Dan Balash
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Posts posted by Dan Balash
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17 hours ago, ScoreMaster_185 said:
I predict Illinois will once again be a powerhouse at BOA competitions in the near (but not too near) future.
Sure, we've got Marian and Morton who can place in class nationally, win their class at regionals and Morton who can make finals, Lincoln-Way, who placed 6th and 14th at regionals this year, O'Fallon, who was 3rd in class at St. Louis, 5th in finals, and 22nd at Grand Nationals, Prospect in 27th place in St. Louis, and Normal winning their class and placing 9th at a weaker than usual Iowa regional. Outside of that, that does not constitute a "powerhouse" to me.
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2 hours ago, Ricky said:
I think what it does is solidify sheets, which in turn helps getting more quality judges, which gives more consistent and relevant feedback, which leads to more useful information to design and instruct for a national stage.
Indiana has ISSMA which is a base foundation for invitationals to use for sheets. Since their sheets are pretty well understood, even the average Indiana contest will have a BOA caliber judge at it. Go look at Center Grove and Avon's shows. They regularly have BOA National judges on those panels. Their state circuit also guarantees that within their 3 weekend system, every class has at least one national level judge on a qualifying weekend. Every group benefits from that level of adjudication weekly I would think.
This is what I want. I want more nationally recognized judges being brought into the state. A band shouldn't see several of the same judges 3,4,5 times a season in Illinois.
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On 11/17/2025 at 10:08 AM, moverholt said:
Fine...where are Le Recaps?
Smart aleck. 🙂
2025-BOA-Grand-Nationals-Prelims-Recap.pdf 2025-BOA-Grand-Nationals-Semi-Finals-Recap.pdf 2025-BOA-Grand-Nationals-Finals-Recap.pdf
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Updates from what I've heard; all are tentative.
- Plainfield South moving to 9/19
- Marengo 10/11
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10 hours ago, johnlivingston1 said:
Let’s face it: Illinois has no great bands right now in terms of the Top 12. Just a lot of above average.
It's also really difficult when you have Texas sending 6 bands, all of them making semifinals, 4 of them making finals (which is less than what a contingency of Texas bands making finals usually is), and then there's Avon, Carmel, Broken Arrow, and your bands such as Mason, Blue Springs, Bentonville etc. who have risen over the past 10-15 years to becoming perennial finalists.
What do all of these states (save for Missouri) have in common? A state championship series with judging sheets that don't change week in and week out.
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On 11/18/2025 at 1:13 PM, Magnichu said:
You do raise a good point, the competition as a whole I think needs reevaluated. (For example, a panel per class at prelims so semifinals per class are independent of other classes? Semis/Finals working more like ISU?) However, semis did seem pretty accurate, at least from my perspective. Didn't help that Morton and O'Fallon both had mic trouble.
It's not possible to have a panel per class at prelims with 110 bands. That would be 4 panels (aka $$$$$$$), the panels would be routinely switching out, and judges aren't supposed to know what class each band is in.
I still say the panel switch off each performance block was not a good change, but if you're trying to get 110 bands into a prelims format, this is the way to do it. I'm a fan of cutting Nationals off at 100(ish) bands, going back to a top 11 for Thursday prelims, top 11 Friday, next 8, class representatives from Thursday and Friday, and there's your semifinals.
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11 hours ago, Zdsmith said:
Where's Dan with the recaps?
Dan is in Paris. 😀
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Congrats to Marian, Morton and O’Fallon on making semifinals!
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I think we'll have 3 bands advancing to semifinals from Illinois: Marian, Morton and O'Fallon. O'Fallon is probably in a bubble of like 10 bands to make finals, Morton could win AA (I think the only other tough competition would be Jenison), and Marian is in the running for Class A, becoming (I believe) the 2nd band to win national Class championships in 3 separate classes.
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6 minutes ago, Suburbanbandfan said:
I believe ISU would take the hit if both regionals are hosted the same week. Many bands are ditching ISU altogether. On the other hand, it’s a perfect opportunity for fresh faces to perform at Hancock Stadium.
Honestly, we're not going to get any fresh faces at ISU if both super regionals, ISU and WIU are the same day.
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9 hours ago, Suburbanbandfan said:
Bands of America Indianapolis - 10/16-17/2026
Bands of America St. Louis - 10/16-17/2026
Both Super Regionals are tentative. Which bands will forgo ISU for BOA or vice versa? Or who will perform at both? My brain hurts thinking of all the possibilities.
Ugh, this nonsense of two super regionals on the same day better not happen again.
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46 minutes ago, Suburbanbandfan said:
Has an Illinois band gone to BOA San Antonio?
No, I don't believe so. As far as I know, the only Illinois attendance in Texas was Naperville North at the 2004 BOA Arlington regional, where they placed 13th, out of finals by 3 points.
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On 11/4/2025 at 2:18 PM, TheAngryBavarian said:
Finding that balance is always a difficult thing...I know when I was in high school there were very few who did a fall sport and band...unfortunately we lost a few members because of that.
We had numerous people who played every fall sport under the sun: cross country, golf, tennis, football, you name it. They just switched off between rehearsal and the sports practice.
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I know it's nuts to say this, but if we're going with the notion of 2 Chicago area shows/weekend, we're QUICKLY running out of time.
We've got Lake Park/Stagg 9/12, CMBF 9/19, VJA/NIU 9/26, Downers Grove South/Plainfield South 10/3, Naperville Central 10/10, and Prospect, Providence Catholic, Romeoville, Lincoln-Way, Rich Township still have to find a weekend.
