Super Who? The BOA Super Regional Breakdown
Super Who? The BOA Super Regional Breakdown
An all-new entry into the Breakdown Bible.
Over the next few weeks, three very special events will occur in three very special cities around the US. The Bands of America Super Regional contests are the season's premier event for over two hundred marching bands across the nation. For many, it may be the final event, ending their season on one of the country's most prominent stages. For others, it may be their debut, gearing up for Grand Nationals in mid-November. Whether these shows begin or end a band’s competitive season, they’re some of the most-watched events of any marching band season, with hundreds of thousands of combined in-person attendees and at-home viewers showing up for shows in St. Louis, Missouri, Indianapolis, Indiana, and San Antonio, Texas.
For some, it’s the experience of seeing the nation’s top ensembles and marching on the same field. With between 60 and 80 groups at a Super Regional, the chances of making finals are relatively slim. However, for those groups that fall on “the bubble,” the opportunity to make finals at Super Regional Championships is a motivator and can be a source of great pride for a school, akin to making state for student-athletes. It’s a challenge that, when achieved, may make history for the school and earn extensive praise for the program. For others, it’s a chance to gain helpful commentary from the top adjudicators in the marching arts, and an opportunity to build the program upon that knowledge. And for others still, it’s a routine of maintaining one’s status as the Super Regional Champion (or an opportunity to overthrow said Champion). Regardless of whichever camp your band may belong to, there’s an element of sanctity attached to these contests - they’re unique and deserving of respect. They keep alums wearing shirts from the merch stands and sharing scores on social media for years and years to come. It’s a truly magical performance that creates lifelong memories and friendships. For many, that’s enough of a reason to make the trip.
Now that the sappiness is over, let’s talk about how this works.
Up to 84 bands may enroll in a Super Regional event. This year, there are 64 groups at St. Louis, 84 at Indianapolis, and 82 at San Antonio. With the maximum number of bands enrolled, 52 will compete on Friday, with the other 32 competing on Saturday morning into the early afternoon. More than 64 bands in attendance, and prelims is divided into two alternating panels, which is usually the case. The judges for each panel will then be combined into one panel for finals. Within each panel, the top 5 groups will advance to finals, totaling 10 groups. The next 4 in finals will be selected regardless of score, adding up to 14 bands in finals - two more than regionals and Grand Nationals. These next 4 may be all from the same panel if the judges in the said panel are more generous with scores or if the panel is slightly off balance with respect to the scheduled bands. To counteract this, the past three years of finalists from the event who have returned to compete in the present year are divided as evenly as possible between the two panels. Bands that request a Friday performance slot will be granted such but cannot choose their panel. Any Regional, Super Regional, or Grand National Champion (or GN Class Champion) from the previous year can request a performance date, but again, not a time. In addition to all of that, the 30 bands that are traveling the furthest will automatically be assigned to a Saturday performance time, while the geographically closest bands will receive a Friday performance time. Are you following? With all that nonsense on the table, the judges do their best to balance out the panels to give each a fair shot. Once they’re in finals, classes and panels are done away with, and it’s one giant free-for-all (delicately scheduled and maintained, of course). If not all four classes receive representation in finals, the Class Champion will perform during finals in exhibition.
Like regionals, the bands in finals will be divided into the bottom half of scoring bands, who perform first, and the top half, who perform second. With two extra slots, this changes from top 6/bottom 6 to top 7/bottom 7. On the very, very rare chance that there just happens to be a tie for 14th place (through Kevin, all things are possible), the two tied bands both advance, and the split is top 7/bottom 8. The performance times are determined within these halves, like all other contests, by pre-draw. It’s certainly possible for a band that performs in the first half to score in the top 7, but recency bias generally grants bands with later performance times higher placements (though this is simply a phenomenon and not a rule). The top/bottom split exists to combat this recency bias phenomenon by attempting to keep groups around other groups of their general collective skill level. It isn’t a perfect model, but nothing in this mortal world is.
As we’ve done for each BOA regional and collection of local shows, General Effect Media will provide a preview for all three Super Regionals of the season. Within them, we’ll go a bit more in-depth on what to expect for each contest, detailing who the heavy hitters are, diving into the event's history, and keeping you informed on the most crucial Dippin’ Dots stands to hit as you navigate the domes. While all three of these competitions stick to the same rules, they’re all wildly different - fortunately, their consistency in location has allowed for unique event cultures and traditions to develop. You can’t miss #1 Broken Arrow (OK) at St. Louis in the same way that you’d be missing out by skipping out on visiting the Riverwalk in San Antonio. Ultimately, it’s up to the viewer to decide which bands are must-watches; we’ll be here to nudge the newcomers (and the uninspired).
Hattie Bartlett is an experienced marching arts content creator making her writing debut with GEM. As a former member of the color guard, she has traveled across the country covering events with WGI and Box5, as well as informally commentating via HornRank. Hattie is currently on staff at the University of Missouri as a field photographer and communications intern. She can be found on Twitter, Instagram, and Tiktok as @ilikeguard.