About Event

What is a UIL Region Marching Contest?

Every fall, high school marching bands across Texas step onto the field for the UIL Region Marching Contest. This is the first step in the UIL marching process, and it’s all about celebrating and evaluating the hard work our students have put into their shows.

At the Region level, there are three judges. Each judge looks at both the music and the marching.

Instead of ranking the bands against each other, the judges give each band a rating:

Division I – Superior (the top honor!)

Division II – Excellent

Division III – Average

Division IV – Below Average

Division V – Poor

The band’s overall rating comes from the majority of the three judges. For example, if two judges say “Superior” and one says “Excellent,” the band earns a Superior Rating! This is what makes Region special: it’s not a contest to see who “wins.” It’s about every band striving for a standard of excellence.

Bands that earn a Division I can then move on to the Area Contest, where the judging panel grows larger, captions are divided into music and visual specialties, and bands are ranked against each other for a chance to reach the State Marching Contest.