First off, I'd like to apologizing for taking an unexpected week off of Fma. It hurt my groups and I'm sorry if it hurt any of you out there. School and teaching got in the way, but from now until the end of the season I'm going to try and give coverage on any Regional days, and at least once every other day. Having said that, let's see what we have today!

EDIT: I'm sorry for the hard to read Top 5 scores. I have aligned them in the edit box, but they refuse to budge on the actual forum. If you need to read the Top 5 scores, go to the "Stats and Rankings" page in the navigational bar.


Division 1:

1 Darkness Marching 67.810
2 Southmore Hill Royal Regiment 66.435
3 The Marching Marchers 65.735
4 J. Summerville HS Marching Band 64.255
5 BD14 63.295


None of today's Top 5 bands competed today, so these stats still apply for yesterday. =)

Darkness is still dominating, and I'm sure their director Drummantx couldn't be prouder. Close on their tail is Southmore Hill, just more than a point behind. Southmore Hill was the only band out of the Top 5 who did not compete at yesterday's Eastern Regional. The Marching Marchers continue their stay in the Top 5, boasting a nice 1.5 lead over J. Summerville, another continual Top 5 contender. BD14 is back in the top 5 after their 4 place showing at the Regional. This was BD14's first show since the 16th's midwest Regional. Spirit of Westchestertonfieldville, currently #6, is just a mere 0.29 points out of the Top 5 right now, and one can expect them to make a showing soon.

Blue Demons B still have the winds caption in their hands, but wolf pack has come out from their cave to challenge BDB. Darkness currently leads in Percussion, Music Ensemble, Guard, and Visual Ensemble. These 4 captions have for the most part been a part of their daily take. It is apparent that Darkness spends extra time in Full Rehearsal, and many of you trailing directors may want to take note. General Mclane has managed to seize the Visual Performance category from Darkness by only 0.085 of a point. Nice job!



Division 2:

1 ILL Wind 64.655
2 Mighty Tiger Marching Band 64.140
3 Raider Regiment 60.815
4 Solstice Marching Band 59.540
5 Gold Sound Cadets 58.185

ILL Wind and the Tigers have broken away from the pack, but ILL Wind rode their noxious fumes to the top, putting them only 0.515 points above the Tigers. These two powerhouses have not competed since yesterday's Eastern Regional, but it is clear that they will fight to the finish. The Raider Regiment is back into the Top 5 and has made it clear that they intend to stay there. Solstice is also earning its way to the Top, squeezing just above Gold Sound.

Every single caption has ILL Wind and the Tigers in the Top 2. ILL Wind leads in Visual Ensemble and both GE captions, whereas the Tigers lead in the rest. Solstice and the Raider Regiment exchange 3rd and 4th place in every caption across the board. It appears that all four of these directors have found a way to have a very nicely balanced band. This might be another option for those directors out there struggling to keep their band winning.



Division 3:

1 EYME Marching Magicians 62.275
2 The Marching Reds 59.975
3 Sound of Corydon 59.545
4 Mt Sterling Trojans 57.270
5 Lee University Marching Flames 56.680


I said awhile back that EYME would make their way to the top eventually, and it appears I was right. The marching Reds continue to be a fighting force, but fall almost 2 and a half points behind the leader. I'd like to welcome the other 3 groups into the Top 5; Sound of Corydon, Mt Sterling Trojans, and Lee University Marching Flames. I'd like to apologize to anyone else who may have entered the Top 5 in my absence. Division 3 is a turbulent place and things change at the drop of a hat. Congrats Div 3 for keeping me interested!

Captions are certainly interesting here. Sound of Corydon, the current 3rd place, leads with the most captions, holding on to Music GE, Music Ensemble, and Visual Performance. While EYME may lead in score, they only lead in two captions: Visual Ensemble and Visual GE. The other 3 captions are lead by other groups, with Winds being lead by Blue Sound, Percussion being lead by Shadows, and Guard by the Reds.



Special Info:

Congrats to everyone so far! We are past the half way point in the season and packs are starting to break off of each other.

Are you so far down in the rankings that it is a joke? Here's a tip: Put a lot of your energy into your campaigns. Raise your influence so you can start with more members next season. Or perhaps fundraise so you can buy more staff and start with more points next season. The choice is up to you, really.

Are you teetering on the edge of the Top 5 (or any other important milestone) and just don't know what to do? Try turning your campaigns off completely unless you must be away from your computer. This will allow you devote ALL of your energy into winning. Also, try boosting your GE! They say that whoever wins GE, wins the whole thing. Whether it is true or not, we won't know until Finals, but it is certainly worth a shot!

See you all next time,

ssmit

that winds caption is mine!

Not if somebody catches you.

I really want that GE caption... it's hard but if I take only 4-hour naps for the next week... ;)

dude, how is bluedevils staying ahead of me...

I'm amazing. =P

and still ahead of me

And still amazing. =P

It was regional day, so a break down is coming tonight!

tic toc tic toc

beware the ILL WIND

Sorry for yesterday, everyone. Today's was Finals day for me so I got caught up in studying and stressing. A new report is coming tonight, for real this time!

@ashfire many drum corps ask that every year. :P

@Cire Lol, I see what you did there.