Well think about it like this. You have just done an awesome show for prelims and find out that you are currently in first place by six points. Then you go out for finals and put on an even more amazing show and you feel awesome about it. How would you feel if you suddenly learned that you in fact a. were not in first to begin with but b. that you thought you were in first but then lost after an even better show than in the morning. Honestly im betting the reason most of us didnt stand up and applaud is because of the sheer shock of it. I know I did stand up and give pike their due, but it was quite a suprise after that announcement.

btw, go singers/starlighters band!

I guess the reason Highland not standing up upset me so much is that I was taught in my three years of show choir that you always give the Grand Champion show choir their due no matter what. And the Highland kids didn't do that that day. I would say MAAAAAAAAYBE 1/4 of the kids even applauded.

I'm sorry, but that made me laugh! That's crazy! I dunno what I would do if I was in the front row of the audience!

After Jeff's performance, their crew brought out leaf blowers and blew it into the audience.

That actually is quite common. Many competitions are like that. The judges judge EVERYTHING. There are some competitions that have a combo judge (Fairfield) but I would say almost all Ohio and WV judges judge all the categories. I also think that many competitions in Indiana (non-ISSMA) do the same. I would never call that procedure "strange."

Was it the strange judging procedure that led to this result? I've never been to a show choir comp. where choreographers had the opportunity to bring down a group's vocal score, and vocal judges got to critique the dancing. At least everywhere I've traveled before there are specific judges for specific categories (i.e. dancers/choreographers judging visuals and Singers/teachers judging music effect and vocals).

Highland: Today was my 5th and 6th times seeing your show. It gets stronger and stronger every week. And I love the show. I can't wait to see how much you grow into next weeks show at HN. I do however not necessarily agree with the fact that only a handful of you stood up with the Grand Champion choir was announced. That was not the best impression to put on people.
For you to say that you are disappointed in the fact the Highland Singers didn't jump up at the chance to congratulate Pike for getting grand champion is asking a bit much for a group who has been struggling with 2nd place all year long. Furthermore, who cares how people applaud the GC? There will always be fans regardless if they come from the same school or not.
In fact, Highland should have been Grand Champion at Anderson. Pike has had a very rough year, yet they still somehow came out on top when Highland has already been the successor. For some reason, judges are afraid of rising talent that is fresh and popular. Highland has the skill of keeping audiences captivated from the downbeat of the show until the bow. However, rather than applauding a group who has a variety in sound and appearance, people seem to always downplay Highland's success.

After seeing Pike fall apart in prelims with the chaotic rhythmic drumming of the closer and watching kids drop sticks all over the place, I was certain Highland could finally pull off a GC, even more in their own hometown! Yet, somehow the crown went to the underdog of the year and yet again Highland was forced to turn the other cheek and hope for 'next time.'

Was it the strange judging procedure that led to this result? I've never been to a show choir comp. where choreographers had the opportunity to bring down a group's vocal score, and vocal judges got to critique the dancing. At least everywhere I've traveled before there are specific judges for specific categories (i.e. dancers/choreographers judging visuals and Singers/teachers judging music effect and vocals).

Keep it up Highland. You do have fans that are rooting for you all the way! Judges are looking for a perfect quality of a group rather than an ambitious and difficult quantity. Don't let the remarks of the professionals get you down. You truly are a very entertaining group to watch.

I'm guessing because there's extra hardware to take home if you register small mixed ... AND can make finals? ... Idk... lol.

I guess that really wasn't my main point. My main point is that there is really no reason at some competitions to go small or large mixed because it is an open chance for everybody. So why would somebody choose to register small when it doesn't really matter.

I can't say that I completely agree with this statement. After prelims the two small mixed groups that made finals were in the top three. Pike would have swept the large mixed division just as they did the small mixed division but it was their choice of where they wanted to compete. And Norwell was tied for third with Laf. Jeff. after prelims. So I can't say that I agree with the fact that large mixed obliterate the chances of small mixed groups.

