Random is best, since I believe that no one, not the audience, not the choirs, and certainly not the judges should know what the prelim placements were (other than whoever adds the scores to determine the finalists). If the judges know the placements, that may affect their finals scoring. Objectivity is only possible if the judges are completely independent of each other.
I am sorry to report an...."inconsistency" in the judging panel.
A perfect example of why sometimes competition results aren't the end all be all.... :/
Also agree with the way johnston does it: the directors pick what slot they want based on prelim scores. Starting with first place and going down the line.....
In complete fairness, I think if you're going to report an "inconsistency", you should provide some information about it- lest there be uninformed assumptions or accusations made about the overall results, members of the judging panel, or the integrity of the competition as a whole.
I don't feel there is anything wrong with discussing what happens at a competition, but if it isn't an open discussion, it can have negative consequences for many who are NOT involved in the issue, and can reflect poorly on everyone- including the groups negative affected by the "inconsistency".
Also, I can't recall (and my information packets are snowed in at the high school)- does Hastings go by random draw, or having directors choose finals performing slots based on preliminary results at SOTR?
LOL I agree. It is tough for the kids when they were the last to perform and have to go first because they drew their name first out of the hat. Being able to pick your slot is nice especially if it is based on merit and not luck of the draw.
I liked what Viterbo did. They drew finalist order out of a hat, but had a special rule that the group that performed last in the day round could not be selected to perform first in finals. Lo and behold, they drew Linn-Mar's name first this year, and put it back in the hat to draw again.
I like this system. But I also see the merits of the "Choose your spot based on how well you did" system as well.
Unfortunately we did not get perkins, nor a grocery store stop. But we did have a great pow wow in the back of the bus!
Grrr. Still mad @ Mr. Olson for not letting us go to a grocery store.
But the pow wow in the back of the bus WAS great.
It was my favorite bus ride ever.
Maybe excluding the time when Andy Newman was spiderman on the inside top of the bus.
That was pretty cool.
I am rambling.
But again- THANKS EAU CLAIRE! WE LOVE YOU!!!!
I think every competition that I've been to has done finalists 'randomly.' I put the quotes there because one competition doesn't draw the names on stage, but they don't seem to be in any order. I don't like that idea. It made us wonder if the slots really were random or if the people running the comp picked who went when
I also believe there is that sence of "fair" when it is randomly drawn out. I can see people thinking "they won because they were first and got to go last and blah blah blah" and that is where i enjoy that, because at times I have felt a choir took 1st due to being last, but majority of the time they totally deserve it. Its a fun debate
Well I am sure I am much older than most on this list (I am a parent after all LOL), so I have learned to dislike gambling (I never win if it's up to chance) TG was amazing. Yes they were last but they were awesome and deserved their GC 100 percent. I noticed that the order of groups in prelims is determined by their placements in finals the previous year, but this is not applied for finals in the current year. That must be why a newbie like me was so confused when they started drawing names out of the bowl I was like, "oooh what did they win?".
LOL I agree. It is tough for the kids when they were the last to perform and have to go first because they drew their name first out of the hat. Being able to pick your slot is nice especially if it is based on merit and not luck of the draw.
I also believe there is that sence of "fair" when it is randomly drawn out. I can see people thinking "they won because they were first and got to go last and blah blah blah" and that is where i enjoy that, because at times I have felt a choir took 1st due to being last, but majority of the time they totally deserve it. Its a fun debate
The best thing I like about being able to pick your slot is if you happen to be the group to go last and happen to be in 1st place at the end of the day, you can assure you are not the first group to perform.
LOL I agree. It is tough for the kids when they were the last to perform and have to go first because they drew their name first out of the hat. Being able to pick your slot is nice especially if it is based on merit and not luck of the draw.
Thanks for the info I prefer by day time placements... seems to be a more concrete way to do it instead of a gamble.
The best thing I like about being able to pick your slot is if you happen to be the group to go last and happen to be in 1st place at the end of the day, you can assure you are not the first group to perform.
I have seen both at competitions, and I believe that going by day time placements is becoming more popular, but I have always been a fan of randomly drawing out of a hat.
Thanks for the info I prefer by day time placements... seems to be a more concrete way to do it instead of a gamble.
Confused here... can someone tell me if it is common to have the order of finalists determined by drawing names out of a bowl? In past competitions, I have noticed that order is chosen based on placement in prelims (points). I thought this was rather odd.
I have seen both at competitions, and I believe that going by day time placements is becoming more popular, but I have always been a fan of randomly drawing out of a hat.
Confused here... can someone tell me if it is common to have the order of finalists determined by drawing names out of a bowl? In past competitions, I have noticed that order is chosen based on placement in prelims (points). I thought this was rather odd.
And Eau Claire, thanks for hosting sucha great well run competition.
I can't believe this is my 4th and final year coming :/
Probably my favorite Eau Claire experience considering I was on stage 4 times in one night! (Crew for JV, Performance, Crew for JV IN FINALS, Performance !)
(:
I loved all of the groups competing!
It was just such a great experience.
So much talent in ONE building?Q?!?!?!??!112/1@>Edwtlgf;dsh
It was great.
I think you guys get my point.
We just got home. I did NOT sleep on the bus.
I'm not tired and I really want perkins.
Unfortunately we did not get perkins, nor a grocery store stop. But we did have a great pow wow in the back of the bus!
Definitely my favorite Eau Claire experience too. Going onstage 4 times in one day? It was awesome!! Congratulations to everyone! And a HUGE thank you to everyone at Eau Claire who made it such an amazing day.
I also appreciate the Coldstone cake batter ice cream, more than you'd think. Haha.
Great shows everyone. It was the first time I had seen Waconia, Bemidji and Hastings in the flesh. High fives for Minnesota show choir.
Eau Claire's groups hosted a great competition. Your theater is so much fun to perform in and the hosts were very helpful. Good food too. Always a plus.
Eau Claire Memorial Winterfest 2010
