SoundSport® competitions feature 3 judges who evaluate Music Performance, Visual Performance, and Overall Impression. Execution is important as in any marching music competition; however SoundSport® will place additional emphasis on audience engagement and showmanship. Remember, SoundSport® is designed for achieving the best combination of both excellence and fan enjoyment!
The goal of each team should be to attain excellence in everything they do. Concentrate on achieving your best performance for the greatest chance of succeeding in competition.
A panel of experts from the marching music arts community will support SoundSport teams by means of insightful, educational commentary. Feedback from the adjudication panel will inform SoundSport teams’ ongoing development as a marching music ensemble.
Beginning in 2018, SoundSport teams will also receive numerical scores from adjudicators. This change is designed to give teams better insight in to their success in meeting specified adjudication criteria. Each caption will award teams a total score out of 100 possible points. The total score for each performing team will be calculated by adding the full value of all captions and dividing by three, rounding the final score to the nearest hundredth (0.01) point.
It should be understood that a team’s scores will vary from contest to contest. Performance variations primarily shape your score, but impact is also made with the dynamics of the contest. The number of contestants and the overall level of achievement of all contestants will impact scoring within each caption criteria. SoundSport teams can expect to receive evaluation of that day’s performance with no weight given to past scoring.
At the conclusion of the contest, recognition awards will be awarded to Best in Class, the highest scoring ensemble in each competitive class, and the highest scoring ensemble regardless of competitive class, Best in Show. In the event of a tied score, consideration will be given to the Overall Impression as a main factor in awarding a team Best in Class distinctions. Any tie for Best in Show will not be broken but rather be awarded to the two or more ensembles with a tie in their final score.
At the conclusion of the contest, performing teams will be awarded a standard Gold/Silver/Bronze rating as an indicator of the team’s numerical score. SoundSport competitions feature a festival style awards ceremony where ensembles are not ranked by score using ordinals. Accordingly, participants’ numerical scores will not be announced or released to the general public. They will be recognized with the medal rating that corresponds to their numerical score using the table below:
| Achievement Level: | Sometimes: | Consistently: | Always: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medal Rating: | Bronze | Silver | Gold |
| Score: | 60-69 | 70-84 | 85-100 |
Judging Sheets: