple of the season! 1A: Eisenhower 2A/GC: VJA 3A: Oswego East

BOA Whitewater: Small turn out here but cool to have so many states represented among just 10 bands. I think Prospect and Irondale are probably the two "Big Dogs" here but I don't really know the Wisconsin schools showing up. Davenport Central and Oakville could also be up in the top half of finals. Chicagoland Marching Band Festival A long running classic festival! HD Jacobs (1A) and Naperville Central (3A) look to be class winners here. Lake Park and Huntley are my picks for the top two 2A spots with Elk Grove in 3rd. Kewanee A new show! United Township feels like a natural prediction here! Murphysburo: Pinckneyville, Waterloo and McCraken County are my class picks here with McCracken repeating as GC Plainfield South: Eisenhower has shown great strength in recent seasons and I would look for them to continue that here with a Class 1A win. 2A could go a number of different ways. I'll give the nod to Lemont and Joliet West to be in the top 2 spots. I think ultimately Minooka is the 3A winner here but honestly, it's wide open. Pontiac: Class 1A: Watseka and Tri-Valley look to be in the top two spots, but I think Watseka takes it. Class 2A: Prairie Central is my pick. Correct me if I'm wrong, but all of these bands have had director turn over in the last few years. Class 3A: East Peoria in 1st Class 4A: Without knowing Clinton, Washington looks to repeat their win here. Red and Black Fall Classic: Not a huge show this year. Marengo go un contested in Class 1A. I think AA Stagg takes 2A. Yorkville and DeKalb both seem like bands that have been making strides recently. I'll give the nod to DeKalb just because they were ahead of Yorkville last year at U of I. Normal and Hersey face off in 4A- both strong programs. Normal was well ahead of Hersey at ISU last year, so they would be my prediction but you can't count Hersey out! Sage City: One of the CLASSIC central Illinois early season shows. Tiger Ambush Classic Class 1A: Salem looks to repeat from last year Class 2A: This feels like little bit of a toss up, with a maybe a slight edge to Marquette over Parkway North. Class 3A: Timberland followed by Mehlville Class 4A: O'Fallon Township

Super exciting!

Week One Predictions Always an exciting time of year as things get kicked off. This week brings us 4 CLASSIC early season shows! Predictions are tough any week but in Week 1, we're mostly going on recent performances/reputations. I'm making most of this stuff up, so no one should take my predictions seriously. Lake Park Class 1A: Look for a close one here, I don't dare make a prediction. Herscher perennially shows us the magic that can happen in small towns, and they have shown they can go toe to toe with suburban schools. Class 2A: Huntly is probably my pick here, but another class that could go anyway. Class 3A: How fun to have FOUR STATES represented in a single class. The class 3A winner will almost surely be the GC. I think Greendale and Prospect go 1-2. Either order. A.A. Stagg Class 1A: Eisenhower was the winner here last year. And I think they are a solid pick again. Glenbrook North and Providence Catholic rounded out the top 3 last year. Even with a larger class this year, they may very well go 1,2,3 again this year. Class 2A: Lot's of great bands here! VJA followed by DGS would be my picks based on past performances. Class 3A: Lincoln-Way (GC), followed by Lockport is my guess MEMC: Class 1A:Without Monticello, I'm not sure who my pick is here. Based on last year's number Nashville or Effingham could be in first. Class 2A: Could be the closest class of the day. If I had to pick one... let's go Hillsboro. Class 3A: Five great bands here. Fort Zumwalt North and Collinsville look to be tight and in the 1-2 spots here. This early in the season, nothing would surprise me, but FZN would be my pick. Class 4A: Lindbergh and Edwardsville are my top two picks. We could see a show down between them and the 3A winner for GC. Washington: Class 1A: Watseka, a perennially strong small school program! Much credit to them. Class 2A: Olympia Class 3A: East Peoria. This class is a TOTAL TOSS UP. Four solid bands which have all shown that excellence can happen at school Class 4A: Eureka Class 5A: Kewanee Class 6A: Limestone Class 7A: Bloomington came out on top both times the bands encountered each other last year, but I'll pick Galesburg here. It's a toss up, but I'll choose the maybe slight underdog. Class 8A: Morton (but don't count out Normal). GC: 8A winner The real story here is marveling at the 7A and 8A bands. The growth in the last 10 years from these four bands CAN NOT BE DENIED. In combination with some of the programs outside of St. Louis, the narrative of marching band in the state is very different than it was not long ago. The strength of programs outside of the Chicago Suburbs has grown in a major way, which should be celebrated.

