[J S]

Josh,
I thought that I read somewhere on here that Winchester was competing in the fall competition. Did something change?

[Josh Hines]

Unless they decide to join the fall season last minute, all the band parents are unaware of it as of right now. Plus, their show shirts with the performance schedule didn't have anything going into the fall.

It was great to see Sullivan out on the field as well. I wasn't overly familiar with the group and now I know why. 32 years? That's definitely a long time. You did a heck of a job after only 13 practices too. Snazzy uniforms as well. Let me see what I wrote in my notes about your group. I had said that you had a pretty large guard and were definitely loud for your size. Plus you had some pretty good players throughout the group too though there were some balance issues. Overall though, for a first performance at a contest, impressive job. We hope to keep seeing you out there and grow!

[David S. Holscher]

Wow!  A week has already gone by since Band Day.  I want to thank all the bands for coming to our event and also thank Josh for coming, too, and for your comments about the contest.  For those who don't know, he's been cheering on the track bands for the past few years.  The level of performance was very strong this year.  For what I think is just the second time in recent history, the Top 8 bands scored 80 or higher.  Plus, our Top 15 bands scored 70 or higher.  For the first time since 1997, the small band champion (Winchester) was the overall champion.  The last small band to win the overall championship was - Winchester in 1997!  Two bands were first time finalists this year - Mooresville and West Lafayette.  Special thanks also goes to our judges.  They evaluated 45 bands by day and 16 by night.  That's a lot of work!     Hope to see everyone next year!

[hoosierscott]

Doug,

We judge on the sheets that are posted on the State Fair Band Day website.  I wrote those sheet.  Those sheets dictate the criteria that we use to judge, and the characteristics and levels of reward for each performance level.  If you look closely, there is NO place to give credit (or take away credit) for the size of the band.  Good is good, and every size of group (small, medium, large) has its own advantages and challenges.  Size does not matter to the judge, and we are no swayed or influenced by that.  WE judge the quality of the performance, regardless of size.  Bigger is not better....better is better.  Always has been.

Congratulations to all competitors yesterday for a fantastic prelim and final event at the state fair.  It was incredible, and ALL of you should be proud of your performances.

It was my honor to adjudicate your performances yesterday!

Dr. Al

With all due respect, I think there is a basic flaw in your explination.  Having read through the adjudication sheets and their specific criteria, there is a disconnect between what is being preformed on the track and what is being reflected in the scores.  With no dog in the fight, attending with a friend who has, like myself, been an adjudicator in numerous HS and Indoor circuits, it was obvious that there were tremendous liberties given to many of the bands competing in finals.  You can say that the size of the band doesn't matter, but after comparing the scores awarded in both the morning and evening shows, and conversation with people who have more than a casual relativity to marching music and judging, the following are very apparent; no consideration is given to larger bands who expose themselves to more chances for mistakes or tics...no consideration is given regarding the difficulty of the respective books...no consideration is given to bands who march batteries or more intricate guard programs...these are very apparent at the 6 through 20 placements, more subtle at 1st through 5th.  I understand that this will be met with disternation and denials, with "who the heck are you to say these things", but make no mistake...this is a valid concern that is held by many in the marching band community (most of whom will publicly defend the system out of sheer self-preservation).  I appreciate that you have many distingusihed years of involvement in the activity, and applaud that you have applied yourself to such a worthwhile endevor, but changes have to be made to be able to reclaim any competitive scoring legitimacy in the eyes of many (you might want to have your marketing folks tone down the whole "best high school band in Indiana" claim as it is listed in the program).  Kudos to all the fine musicians who put their best effort forward at the competition...now give them a system that truly rewards their efforts...