Azle High School Band

How Are Marching Contests Judged?

We would like for Azle Band parents and students to be as informed as possible regarding “how marching contests are judged”.  It is more fun to know “what to look and listen for” as an audience member.  However, always keep in mind that music competition is SUBJECTIVE, and while we strive to have qualified judges and consistent guidelines, there is still a degree of opinion that is involved in the process.

UIL Regional Contests – Ratings Only

The UIL Regional Contests (and the UIL Solo/Ensemble Contests) are practically the only contests that awards RATINGS, rather than rankings.  This means that each group is awarded a score, similar to a student taking a test at school. 

• Division I =     Highest category of performance (You might call it a grade of “A”)

• Division II =   Next highest level (You might call it a “B”)

• Division III =  Next level (You might call it a “C”)

• Division IV =  Next level (You might call it a “D”)

• Division V =   Lowest level (You might call it an “F”)

Three Judges evaluate the ENTIRE BAND – both music and marching, sound and visual.  It is very difficult to do this, since modern band shows have become so complex.  It is a challenge just to follow all the various components of the drumline alone!  Each judge looks at “the big picture”, and assigns a rating.  The “majority wins” between the three judges (Here are some examples: I – I – II = overall rating of I, II – II – IV = overall rating of II, I – II – III = overall rating of II).

At the UIL Regional Marching Contest, MUSIC is usually regarded as the most importantly judged element, and the most critical aspect of the music is that it is performed with CONTROL and with QUALITY SOUNDS.  This is why most bands perform with such restraint and caution at the UIL marching contests.

UIL Area and State Marching Contests 

 “Caption judging” is used, and they RANK the bands.

The Area and State Contests occur only every TWO YEARS.  5A and 3A take place on EVEN YEARS, and 4A/2A/A occur on ODD YEARS (such as the fall of 2003, 2005).  This rule was created in 1988 because school superintendents in West Texas felt that the cost of travel was too great.  Also, holding all five classes simultaneously was a very large task for the UIL to administer.  Most band directors, students, and parents would much rather the event be held every year, as is done in all other UIL activities (sports, drama, academics, etc.), but this is “the way it is”.

All bands that earn Division I ratings at the UIL Regional Contests are invited to Area Competition.  There are 28 Regions in Texas, and the regions are grouped into 7 Areas.  An Area Marching Contest could have anywhere between 10 and 35 bands competing.  Bands randomly draw for their performance times at Area (as well as at all UIL Contests). Each Area will send at least three bands to the State Competition.  If there are more than 20 bands at the Area Competition, then one band will advance for each five in competition. In 2003 there were 21 bands in our Area Contest, so according to the rules, 4 were chosen to advance.

At Area and State, there are five judges.  Three judges evaluate MUSIC, and two judges evaluate MARCHING/VISUAL.  When judges evaluate specific categories, it is called CAPTION JUDGING.  Each judge RANKS all the bands, and then the HIGH & LOW rankings are thrown out (similar to Olympic-style judging).  The three remaining scores are added together.  The bands with the lowest numerical score, win.

Execution versus Degree of Difficulty:  Generally, a band has more potential to score higher if it is performing more difficult music and drill.  However, if the band does not execute the music and drill really well, then no credit is awarded for the difficulty of the show., and actually, the band’s score is usually lowered because of the weakness in execution.  Degree of Difficulty is the “risk factor” that often defines a group’s level of success.

Starting in 2004, the UIL began a Pre-lim/Finals format for the Area Contest.  If there are 20 or fewer bands at Area, then the top 7 scoring bands will advance to the Area Finals.  If there are more than 20 bands at Area, then the top 10 will advance to finals.  This helps the bands with early performance times to not be “forgotten” throughout a long competition day.

A description of this system may be found at the UIL Web-site www.uil.utexas.edu .

UIL State Marching Contest

At the state level, the same scoring procedure takes place, and with prelims and finals.   Seven bands make the finals.  Performing indoors at the Alamodome creates an additional challenge to deal with.

Invitational Marching Contests

Throughout the state there are dozens of invitational marching contests.  In the Metroplex, during the month of October, there are contests at UTA, Birdville, Carrolton, HEB, DeSoto, Lewisville, Plano, Mesquite, Duncanville and Denton.  All of these contests use similar judging formats.

Usually there are five judges (just as at UIL Area & State), and they usually judge music and marching.  Sometimes there is a third category, called “General Effect”, which refers to “how the show fits together and reaches the audience”.  Most of these contests also have a separate COLORGUARD and DRUMLINE JUDGE.  Here is what the judges look/listen for:

• MUSIC:  Quality TONE from all sections, BALANCED sounds (no section or individual sticking out or being covered up), notes that start and stop together (PRECISION), good TEMPO, good TUNING, DYNAMIC CONTRAST (volume levels), and music that is CHALLENGING for all sections – brass, woodwinds, and percussion.

• MARCHING:  SPACING between marchers, ALIGNMENT in arcs and straight lines, POSTURE (body and instrument carriage), PRECISION (moving together), COMPLEXITY, and the COLORGUARD (precision & effective use).

Usually bands are classified by the NUMBER OF BRASS & WOODWIND PERFORMERS, rather than the school’s overall enrollment.  It can seem confusing to the first-time spectator, because the small band category is usually called “Class A”, larger bands “Class AA”, larger still “Class AAA”, and largest bands “Class AAAA”.  This is why you might see a small school and a large school competing in the same class:  It is because they have similar sized BANDS.

Usually the 1st place winner of each class automatically earns a berth in the FINALS COMPETITION, plus the overall six highest scoring bands (for a total of 10 bands).  Some contests have bands perform in finals based upon their pre-lim score (lowest scoring bands perform first, and highest scoring bands perform last).  Some contests have the top five scoring prelim bands draw for placement in the final 5 finals time slots, while the five lowest scoring finalists draw for placement in the earliest 5 finals time slots.  All contests “throw out” the pre-lim scores, and start over again for finals.

Most invitational contests also have “caption awards”, presented to the best drum majors, colorguard, drumline, soloists, and sometimes best overall music scores and marching scores.

Many of the invitational contests have their own web-sites, and they present their scoring procedures in great detail.

Bands of America (BOA) – a National Contests Network

BOA is a company which has sponsored Marching Contests for 20 years.  BOA has become a huge force in the public school band scene.  Each fall they host approximately 12 marching contests across the US (3 or 4 in Texas), and they host a “super contest” in Indianapolis in mid-November.  This super-contest will have between 60 and 100 bands each year! 

BOA also sponsors concert band festivals, as well as instructional summer clinics.  There are many good things about BOA.  However, their events are expensive to enter, and the admission cost for spectators is also high. 

Bravo!

That’s it!  You are now ready to watch and listen to competitive marching bands throughout the season.  Good Luck!

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