Which circuit/association and why?

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Left my Bucs in Madison
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Which circuit/association and why?

Post by Left my Bucs in Madison » Sat Nov 15, 2014 12:24 am

First and foremost, I am a fan of the pageantry arts!

I by no means intend to single out a specific circuit or association. I am merely curious as to why and how directors select the circuit/association field band competitions they attend. Since there are several choices here in SoCal (i.e. BOA, MBOS, SCJA, WBA and SCSBOA) directors have quite the spectrum of formats and adjudication systems to choose from. After looking over the Scores page on WOP and reading numerous topics in this Forum, a few questions have come to mind.

Why do so many groups gravitate toward one circuit/association over the others?

Does adjudication format drive your choice or is it flat out loyalty to a circuit/association?

Do directors only select shows based of geographic proximity to school? OR because it is "tradition" for your group to attend specific show(s)?

Are directors afraid to try other circuits/associations?

If you host a field tournament, what made you contract with the circuit/association you currently use? Why not contract with another circuit/association to provide a different experience for the groups that attend?

Now that some circuit/associations require multiple shows to qualify for Championship events, is that not limiting the exposure you , your staff and students could be receiving with other circuits/associations?

Just a few questions that a long time fan thought of late on a Friday night with only 2 weekends left in the season.

Thank you in advance for your time enlightening me on the pulse of the Fall pageantry arts scene in SoCal!!

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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by Bandmaster » Sat Nov 15, 2014 1:52 am

Being that I have been posting the scores to the WOP Scores page for many years, I have noticed changes in participation in each circuit. I would say the biggest driving force for many directors over the last several years is logistics. Bus money has been hard to come by lately and more bands are staying closer to home. Many bands participate in multiple circuits, some as many as three at a time. A big concern for some directors is the balance a circuit's score sheets have between music and effect/visual. Many of the "old school" directors like the sheets to be weighted to the music caption and will take their bands to the appropriate circuit. Other directors like to take had advantage of sheets that are weighted towards effect and visual captions. There are circuits that tend to attract younger and less experienced bands and others where the more experienced band tend to compete. Please notice I am refraining from mentioning any circuit or band by name, since I am not a band director nor a judge at present. I'll let them name names if they wish. I'll just say that at this time, the largest circuit, with the most judged events and most number of bands participating, is the one that still has the sheets weighted to the music caption.
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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by magicsax22 » Sat Nov 15, 2014 5:38 am

I think the answer is pretty much yes to everything you've stated.

My group competes all SCSBOA. I do this for a few reasons. 1 is the location of competitions. There are more competitions closer to us with scsboa than others. This also results in more options for picking shows and setting up our calendar so that we hopefully have a balanced season, without shows back to back, or a bunch of weekends with a football game followed by a competition. A second reason is that though I'm intrigued by the idea of shows that do a prelims / finals method that is likely to make for an even longer or unpredictable day and i like consistency in my scheduling. We do only SCSBOA because we like to fight for a championships spot which requires 3 scores but I still can only afford to compete a certain number of times (plus don't want to burn out the kids) so I prefer to have all 5 shows be scsboa instead of having a couple of something else....this might seem limiting, but tt also means the show rules and how they generally run will be consistent for the students.

I tend to pick specific shows based on how close they are, when they fall, quality of facilities, and how well they are run. I have had a few times when I considered not doing a show that was fairly close to home because I knew the field was in horrible shape of the hosts were always disorganized etc. I usually also try to pick at least one show that will be a nice long day with lots of good bands for my students to watch so they get to be spectators some as well.

I'd love to try other circuits out (have been told by many others I should consider trying MBOS out) but logistics are what they are. Having not competed in other events I can't speak to the differences between each as to weighting of the sheets, music versus effect, content/repertoire versus simply play/march clean. I do know that some circuits integrate guard and percussion judges scores into the overall score more, so this could definitely be a reason to stay away for those of us without a bunch of staff to take care of these aspects. Cost of entry fees and such might also be a consideration, but I don't actually know what WBA, SCJA, or MBOS costs so I can't speak with any certainty on that.

