First off... Wheaton Warrenville is a FANTASTIC competition. They turn their gymnasium into a conducive venue for show choir which so many competitions do not take the time, money, or effort in doing. The sound system they pay for is state of the art and rivals any competition in America. Also, I feel like EVERY parent of a Wheaton child is there volunteering their time, this is evidenced in the crazy number of orange shirts you see darting around the competition. There is always someone to ask a question or get help from.
The groups here were fantastic. We all knew groups who normally make finals and even win competitions would be sent home early.
I'm not going to critique every show... but here are some thoughts from a handful:
Omaha Westside- Boy you lot can SANG! "Like Breathing" is stunningly gorgeous. I just sat in finals with my eyes closed listening to the fantastic sound. Its fun to watch your alumni gang watch you all (Jordan, Jeff, and John). They are like thirteen year old Justin Bieber fans salivating at the thought they might get a lock of hair. You guys deserved that vocal award!
Totino- I turned to Ana in the finals performance of your opener and said "WOW... THEY WANT THIS BAD!" Finals was ten times better than the prelims performance. And the last time I saw you guys perform before Wheaton was Waukee... you guys have totally made your show dynamite since then. Kudos to you on the hard work and congrats on the win!
Mt. Zion- I sat talking with a lot of SCA family at this competition about y'all... We all discussed how you continue to be the "cool kids" of show choir. Everyone wants to be you. Everyone wants to dance like you. The show is top notch. I love the concept. I'm not even sure how I understand it correctly, but that doesn't matter... because you took me on a journey. You guys make the choreography you do look effortless and so chill, when in reality, you can tell its crazy difficult. Listening to Klint is like the rebirth of Chance Phebus. Congrats on the well deserved choreography award.
Mt. Prospect- I am so happy you guys are making a splash again. I love everything about your show. You have my favorite show choir song of the season, "Rocket Man/Across The Universe". Your vocals are what I love to hear! The attention to dynamic contrast is sooo important with this group. Your softs are some of the most tender and delicate pianissimos I've ever heard in all my time in show choir. The sound never loses its intensity at that level. In my opinion, your ballad, was the best vocal moments by any group competing in prelims. Your genuine demeanor on the stage is quite apparent. There is nothing phony or cheesy about what you do. Even "Jet Set" is well played... we get that its a novelty... but you almost make it seem like we are with you on a plane in the 60s. Alex and Shewski did a wonderful job with choreography. I really could go on and on. Please continue to work hard... you will continue to be rewarded if you stay true to yourselves! You all are the definition of class on AND off the stage.
Wheaton- Genius. Enthralling. PHENOMENAL. Thats really all that needs to be said. Its gotten even BETTER since I saw it at Great River. It is definitely in my top ten shows of all time.
I can't believe this season is already over...It's so depressing. Of course I wanted more than the world to make finals, but hey, what can I do to change how the judges feel? They clearly weren't huge on our show; so be it! Great competition, congrats Totino and every competing group for that matter. I hope everyone else still enjoyed being there like I did.
From a parent's perspective...I would summarize DanceCaptainChica's post with the old chestnut, "That's the way the ball bounces." I also know that every parent there left filled with pride in their children, directors and schools. And every performer who participated yesterday should also be proud of their achievements. Thanks to WWS for putting on a great competition!
Very proud of Mixed Company! -- We weren't even predicted to make finals and came out of Prelims in 2nd place! Every single one of the groups at that competition are inspirations to us, and it was amazing to be able to compete on the same level as ATSC and Totino-Grace and all the other amazing show choir groups that attended. Thanks for an amazing competition!
I think everybody needs to remember... judges are there for a reason, and most of us AREN'T judges for a reason. There are always going to be judgments, placements, or rankings that one person or 100 people disagree with... but on any given day at any given competition, it's every judge's job to make those decisions. Yes, different competitions have different scoring systems. It's the nature of the beast. That's show choir. No one should be shocked about it, things like this happen all the time. All of the kids are working hard to do their best at these competitions, and I think when people get all caught up in how or why the results ended up the way they did, it takes away from that a little bit.
Just my thoughts on it
Anne has the right to place groups as she sees fit, but I am willing to guess a large percentage of people who viewed the competition would say that she was wrong.
Not wrong... but saw it differently then other judges.
I wasn't there and in no way will try and say how it should have gone from a live feed. Anne has judged at many competitions before and I think she has an idea of what she is doing. Someone could say that she was wrong for putting MTZ behind Totino, ect.
And you will be surprised at when you have a score sheet in front of you and score yourself how different it comes out then how you have in your mind. I am not a judge but I have scored as an audience member before and I saw it one way but my scores told me a different story.
The battle of what scoring method is correct will continue for ever and there is never a "right" or "wrong" way until there is a universal score sheet.
Hello everyone! First off, congrats to all the groups who competed yesterday. There were some excellent groups that weren't able to make finals, which can be a disappointing, but know that you all should feel proud of the beautiful performances you put on at one of the toughest competitions of the year.
I'm going to try and offer some more clarity of what went on yesterday. I will try to refrain from critiquing groups, as I agreed with some of the results and strongly disagreed with others, and instead focus more on the scoring/judging that occurred. I don't have the actual score sheets with me, so hopefully someone can come in and offer some additional clarity.
