Competition Terms

This explains some of the terms you will hear describing how a competition works.

• Divisions
• Prelims & Finals
• Judging
• Awards

Divisions

Bands are divided into divisions. Smaller bands may elect to compete against other, smaller bands and enter in Division A or AA. Larger bands, or any band that feels they'd like to compete against all schools, enter in "Open Class". 

Prelims and Finals

Band competitions begin with "Prelims"--preliminary competition. Prelims usually start at around 10 am and each band first warms up, and then performs. The judges evaluate the performance. The scores are tallied and ranked within each division. The top ten or so groups (sometimes all of them) are invited to finals competition. Sometimes trophies are awarded for places achieved at prelims, sometimes participation plaques are given to every school.

The final competition is also divided into divisions. Finals usually begin after a dinner break. The order of performance in the finals is determined by the prelim scores, with the highest scoring band playing last. Prelim scores do not play a role in the final score, except for determining the order.

Judging

At a competition, judges are up in the stands as well as on the field. As each band performs, judges walk among the players and talk into hand held cassette recorders. These notes are later given to the band director who uses them to understand the score awarded and help the band improve. Judges give point scores to the bands based on different categories, and the points are totaled to create an overall score.  (For more precise information on judging and scoring, see here.)

There are sometimes penalties for bands. For example, if they are late to the field, or some other violation occurs, penalty points can be assessed.

Band members are encouraged to ignore the judges that are out on the field. Some band members' favorite stories are about how they ran into a judge because they were in the way of the direction they were supposed to be marching.

Awards

Place awards are just what they sound like--first, second, third, and so on. Sometimes all of the bands in the competition get trophies, sometimes just the highest five or so. The highest award can either be first place or "sweepstakes." If one is awarded, the Sweepstakes Trophy is reserved for the school that attains the highest score in  any division class.

Caption awards highlight particular areas, such as music, visual effect, percussion, auxiliary, etc. For example, a "High Music" caption award is given to the band that scored highest in that area, independent of their overall ranking.

  
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