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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by Left my Bucs in Madison » Mon Nov 17, 2014 1:46 am

Thank you both for taking the time to weigh in on my questions!

I had already answered my own questions, but was hoping for a different perspective from the readers.

I would hope that directors and staff members would research the options they have in SoCal for the circuit/association that offers the best possible learning environment for both their student performers AND staff! Music first, quality panels and most of all challenges the young performers and designers of today to grow the activity in SoCal.

Just my 2 cents!

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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by teacherken » Mon Nov 17, 2014 11:12 am

As I carefully step into the mine field...
I'll answer as a director of 15 years in soCal for my programs and based on my perceptions overall.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:Why do so many groups gravitate toward one circuit/association over the others?
I'm going to reinterpret this question as why are more groups competing in SCSBOA in southern CA rather than the others? And I think history, as well as availability, has a lot to do with this. While some version of SCJA and WBA have existed in the area for at least 3 decades, SCSBOA has even greater history. Add to that the plethora of performance venues that SCSBOA affords, versus single venues each weekend for WBA, MBOS, SCJA, (with some expansion) and even fewer weekends for BOA, and it's easy to see why they are so populated.

For my group, this year, we made a choice. Because we could not afford to travel to Fresno again for Championships, but wanting a Championships opportunity, we chose to participate in SCSBOA. MBOS and SCJA all required additional travel, and I have no personal experience with the quality of that adjudication. Typically my groups participate almost exclusively in WBA.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:Does adjudication format drive your choice or is it flat out loyalty to a circuit/association?
Again, for my ensembles, this is the primary motivation. And it's more than just format. It also includes consistency from show to show, quality of adjudicator comments, and the venue itself.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:Do directors only select shows based of geographic proximity to school? OR because it is "tradition" for your group to attend specific show(s)?
IF the quality of the show is not the question, then, yes, proximity matters. Tradition is less a factor.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:Are directors afraid to try other circuits/associations?
For my program, I don't think the word "afraid" really fits. I include the dates of all of the circuits as I prepare for the coming year. But if I have a known quantity versus and unknown, the known is going to tend to win.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:If you host a field tournament, what made you contract with the circuit/association you currently use? Why not contract with another circuit/association to provide a different experience for the groups that attend?
I chose to associate my tournament with an association/circuit that shared my philosophies and I felt would be an asset to the marching community. The other circuits did not fit that description.
Left my Bucs in Madison wrote:Now that some circuit/associations require multiple shows to qualify for Championship events, is that not limiting the exposure you , your staff and students could be receiving with other circuits/associations?
That was certainly the case this year. I felt “compelled” to go to certain shows, rather than pick-and-choose based on venue, hosts, association, this year due to the Championship participation requirements. I will be avoiding that in the future.

Ken

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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by clarinetking » Mon Nov 17, 2014 12:37 pm

I vote NCBA. It's the only one close to me in Nor Cal that judges parades.
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Re: Which circuit/association and why?

Post by Mark Stone » Mon Nov 17, 2014 2:42 pm

All of the associations have merits, assets and challenges. My program competes primarily in WBA and BOA as that is where the bands are that have a similar ‘style’ to mine and the philosophy of my performance quality is rewarded. I like the consistency of the adjudication for WBA as they have a smaller judging pool but I also appreciate the opportunity to be evaluated by judges from out of the area in BOA. There is also great sportsmanship demonstrated by the bands in both of these associations. I have nothing against SCSBOA, NCBA, MBOS or SCJA…they are fine organizations and have great programs involved.

When choosing an association I have always suggested going to the championships for any association you are considering and watch/listen to the bands. Then decide which bands you want yours to be like and go there.
Mark Stone, Ayala High School

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