Competitions are clearly allowed to pick their own scoring system. Wheaton-Warrenville South chose to go with the system where judges score groups during finals (normal-style score sheets, all judges scoring visuals and vocals). Each judges' scores are then converted rankings. Those rankings are then converted into points. A first place ranking gave you 21 points I believe, and downward from there. The merits are that judges are forced to explain their rankings by showing scores on individual areas like intonation or execution of choreography as well as the judges rankings each having equal ability to change the outcome. (The difference between every judge's first and second place groups' scores are the same, which wouldn't necessarily happen in a total score system). That scoring system awarded Totino Grace the victory last night.
Some of the frustration from last night comes from the fact that under several other scoring system, ATSC would have won. One example would have been total points, where ATSC would have won by 7 or 8 points I believe. Another example, and perhaps the more accepted scoring method, would be to look at consensus of rankings (Fair Fehr). You would see that ATSC got 3 1st place votes and that Totino got 2 1st place votes, and ATSC would be named Grand Champions. That system is designed to help remove the thoughts of outlier judges from the results.
I'm not saying WWS messed up their scoring or the creation of results. They used the system they had in place. It's not my favorite system and negatively affected the choir that I am associated with, but that happens and you live with it.
Probably the large frustration/confusion comes from the actual scores/rankings that were given out by one of the judges. Three of the judges gave ATSC 1st place rankings. Andrew gave them a 3rd place ranking behind Totino and Mt Zion. That seemed reasonable to most of the group that I attend the competition with, who felt those three were the top groups. Anne Chapman, however, put ATSC in 4th place behind Totino, Mt. Zion, and Lincoln Southwest. Lincoln Southwest is a strong group that deserved to be in finals. I saw them earlier in the year and they have improved a good deal. It is impossible for me to say this without LSW supporters taking offense so I will just say it, they should not have been given a ranking ahead of ATSC. They oversang at night and their new ballad was not as good as the one they used during daytime. If Anne Chapman had put ATSC in 3rd place instead of in 4th, then under WWS's scoring system, ATSC would have won. Anne has the right to place groups as she sees fit, but I am willing to guess a large percentage of people who viewed the competition would say that she was wrong.
Please point out any mistakes and add information that I don't currently possess. I hopefully avoided whining or being unreasonable, but you are certainly allowed to all express your opinions as well. Feel free to do so.
Edit: I am not currently aware of how the decisions were made for the caption awards. If someone knows, please share!
So one judge decided the whole competition. Three first's out of five should always get GC. I actually thought that ATSC had the best show I've seen all year other than WWS. Totino was fantastic, though, and picked it up from pre-lims. Really liked Lincoln Southwest as well.
That happened to Totino-Grace at another competition this season. One judge's rankings changed the outcome, and we ended up as 1st runner up. It happens with rankings. It's great when it works in your favor and stinks when it doesn't.
I have to say, this was one of the most intense competitions I have EVER been too. Every group had a shot at finals and ultimately the top spot. Many groups that didn't make finals, certainly deserved it. It was certainly an honor to be there, let alone do well in finals! Congratulations to all of the groups, the level and caliber of groups was nothing short of amazing!
On a personal note, I have to offer a special congratulations to TG...you kids just went out there last night and did what you love. The seniors got the chance to have a "final" performance, (which was taken away from last year's seniors) and you reveled in the opportunity with each other. With that said, 5 of those graduates came back to cheer you on, and you didn't disappoint! Thank you for what you gave them last night...a chance to feel the love and celebrate a win with those they left behind. You are all such wonderfully amazing kids!! XO
Just wanted to say this was the most fun I've had at a competition. It was put on so well. Everything was perfect. The sound and stage are incredible. Shout out to our room hosts. You did so well in your performance!
I have read all of my friends Facebook statuses and I don't see how they are upsetting? I see statuses about how they are happy and proud of themselves which they should be. They worked very hard this year and no matter what they deserved it. I would like to give a big congratulations to Totino Grace, you made me so proud today, and also I would like to congratulate everyone who competed today you were all amazing and should be proud of yourselves no matter what place
Good! I guess they removed the status. Glad to hear of the other members' positivity!
After seeing a Totino performer's facebook status, I am rather upset. So upset that I'm considering taking back my congratulations. Sometimes people REALLY need to watch what they say. I'm furious.
I have read all of my friends Facebook statuses and I don't see how they are upsetting? I see statuses about how they are happy and proud of themselves which they should be. They worked very hard this year and no matter what they deserved it. I would like to give a big congratulations to Totino Grace, you made me so proud today, and also I would like to congratulate everyone who competed today you were all amazing and should be proud of yourselves no matter what place
I just found out Omaha had three firsts, a third, and a fourth. Had the fourth been a third, Omaha would have won.
So one judge decided the whole competition. Three first's out of five should always get GC. I actually thought that ATSC had the best show I've seen all year other than WWS. Totino was fantastic, though, and picked it up from pre-lims. Really liked Lincoln Southwest as well.
Wheaton Warrenville South Choral Classic (Day Two) 2012
