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Advancement from area to state

The judging panel will consist of 3 music judges and 2 marching execution judges.

The band's final rank will be determined by adding the rankings of all five judges.

1.   A/AA/AAA Certification. In conferences A/AA/AAA the music area shall certify the three bands receiving the highest ranking in each conference to the state marching band contest. Should twenty or more bands participate in a single conference at the area contest, one band for each five bands competing in the contest shall be certified for advancement to the state contest.

2.   AAAA/AAAAA Certification. In Conferences AAAA/AAAAA the music area shall certify the two bands receiving the highest ranking in each conference to the State Marching Band Contest. Should fifteen or more bands participate in a single conference at the area contest, one band for each five bands competing in the contest shall be certified for advancement to the state contest.

3.   In addition, in all area contests any band that receives a ranking of three or higher from two of the music judges and one of the marching judges will also advance to state.

Advancement from preliminaries to finals

Ranking will be determined by adding the rank scores of all five judges.

If there are 15 or fewer bands in prelims the bands ranked in the top 5 places will automatically advance to the finals. In addition any band below fifth place that receives a ranking of three or higher from at least two of the music judges and one of the marching judges will also advance to the finals.

If there are 20 or fewer bands in prelims the bands ranked in the top seven places will automatically advance to the finals. In addition any band below seventh place that receives a ranking of three or higher from at least two of the music judges and one of the marching judges will also advance to the finals.

If there are 21 or more bands in prelims the bands ranked in the top ten places will automatically advance to the finals. In addition any band below tenth place that receives a ranking of three or higher from at least two of the music judges and one of the marching judges will also advance to the finals.

State champion

Ranking in finals will be determined by adding the rank scores of all five judges. The band with the highest ranking will be declared the state champion. Exception: In the event that a band receives a first place rank from at least two of the music judges and one of the marching judges, that band will be the state champion. Second and Third place will then be determined by total rank scores. All other bands in the finals will be awarded a State Finalist Trophy.  (NOTE:  This State Champion Format was recommended by the UIL/TMEA Music Advisory Committee and was approved by that body and by unanimous endorsement of the UIL Technical Advisory Committee

Procedure for selecting bands to advance from area to state

The following procedure will be used to determine the advancement of bands from area to state and the placement of bands at the state contest.

A. At the conclusion of the contest each judge's raw score will be used to determine each judge's ranking. In each conference the band receiving the highest numerical score will be assigned first place for each judge, the next highest score will be assigned second place and so on until a ranking for each band is determined for all five judges.

B. The five judges' ranking for each band will then be added together. The high and low will NOT be eliminated. All scores will count.

C. The final ranking will then be determined by assigning the band with the lowest composite score first place, the next lowest composite score second place and so on until the band with the highest composite score is listed last.

D. Ties may be broken by using judges preference. For example:

Both Bands end up with a final composite score of 15 resulting in a tie. However, the tie can always be broken by determining which band was ranked highest by at least three judges. In this case, Band A would be selected because judges 1, 2 and 4 preferred Band A over Band B.

E. Ties need not be broken unless they affect a band selected to advance to State or the band selected as an alternate.

F. Verification Period. At the conclusion of each conference, there should be a verification period during which directors will have the opportunity to review the tabulation of the final rankings. The following procedure will be observed:

1. One representative from each school will be permitted to review the tabulation and ranking procedure.

2.     If all present agree that there is no error in the tabulation process, then the results will become official and will be made public.

3.     If there is a protest regarding the tabulations, the rankings will be held and a final judgement made by the State office.

4.     There can be no future protest of rankings after the results are announced as official.

5.     A director not present during the verification period forfeits his opportunity to protest.

G. Only the bands selected to advance to State and the alternate will be announced at the conclusion of the contest.

H. All tabulations and other results will be made available to the directors only after the contest is completed.

Instructions to the jugdges
Adjudication procedures for UIL area and state marching contest

Please review the following guidelines and instructions so that you will be familiar with all area/state marching contest procedures before you judge one of these important events.

A. Each judge is expected to accomplish the three following objectives with each band judged.

1. Provide taped comments that address the specific performance components (music or marching) you have been assigned to judge.

2.     Provide a concise written summary in each caption using the descriptors listed on the comment sheet to provide the director with a profile of the performance. Remember: You must use the (+) and (-) by each descriptor to indicate a profile of the performance. (See Item C)

3.     Assign a numerical score to the performance of each band.

B. The taped critique should take the form of a running verbal commentary with the judge addressing those facets of the performance that demonstrate worthy achievement and/or those elements of the show that are in need of improvement, revision or refinement. Remember to limit your comments to the components you are assigned to judge. Comments concerning deficiencies must be accompanied with specific recommendations for improvement. It is suggested that the tape be allowed to run for the duration of the entire performance.

C. The written comments should be of a general nature and primarily are intended to provide the director with a brief summary of each judge's appraisal of the performance. The descriptors found down the left hand side of the comment sheet should be used as a means of providing the director with a profile of the judge's evaluation. They can be used by simply placing a circle around the plus, if this is a particularly noteworthy element of the show, or minus, if there are major deficiencies in a specific area. A decision to not circle a plus or minus would suggest that a particular element of the show neither enhanced nor detracted from the overall performance. A discussion of these descriptors appears at the conclusion of these instructions.

D. Specific points must be assigned to each category according to the following values:

The sum of these scores will appear as the Total Score in the bottom right hand corner of each sheet. No rating will be awarded but your scores should relate to the linear scale Good-Excellent-Superior-Exemplary that appears on the comment sheets. In the final analysis the total score for the most outstanding band you adjudicate should be the highest score given and the total score of the least convincing performance should be reflected in the lowest score assigned, etc.

THERE CAN BE NO TIES. THEREFORE, YOU MUST AVOID GIVING TWO OR MORE BANDS THE SAME TOTAL SCORE.

E. At the conclusion of competition in each conference it will not be necessary for the judges to confer. The Total Points earned will be used by the contest chairman to determine each judge's ranking of all bands. The judge's rankings will then be electronically totaled to determine the final contest ranking for each band. In this system the high and low will not be eliminated. All scores will count.

Procedure for breaking a 3-way or 4-way tie at area and state

The following procedure is used to break a 3-way or 4-way tie in UIL area/state marching band contests. It is based on the concept of "judge's preference". Thus, the ranking that each judge gave each band involved in the tie is used to determine which band each judge "preferred".

The following example details how this procedure was applied in the 4-way tie that occurred in the UIL 1999 AAAA State Finals.

At the conclusion of the contest the results were as follows:

The first three places are clear. However, places 4 through 7 are locked in a 4-way tie with a rank of 24 for each of the 4 bands. The issue now becomes a matter of determining what is the "preferred" ranking of each judge for the 4 bands involved in the tie. To do so, the raw scores of the four bands involved in the tie were isolated and the computer scoring program was run a second time. The result was a ranking of the four bands as follows:

The 4-way tie is now broken. However, two 2-way ties remain. Again the ties can be broken by "judge's preference" resulting in the following:

• Between Fossil Ridge and Dickinson, Judges 1, 3 and 4 "preferred" Fossil Ridge. Thus, Fossil Ridge finishes 4th and Dickinson finishes 5th.
• Between Colleyville and Poteet, Judges 1, 2 and 4 "preferred" Colleyville. Thus, Colleyville finishes 6th and Poteet finishes 7th.