Official "banned" for flagging band
 

Ref banned after silencing Garland middle school band | wfaa.com Dallas - Fort Worth

Ref banned after silencing Garland middle school band

by TERESA WOODARD
WFAA
Posted on October 17, 2012 at 10:00 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:38 PM

GARLAND — The Hudson Middle School band was doing what bands do: Playing for fans in the stands and revving up the players, too.
But a referee on the field wanted quiet.

"He was shushing us," said 13-year-old trombone player Maegen Benavidez.
Band mom Jo Ann Brewer couldn't believe it. "Hudson had the ball, our band started to play... and that's when the ref threw the flag," she said.
The official reportedly told Hudson's band director that the middle school football team would keep being penalized if the band kept playing. He said they were just too loud.

....

The official was ordered to leave? That would be the last time I'd send officials to that school district.

And since when do bands play while the game is actually going on? I know when I was in HS, the band was *not allowed* to play during play.

All the time in Georgia. All the time.

According to the DFOA, they are backing the school. What crap. Glad I left them. The band can't play during live action. Period. That's the NCAA rule (which Texas plays by) and is also in the UIL guidelines. They were warned, and chose to continue breaking the rule.

And the REF is penalized for enforcing the rule? There's no way in hello I'd ever set foot on that school's field again.

When officials throw other officials under the bus, it makes me ill. Again, I've never lived in a state where a band was allowed to play during live action.

Could this official handled things more diplomatically? No clue - I wasn't there. Perhaps he did and the band director ignored him. I've seen many bands where they think the football game is a side activity for the band concert that's taking place at halftime.

It happens all the time here and I find it particularly dreadful. It's as if the football game is interrupting the band review.

A chapter sticking up for the district / school instead of officials. I'm shocked, shocked I tell you. :rolleyes:

I better walk away from this thread before my blood pressure spikes.

Rules? Rules?? We don't need no stinkin rules!!

As a former drum major, I can assure you that the football game is merely the pre-concert and post-concert show. :cool:

I'd personally flag any band who takes more than 1:10 to play the anthem.

I'll go along with that. When did the anthem become a dirge?

Sometime after we went to war in Iraq, I was working a Friday night and the PA announcer went over a short list of that school's grads who had deployed. The band then began to play the anthem, which I still believe is the longest version I've ever heard. At the end, I leaned over to the umpire and whispered "I heard those troops we were honoring are already back."

What those bands don't realize is this: If a band has glaring weaknesses (as many HS bands do), playing the anthem slower only emphasizes those weaknesses.

If it were up to me, I'd simply play a recording of Roger Doucet from the 70s. Exactly 1:10 and, to me, the best rendition (even with the French-Canadian accent).

Roger Doucet sings the US and Canadian anthems at Forum de Montreal - May 10, 1979 - YouTube

No such rule in NC.

OHSAA Handbook says this:

12. Bands
A. It shall be the responsibility of the host school’s Athletic Director to notify the visiting
school’s Athletic Director whether the visiting school’s band will be permitted at its
homecoming.
B. The half-time intermission shall be limited to 20-minutes. The clock will start immediately
when both teams and the game officials clear the field. At the conclusion of 20-minutes, a
three-minute warm-up period is required for both teams and will be timed on the game
clock.
C. If the bands of both competing schools are to perform at half-time, no more than 9-
minutes shall be allotted to the host schools band for its performance and no more than 9-
minutes shall be allotted for the visiting schools band performance.
D. A full band is not permitted to play through amplified microphones during the football
game.
E. Bands shall assemble and stay outside the field of play and end zone until the first half
has been completed before coming onto these areas. The same shall be repeated at the
end of the game.

F. The home team’s band shall not be seated behind the visiting team’s restraining area
which is commonly referred to as the 25 to 25 yard lines.
G. Bands shall not play music at football games while the ball is in play, or while signals are
being called by the quarterback. This means that it is not permissible to use either:
1. Drum roll or beat
2. Cymbals clashing
3. Horn sounds, or
4. Any other kind of musical instrument while the play is underway in football.
H. Roving bands shall be allowed to participate at the discretion of the host Athletic Director.
However, such bands shall not perform while the ball is in play or while signals are being
called by the quarterback.
Also, the roving band shall not perform behind the visiting team’s bench area. If a roving
band is found in violation of this agreement, that band shall be suspended from roving the
remainder of that season at any football games.

http://ohsaa.org/sports/ft/boys/manual.pdf

No rule in our state, either. And it happens in every game I call.

The players don't seem to be bothered by it.