OMEA Scoring

If this is your first marching band adjudicated event, or if you are new to the world of marching bands, you may be wondering how the OMEA judges come to their conclusion in rating the performing bands! Perhaps the following will help you to understand the process of judging a band show.

OMEA began the use of a criteria reference system in the 2001 season. This criteria was established over two years of research and study, and implemented for the fall 2001 season. Judges were extensively trained in the summer at continuing education sessions. In order to progress from one rating to the next rating, each band must meet a certain set of criteria. This is listed on each judging sheet as well as on the OMEA web site at www.omea-ohio.org.

There are nine judges involved in the evaluation of the bands. Of these, two evaluate the “musical performance”, two the “general effect” of the show, two judge the “visual program”, one field judge is evaluating the “percussion” section, and two judges concentrate on all auxiliary units of the band. The Overall Final Rating will be determined by the addition of “ratings” from the music, general effect, visual, and percussion judges.

Music judges: evaluate the technical accuracy of the performance on cassette tape. They will concern themselves with how well the wind and percussion sections play together and the repertoire of the music being performed. The score of the percussion judge will be averaged with the two music judges to determine the overall music score. General effect judges: evaluate the musical and visual presentation of all performers, how effective their performance is in the area of creativity and imagination, and how well the music and marching drill coordinate for a unified production.

Visual Performance: will watch the marching performance, evaluate the accuracy of marching definition, and evaluate the construction complexity of the patterns and designs with respect to the number of individuals utilized. Visual Effect: will determine how well the drill (marching) program interprets the music as well as the coordination of all the visual aspects of the show.

All judges will use cassette recorders plus official OMEA marching band adjudication rating sheets. Each band is scheduled in a fifteen minute time block, starting with an announcement from the announcer that the band may begin it’s pre-placement and/or warm up. A second announcement that the band may begin their performance will follow. “Show time” starts with the first step or the first note following the second announcement. The show must be a minimum of seven minutes and a maximum of eleven minutes. Bands are entered into classifications based on the school enrollment grades 10-12, minus any vocational students who attend school “off campus”. Bands may enter a classification higher but not lower than their school enrollment will allow.

Class AA 776+
Class A  476-775
Class B  301-475
Class C  300 and below

All adjudicators must be selected from the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) approved listing.

OMEA Marching Band Scoring (300 points total)

1. Two Visual Judges (both in the press box). One will judge Visual Performance and one will judge Visual Effect. If points are given, scores will be added together: Maximum 50+50= 100
2. Two Music Judges (both in the press box). If points are given, scores will be averaged. Maximum 90+90/2= 90
3. Two General Effects Judges (both in the press box). If points are given, scores should be averaged. Maximum 100+100/2= 100
4. One Percussion Judge (at performance level). Maximum 10 points. The rating awarded by the Percussion Judge is then averaged with percussion rating awarded by the Music Judges, using the three stage panel example found later in the handbook.
5. Two Auxiliary Judges (must be in the press box). If points are given, scores should be averaged. Maximum 100+100/2= 100

 Information for this article was gathered from the OMEA offices.

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