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1975:
Parade:
Class D
1) 85.40 - Deland-Weldon
2) 78.20 - Toluca
3) 77.60 - Crescent-Iroquois
Class C
1) 81.70 - Minonk-Dana-Rutland
2) 78.60 - Forrest-Strawn-Wing
3) 76.10 - ROWVA
Class B
1) 91.90 - Monticello
2) 83.20 - Watseka
3) 83.00 - Fairbuiry-Cropsey
Class A
1) 94.20 - Paris
2) 92.50 - Champaign Central
3) 91.30 - Mattoon
Class AA
1) 97.20 - Dundee
2) 89.00 - Wheeling
3) 86.90 - Galesburg
Field:
Class D
1) 67.30 - Gridley
2) 57.70 - Bethany
3) 53.85 - Oakland
Class C
1) 69.80 - Beecher
2) 64.85 - Minonk-Dana-Rutland
3) 64.35 - Lincolnwood-Raymond
Class B
1) 86.35 - Monticello
2) 78.15 - Fairbury-Cropsey
3) 76.70 - Watseka
Class A
1) 85.25 - Champaign Central
2) 82.85 - Salem
3) 77.50 - Mattoon
Class AA:
1) 89.95 - Dundee
2) 88.30 - Wheeling
3) 79.30 - Joliet West
Grand Champion: Dundee
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1974:
Parade:
Class D
1) 88.30 - Bethany
2) 86.10 - Toluca
3) 77.90 - Tri-Point
Class C
1) 94.60 - Minonk
2) 89.10 - Mt. Olive
3) 86.60 - St. Anthony
Class B
1) 94.10 - Herscher
2) 92.50 - Monticello
3) 90.80 - Dakota
Class A
1) 95.50 - Rock Falls
2) 92.60 - Warren Township
3) 89.90 - Carbondale
Class AA
1) 89.80 - Wheeling
2) 89.70 - Danville
3) 87.50 - Galesburg
Field:
Class D
1) 69.55 - Bethany
2) 64.05 - Oakland
3) 54.05 - Tri-Point
Class C
1) 82.95 - Lincolnwood
2) 77.25 - Mt. Olive
3) 75.10 - Minonk
Class B
1) 89.40 - Monticello
2) 88.50 - Herscher
3) 86.60 - Dakota & Unity (tie)
Class A
1) 93.95 - Rock Falls
2) 90.20 - Champaign Central
3) 88.45 - Salem
Class AA:
1) 95.10 - Wheeling
2) 93.00 - Joliet West
3) 87.65 - Danville
Grand Champion: Rock Falls
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Additional tentative dates:
September 12:
Lake Park
Washington
September 19:
Pontiac
CMBF
September 26:
VJA
NIU
Morton
October 3:
IVC
Downers Grove South
Plainfield South
Mt. Zion
October 10:
Metamora
Normal
Naperville Central
October 11:
Marengo
October 31:
Oblong
Pinckneyville
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3 hours ago, IL Marching.Fan said:
Off topic, but i’m seeing a ton more bands start to ditch the traditional uniforms and start to wear show theme specific uniforms which is honestly so fun! i love seeing all these bands with their unique uniform designs! Also, i loveeee seeing the different colored plumes (just me?)
Wild to see two of the last "major" holdouts in Marian and Carmel with a show specific design. True, Marian changed the sash a few times back in the old days, but nothing too major.
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22 minutes ago, awkwardpenguin14 said:
I was shocked to hear that Quincy placed as high as they did. They are a parade heavy band in my mind. They really surprised me when they made ISU finals a few years back. Do they compete in Missouri more than IL? Anyone have an insider info?
Lafayette, MO (2nd in class to Francis Howell Central, 4th overall), Kahoka, MO (2nd in finals behind Hickman, MO), Columbia, MO (1st in class in field, Grand Champion), and WIU.
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It adds 2-3 weeks on to a competitive season. Sure, some bands go just for the experience, but it is one that is an expensive proposition if you're thinking about making the Saturday show between lodging, transportation, rehearsal space, food, and other various sundries.
There's probably MAYBE 4 bands in Illinois that I would feel comfortable saying they could make semifinals any given year: Marian, O'Fallon, Morton and Lincoln-Way. There are others that are on the doorstep, but haven't quite made that next step yet.
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16 hours ago, Suburbanbandfan said:
I can’t wait to watching Grand Nationals! Next year lets make it 12 bands from IL 😉
I can't even imagine 12 bands that would add three weeks and participate.
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11 hours ago, pezjaz said:
were aux/perc/dm judged? Awarded? Announced?
No.
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56 minutes ago, RightFootCONTRAian said:
If I had to bet on ONLY one happening, I'd say smart money is on Marian winning 1A.
This should be a back to back 1A championships, but I digress. The fact that they won 1A in prelims by 1.3 last year and finished 4th in A in semifinals (6 points behind the champion) is just absolutely insane.
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I know it's early, sue me. 🙂
September 12
Metro East Marching Classic
September 19
September 26
October 3
October 10
October 17
ISU (tentative)
Quincy
BOA Indy (possible, will be released in December)
October 24
October 31
November 7
November 12-14
Grand Nationals
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2024 Director Changes
in General
Posted
IVC and Mahomet-Seymour have posted their openings for 2026-2027. It also looks to me that Casey-Westfield has an opening as well.