Subjective Judging - Please Read
This year we were moved down to Small School 3 or SS3. From 2001 through 2006 we were in SS3. Then, after achieving 2nd place in SS3, we were moved to SS2, a more advanced class. We were in that class from 2007 through 2012. Then, looking for a change, we tried moving to the US Bands conference for the 2013 and 2014 competition years. After weighing the variables, most importantly the fact that the championship can be in very cold weather with ice and nobody in the stands, we decided to go back to the NYSFBC and compete with the majority of the Long Island Bands. Small School 3 is a better fit for us than Small School 2. Bands in this class, for various reasons, decided to rehearse a bit less and are grouped together to be in a more competitive environment of like bands.
As a competitive band we have to go into this activity knowing what to expect. If we win great, if we don’t then maybe next show or next year. The following paragraphs are to let you know what we as the marching staff deal with, live with, and try to conquer the best we can in our “quest to be the best.” I will update you after each show on our inner workings, what we are doing, and what our goals are through this blog.
Marching band judges each have a caption to judge. The judges are supposed to judge their caption without going "out of caption." They sometimes don't do this which is obvious by the fact that they almost always rank all the bands in the same exact order across all captions. In my opinion this defies reason, each band is strong in different areas and realistically, each judged caption should have the bands in a different order. Now check out this scenario, hope I don’t lose you. Sometimes the visual judges only judge the guard without even looking at the band marching style, forms, posture, etc. This puts a band that marches a difficult show well at a disadvantage because they get no credit for their work. Sometimes the music judges also decide to judge the visual, which diminishes a band's music score since it isn't being judged. When a music judge does this and is not impressed with the visual aspect, a band in essence is "penalized" twice for the visual portion of the show. Actually, the band is penalized a third time since there is no credit given from that judge for the music they are doing. As staff members we try to be subjective, but still are scratching our heads as we leave some of the contests because the numbers don't even seem to line up with the audio critiques. Each judge makes an audio critiquing the band. We get these via wifi or SD cards immediately after we perform and go to the staff room to listen to the recordings and prepare for the post contest judges meeting, where we get 5 minutes with each judge, to get an in person evaluation from the judges.
You need to know, when you get involved in this activity, that it is a "subjective judging" environment. I probably should repeat that last sentence a hundred times. These scores are entirely determined by the judges' evaluations using the judges sheets. The judges decide absolutely everything. It is very much like figure skating or judged olympic events. They make the call for everything. One or two judges can bury you, giving you a score so low that it moves you out of contention for winning a contest. We may not agree with the judges, but complaining will not solve anything since we realize that this is a "subjective" environment. It comes with the territory. Those same judges could have had us up by points, giving us a large lead over all the other bands.
What the audience usually responds to is "general effect". It only accounts for about 40% of the score and that is why audience members don't always agree with the judges' results.
Many marching band people say that the only way you can tell who is the best is to wait until the dome. That is where all the bands in the class perform at the same time, for the same judges, in the same environment. At the dome the judging slates are doubled, so the scores are derived from 12 judges. Anything can happen at championships.