Thank you so much for the clarification. This makes complete sense, and in this case I totally agree with the decision that was made. It is good to know that there WERE rules that were stated before the competition. It makes sense that the mess made by Lafayette Jefferson could be deemed hazardous and it makes sense that there was a disqualification now.

I can understand Lafayette Jefferson deciding to use confetti only for finals, however. This could be an exciting way to pump up the end of the show, as well as pump up the audience and the judges. However, I think you made a good point by saying Lafayette Jefferson should have informed the competition of this decision to make sure that it was not considered a major change to the show (in my opinion that would not be considered a major change).

I would also like to point out that it is NOT a general rule that a show cannot be changed from day round to finals. That rule is different from competition to competition. For example, my junior year, judges repeatedly told us that our ballad was not effective. Therefore, our director decided to change our ballad for the finals of Mt. Pleasant's competition if the judges also commented on the ballad. It was completely inside the rules to do this and we had checked beforehand. That year we also switched our 4th and 5th songs at Great River, due to judges comments at Mt. Pleasant. This was also allowed by the rules at this competition. We also had done this at Milton's competition back in 2001. So those are examples of competitions that allow major changes to a show from prelims to finals.

As a future director, and someone that has never been told a reason for this, what are the reasons for not allowing major changes to a show? (I would like actual reasons, not just speculation)

I think some clarification is needed here:

I am the contest coordinator and official person of the AHS Choral Staff who has the final decision in all of the matters that have been discussed involving the outcome of the A-Town Showdown.

Lafayette Jeff's choir was not penalized for shooting the confetti on the stage area. However, it would have been better had they actually used it in the prelims - they only did it at night. That seems to give the impression that they had concerns about doing it in the first place and maybe running the risk of some type of penalty. The amount of said confetti was not small - it looked as if AHS had thrown a ticker-tape parade! After Jeff's performance, their crew brought out leaf blowers and blew it into the audience. Not a huge deal, except it made an even larger mess and it may have caused someone to slip on the already slick gymnasium floor. Even after the crew had finished with the leaf blowers, there was still a significant amount of confetti left around the perimeter and underneath the entire set of risers - this caused concern when the AHS stage crew had to change the riser set up for other choirs. The whole thing just wasn't terribly considerate. Also, to speak on a technical level, this is something that could be considered a major change in the show, making it not the same as it was in the prelims. If they wanted to use the confetti, it would have been a good idea to speak to the AHS people about this in advance. Had this been done, the AHS people would have been prepared to help clean up the floor in front of the stage area.

To further clarify, the DQ: At the last minute, the Laf. Jeff director took his kids back stage, into the stage right area (on the gym floor on the stage right side), laid a pile of paper towels on the gym floor, poured a can of Coke on them and allowed his kids to walk though it in order to make their shoes sticky before going on stage. The issues with this are many:

1. The risers used were rented from an Indianapolis arts organization - those were not AHS risers - this action put AHS at risk for not being able to return them in the top condition in which they received them.

2. The stage was NOT slick at all - in fact it may have been better for dancing if had been at least a little slick.

3. This was done on the gym floor, in front of the principal of AHS, who was the emcee, and also was the one who was left to clean up the mess. So consider this: wet paper towels, coke and now, wet confetti all over the place; which leads to point number four:

4. The rules also state that "No hazardous materials are to be on the stage or in the staging area." The penalty for this infraction is an automatic last place.

To address the Best Band issue with prelims: Laf. Jeff's stage layout sheet indicated that they were not eligible for the award. The reason for this is that the director thought that the adult in the band could only play the piano. However, the ONE adult can play any instrument at the A-Town Showdown. Laf. Jeff's director did not ask to have this announced, etc. He also did not indicate that he wished to have the placements changed or rectified at that time.

When it's all said and done, it all comes down to the director of each group being sure to know the rules, ask questions, check and recheck - every time. Also, it's always best to do these things face to face with the coordinator of each competition.