WBA 1A-3A Championships Preview
Hello everyone! After a competition season spanning the past 7 weeks, it's time to crown our Western Band Association (WBA) Champions! If you’re wondering why I said champions, here’s how we do it out west. The event is split into two locations, Chaffey High School in Ontario, CA for 1A-3A and Riverside City College for 4A-5A. Both events have Saturday prelims and Sunday finals with the highest scoring 20 bands from each event getting through into finals (Out of 32 bands in 1A-3A and 23 bands in 4A/5A). The highest scoring band of 1A-3A and the Highest scoring band of 4A/5A will both be crowned WBA champions. Of course, the 4A/5A champion is usually regarded as the official WBA champion by the wider world due to scoring highest of all groups but they’re both champions in my heart. Without further ado, let's get into the lineup for 1A-3A!
1A-3A
11:05 AM - Bloomington (CA)
11:20 AM - The King's Academy (CA)
11:35 AM - Live Oak (CA)
11:50 AM - Don Antonio Lugo (CA)
12:05 PM - Sobrato (CA)
BREAK
1:10 PM - Mission Viejo (CA)
1:25 PM - Palisades Charter (CA)
1:40 PM - El Toro (CA)
1:55 PM - El Segundo (CA)
2:10 PM - Rowland (CA)
2:25 PM - Hollister (CA)
2:40 PM - Damien (CA)
BREAK
3:05 PM - Chaffey (CA)
3:20 PM - Torrance (CA)
3:35 PM - Selma (CA)
3:50 PM - San Marino (CA)
4:05 PM - Oak Grove (CA)
4:20 PM - Eisenhower (CA)
4:35 PM - Independence (CA)
BREAK
5:50 PM - Nogales (CA)
6:05 PM - Temescal Canyon (CA)
6:20 PM - Santa Teresa (CA)
6:35 PM - Madera (CA)
6:50 PM - Murrieta Valley (CA)
7:05 PM - Granada Hills Charter (CA)
7:20 PM - El Diamante (CA)
BREAK
7:45 PM - Carlsbad (CA)
8:00 PM - Fountain Valley (CA)
8:15 PM - Trabuco Hills (CA)
8:30 PM - Modesto City (CA)
8:45 PM - Clovis West (CA)
9:00 PM - Los Alamitos (CA)
The main contender out of the north, strangely enough is the second band on, The King’s Academy (CA) who hold the highest score of any 1A-3A ensemble so far this season. King’s Academy has been consistently strong in 1A, but reached a new level last season placing 4th overall at the James Logan regional championship. This would be the first time in WBA history that we would have a 1A champion, so look out for this potentially historic moment on Sunday (although temper your expectations due to the scores in the north seemingly being inflated). Although they are the only finals lock, TKA isn’t the only band in 1A worth watching. Also look out for Don Antonio Lugo (CA), Sobrato (CA), and Live Oak (CA) as potential bands on the finals bubble.
Starting off the 2A block we have strong finals contenders in El Toro (CA), Rowland (CA), Mission Viejo (CA) and El Segundo (CA) who placed 1st through 4th respectively at last week's Tournament in the Hills (hosted by Trabuco Hills). Also look out for Hollister (CA) and Damien (CA) to close out the first block, the latter of whom has been out of WBA competition for nearly a month but was still competitive when they did go. In block two of 2A action, look out for NorCal killers Independence (CA) and Oak Grove (CA) who scored top two in their class at James Logan as both are looking to make it to the Sunday.
Now onto 3A in the first block we have Santa Teresa (CA) (2nd place in 3A at James Logan), Madera (CA) (2nd place in 3A at the Kingsburg Viking Classic), and Murrieta Valley (CA) (4th place finisher at Trabuco Hills). In the much more intense second block we start off with the top three in class from Trabuco Hills with Carlsbad (CA), Fountain Valley (CA), and Trabuco Hills (CA), the latter two being the favorites to win the whole thing. After a brief stint in 4A, Trabuco Hills has returned to 3A where they have had a lot of historical success, winning 3A Championships almost every single year they have competed in the class since 2010. Fountain Valley is no stranger to fighting for WBA championships either as they were edged out by 0.7 in 2017 to their now returned rival Trabuco Hills. The night will close with Clovis West (CA) (the Kingsburg 3A Champion) and Los Alamitos (CA), who was a medalist in 2019 the last time championships were held in full capacity.
The 1A-3A action is going to be intense and well worth a watch this weekend. Although the favorite to win is a historic program, we have two potential first time winners on our hands. You can watch the event live on FloMarching or follow along with scores as they are announced on the WBA website!
Dre Barlow is making their writing debut with GEM. As a California native with a strong passion for the marching arts, they are highly knowledgeable about California band. Their marching experience includes four years at Vista Murrieta High school as well as Gold Drum and Bugle Corps in 2022