Wow! How do you have this type of information at your finger tips?

Hard to make predictions still relatively early season. Also with programs having been affected so differently the last two years. But let's have some fun with these... BOA Des Moines I would imagine Lincoln-Way wins the regional with Lincoln, SD in second, but not necessarily by a huge margin. Some first time BOA competitors here which is fun! Geneseo A long running show, with some heavy hitters on the judging/clinic panel. This should be a great show for these bands! I'd imagine Class A is kind of wide open and pretty hard to predict going in. 2A should be a neat class, with Macomb leading the way. My pick in 3A is Dunlap but I also have no idea about Muscatine. EIU Only show in the state in a pretty big radius, EIU has quite a sizable line up. In 1a it seems this is Carlyle's first year competing in quite a while which is super exciting. I suspect Herscher to take Class 2A with perhaps Hoopston and Blue Ridge rounding out the top 3 but a tough call and we could see anything happen. Class 3A I would look for Richland County followed by Charleston and Lincoln Community. In 4A I expect Paris, Danville, Newton and Carbondale to all be in the mix. Paris was on top last week in Monticello, but with a different judging set up, the order may shift here (but I think Paris still comes out in first). 5A is another fun one and I think East Peoria to be the winner here. I think 6A/GC will go to Edwardsville, but nothing is guaranteed. Plainfield South A relatively new show in the Chicagoland area, this has quite the line up. Class 1A looks to be a showdown between Eisenhower and Providence Catholic, who have seen each other twice already with Eisenhower on top both times. I think 2A is basically impossible to call given folks haven't been out of out at the same shows. 3A looks to be Marian and Plainfield North in the top 2 spots, but either order could be a possibility. NIU Class 1A- H.D. Jacobs looks to be in the top spot here but we'll see. In Class 2A is pretty wide open and tough to call with some bands that rarely see each other. Class 3A look for Hersey and Romeoville to be in slots 1 and 2 respectively. Not knowing Oak Creek, makes 4A interesting. I kind of assume Prospect still comes out on top here, with Prospect and Hersey being the top two in the mix for GC.

A little early, I know, but figured we could start a thread to identify what director changes will be happening going into the 2022 season.

Metamora Recap 2021 Metamora Band Invitational Recaps.pdf

Alwood has previously competed. Maybe they'll be at WIU?

Thanks for all the updates and scores Dan!

You hit on some really key points that are really hot topics in the marching world right now. I'm not sure anyone really has all the answers but here are a couple of thoughts. There is definitely less full ensemble playing taking place with a lot of bands (and drum corps). Larger and larger portions of shows are based on the front ensemble and/or mic'd virtuosic solos (and small ensembles). When there are ensemble moments, they are very carefully coordinated. Ultimately the design of these shows is getting more strategic about exactly what to demonstrate and when to demonstrate it. There was a post on one of the drum corps Facebook groups or forums, where someone had gone through and analyzed the top six shows from DCI finals and if I recall most of them had fewer than 5 minutes of ensemble playing. This is in stark contrast to days when pretty much everyone played the whole show. Regarding costumes and props. Technically speaking they the presence of props/costumes does not IMHO directly increase the performers' achievement level (score), unless they do something with them (i.e. move or interact with the props, change costumes, etc.). HOWEVER, props and costumes can help clarify the theme or narrative of the show. This helps make the music and visual content demonstrated by the performers be more understandable and easier to award credit (score). The money thing is a tough issue and hotly debated. As a whole Illinois bands seem to have cheaper fees/dues compared to other groups competing at the top level. I'm not sure if anyone in Illinois is charging more than $1000 in fees, but that level of financial commitment is not uncommon in the upper levels of the activity. There are GN finalists whose fees are over $2000.

