BOA Flagstaff Preview
Canceled in 2021 due to low enrollment, the BOA Flagstaff Regional at the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome makes a return this year after being introduced to the contest lineup in 2019. With no regionals in California this year, Flagstaff is the second furthest west regional after St. George which will be happening in November.
Given how far west this competition is, there are bands coming from states we don’t usually see at most other contests. While a majority of the bands are coming from within Arizona, there is significant representation from bordering states (including Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas) as well. Similar to the Las Cruces Regional on September 17th, with many first time or occasional BOA participants, a lot of the placements are unpredictable. Here is the full schedule (all times in PT):
10:15 AM - Queen Creek (AZ)
10:30 AM - Campo Verde (AZ)
10:45 AM - Arbor View (NV)
11:00 AM - Hamilton (AZ)
11:15 AM - Clovis (NM)
11:30 AM - Mountain Ridge (AZ)
11:45 AM - Pinecrest Academy of Nevada Cadence (NV)
12:00 PM - Highland (AZ)
BREAK
1:00 PM - Del Valle (TX)
1:15 PM - Covina (CA)
1:30 PM - Mountain View (AZ)
1:45 PM - Desert Vista (AZ)
2:00 PM - Millennium (AZ)
2:15 PM - Foothill (NV)
2:30 PM - Corona del Sol (AZ)
2:45 PM - Loveland (CO)
3:00 PM - Fossil Ridge (CO)
With only 17 bands on the schedule, it is easiest to just split the group between the nine Arizona bands and eight out-of-state bands. While almost all nine of the Arizona bands are potential finalists, the first three bands in this group - Mountain Ridge (AZ), Desert Vista (AZ), and Corona del Sol (AZ) - are the ones we can expect to be closer to the top of finals this weekend. Starting off with Mountain Ridge, this band medaled at both of the state marching circuits, taking 3rd place in Div. I at the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA) Marching Championships and 2nd place at the Arizona Marching Band Association (AzMBA) 4A Class Championships. In 2019, they were at the Flagstaff Regional where they placed 5th, but went on to upset Desert Vista at the ABODA Marching Championships for the state title later that same season. Corona del Sol took home 2nd place at the ABODA Marching Championships in Div. I last year and in 2019 finished 7th place at the BOA Flagstaff Regional. Finally, Desert Vista should be a very recognizable name for BOA fans as one of the most consistent finalists at events in the west of the past decade. Last year they were the champions of both AzMBA (4A) and ABODA (Div. I), winning both circuits by multiple points. Going into this weekend, Desert Vista is off to a strong start to the season, winning the AzMBA Millennium Show by over three points. In 2019, they finished 3rd place at the Flagstaff regional as well as 9th at the St. George Regional.
The next two groups are bands that are considered near locks for finals, but not quite at the same level as the three mentioned above, Campo Verde (AZ) and Millennium (AZ). Millennium has never competed in BOA before this year but has been a consistent state finalist in their respective classes for both AzMBA (4A) and ABODA (Div. I), finishing 4th at both contests in 2021. Campo Verde has also not competed in BOA before and unlike the previous four groups, do not compete in 4A/Div. I in their respective circuits. They were the AzMBA Class 3A champions, but had they competed in 4A they would’ve likely been competitive enough to medal in that class too. Finally, we have Queen Creek, Highland, and Mountain View, who were all finalists in AzMBA Class 4A and/or ABODA Div. I, so these groups will be competing tightly with each other for the last finalists spots.
The remaining eight bands are making their way to this regional from other states. The sole El Paso representative, Del Valle (TX) was a finalist at the BOA Las Cruces Regional earlier this season, finishing in 9th place. The Champions of the New Mexico regional, Clovis (NM), will also be attending the Flagstaff Regional this weekend. They will be fighting amongst the top groups to win their second consecutive - and second of all time - Regional Title. Arbor View (NV), Pinecrest Academy (NV), and Foothill (NV) are representing the state to the northwest. All three have been finalists at the BOA St. George Regional in previous years, most recently Pinecrest Academy in 2021. They also made history as the first Nevada band to compete at BOA Grand Nationals later that season. Foothill was 5th place at the 2019 St. George Regional, and earlier in the season took home the silver medal at the Flagstaff Regional. Arbor View could be a tossup as they haven’t attended a BOA event since 2018 and last made finals at St. George in 2015, but they could be in the running for finals as well.
As one of the very few California bands competing in BOA this year, Covina (CA) will be looking to reclaim one of the finalist spots here after they finished 8th place in finals at this regional in 2019. The final two bands on the schedule make their way southwest to this regional, Loveland (CO) and Fossil Ridge (CO). These two groups are some of the top bands in their entire state, finishing in the top two spots at the Legacy Marching Festival, which is a contest that brings in almost all of the top Colorado programs every year. Fossil Ridge was 2nd place in 5A by less than a point at the Colorado Bandmasters Association (CBA) State Championships last year and was also a finalist at the 2019 BOA St. George Regional. Loveland won Class 4A at the CBA State Championships and was one of the groups just on the outside of finals at the 2019 BOA St. George regional.
With almost every single group in attendance having a good shot at qualifying for finals this weekend, this contest is going to be very exciting and full of the kind of drama us band nerds love. Will an Arizona band take home the title for the home team, or will an out of state group take it instead like in 2019? Only time will tell…
Aaron Blackley is one of the original contributors for General Effect Media. Despite being young and fresh out of college, he has a vast knowledge and passion for the marching arts and has worked alongside the likes of HornRank as a ranker and moderator as well as the TxBands.com liveblog team since summer 2021. He can be found on Twitter as @GEMAaronB.