Based on some of the discussions this year, it seems worthwhile to take a minute and cover how marching band is judged in the contemporary setting (i.e. BOA) Old School vs. New School In the "old days" marching bands (and drum corps) were judged with the "Tick System" where judges were largely there to count perceived errors and subtract those from a total number of points. This is NOT how marching bands are (or at least theoretically) judged today. New adjudication is based on REWARDING ACHIEVEMENT and building scores up rather than taking away from 100. Judges are asked to consider both WHAT the performers are doing and HOW they are doing that. On each of the six different judges sheets, there are SUB-CAPTIONS which are added together to form the judge's total score for a group. Criteria Reference System and Boxes Judges sheets include information to help determine an approximate score based on certain criteria. These criteria help determine if a band's score should fall into one of five different ranges referred to as Box 1, Box 2, Box 3, Box 4 and Box 5. Box 5 is the highest level of achievement, where the band exhibits the greatest level of achievement, technique, training, and artistry. Judges should be both RATING and RANKING bands. This means that when a judge assigns a score they do not do it in total isolation. Rating is the process of assigning a number that accurately represents the achievement of a band, while the ranking is assigning a score that relates to the other bands appropriately. The judge should consider the scores they have already given and slot a band in relation to each other. This means that is Band A received a 16.5 from a judge and Band B got a 16.6, the judge perceived them to be almost identical in the level of performance but believes Band B to be slightly better. This is why comparing scores between two different contests/pannels of judges is not always as simple as looking at a band's total score. You will notice that at BOA super regionals and Grand Nationals, where there are two different panels of judges for prelims, the formula for who advances balances taking some bands from each panel. Number Management This phrase was thrown around a bit. This is where things get a bit more complex. It is generally perceived that going on later in a class or in a show is advantageous. The assumption is that judges will start the day, or class with putting down a fairly conservative number to leave room above that to for higher scores, and it is thought that scores naturally creep higher throughout the day (referred to as SCORE INFLATION). Judges do have to be careful that they assign scores fairly to all groups throughout the day. That is where the "RATE and RANK" responsibility becomes very important. A judge SHOULD be considering the other bands as they assign scores. The Captions The BOA handbook has example score sheets and extensive descriptions of each caption. Below is a general overview of the most typical setup. https://marching.musicforall.org/adjudication-handbook/ Visual Performance Individual - One judge on the field with the performers. 20 point sheet averaged with Visual Performance Ensemble. This judge is evaluating the winds/percussion AND color guard. Visual Performance Ensemble - One judge in the press box.. 20 point sheet averaged with VPI. This judge is evaluating the winds/percussion AND color guard. Music Performance Individual - One judge on the field with the performers. 20 point sheet averaged with Music Performance Ensemble. This judge is evaluating winds AND percussion. Music Performance Ensemble- One judge in the press box.. 20 point sheet averaged with MPI. This judge is evaluating winds AND percussion. Music General Effect- TWO judges in the press box. 20 points each for a total of 40 points. Visual General Effect- One judge in the press box. 20 point sheet. With this set up you will see that 60 points out of 100 come from music (20 points Music GE1 + 20 points Music GE2 + 20 Points Music Performance (Invidiaul and Ensemble averaged together)). This system also means that 60 points of 100 are based on the General Effect of a show. (20 points Music GE1 + 20 points Music GE2 + Visual GE). Guard, Percussion and Drum Major- at some contests there may be separate judges providing feedback and scores for these areas, but those individual scores generally are not factored into the total score for a group. In Illinois, there is no organization that oversees marching contests like how ISSMA in Indiana or UIL in Texas does. This means there is no standard of scoring system or judges training. The system described above is certainly becoming more standard than it was. However, there is still a great deal of variation. These exact sheets may be slightly different, or the number of judges may be a little different. Frequently shows will only hire 1 Music GE judge to save money. This usually means the MPI and MPE are not averaged and the scores are taken as-is. There is also no formal judges training in Illinois and the experience of judges and training may vary greatly.

They are non-competitive I believe