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State Wind Ensemble Festival Provides a Unique Musical Opportunity
By Richard Floyd, Music Director | Wednesday, October 19, 2011 3:22 PM
The State Wind Ensemble Contest was established in 1976 as a part of the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest. During the years that followed, this event gradually evolved into the festival format that is in place today. It is now referred to as the State Wind Ensemble Festival (SWEF) and provides an educationally rewarding and positive experience for all participants. This prestigious event is scheduled for May 5, 2012.
Much of the success of this event has been attributed to the Clinician/Commentator component of the format. This feature allows each performing group to have a 30-minute post concert clinic/critique with a nationally recognized conductor/educator. The focus of the event is on the subjective, artistic elements of music performance rather than the objective, technical details that tend to dominate critiques in a totally competitive setting.
Richards Joins Academic Department
By | Wednesday, October 12, 2011 1:27 PM
Trudy Richards is the new administrative associate for the speech department.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Trudy Richards may be a new addition to the UIL Speech & Debate department, but she already has significant experience with the League.
She competed in a variety of academic events as a student and then coached journalism while teaching at Manor High School. Richards also worked as an intern in the mailroom at UIL during her undergraduate career.
Richards, an alumna of the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, joined the UIL staff as the administrative associate on Sept. 1.
UIL Legislative Council to Meet
By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Wednesday, October 12, 2011 10:34 AM
The UIL Legislative Council will be meeting in Austin this weekend for its annual October meeting. The Legislative Council meeting will address proposals regarding athletics, music and academics, as well as any other issues that have come up since it last convened.
Some important topics will include the potential for an additional conference in soccer and wrestling, possible theatre rule changes and the issue of cost associated with travel for area marching band meets. The fall superintendent survey and recommendations from the recent UIL Medical Advisory Committee meeting also will be discussed.
The UIL Legislative Council meeting is an open meeting and anyone interested is welcome to attend. The meeting agenda can be found on the UIL website at www.uiltexas.org under UIL events.
Austin Chronicle Writer Makes a Great Point
By Luis Muñoz, Theatre Director | Monday, October 10, 2011 2:02 PM
Connie McMillan at the UIL office forwarded this article to me last week. We felt that Mr. Faires words supported what we try to do at UIL. We thank him and The Austin Chronicle for allowing us to share this with our membership.
All Over Creation: So Little, So Much
When it comes to the theatrical, the smart choice is to go bare
By Robert Faires, Oct. 7, 2011, The Austin Chronicle
Prospero has reached the moment when he must confront the brother who betrayed him a dozen years earlier, who stole his dukedom and set him adrift on the sea with his infant daughter.
Marching Band Lone Star Cup Points To Count For 2 Years
By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Thursday, October 06, 2011 4:35 PM
Beginning with the 2011-12 school year, points earned by marching bands for the UIL Lone Star Cup will carry over for two school years.
Previously, Area and State Marching Band points were counted only for the year each conference competed. Under this system, schools competing could only contribute to UIL Lone Star Cup points every other year.
To be consistent with the State Marching Band Contest, points earned by participating bands will carry over until the next competition year.
This change requires no work for the schools or band directors. UIL Lone Star Cup points are tabulated in the UIL office and results for each year become official on July 1. To read more about the UIL Lone Star Cup, please visit http://www.uiltexas.org/lone-star-cup.
UIL Adds Essay Competition to Activities
By McKensie Wallesen, UIL intern | Wednesday, October 05, 2011 7:53 AM
The University Interscholastic League now sponsors the Barbara Jordan Historical Essay Competition. Established in 1996, the competition was most recently administered by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (DDCE) of The University of Texas at Austin. The UIL is also a unit of DDCE, so that affiliation will continue.
“This is an exciting opportunity for UIL,” competition administrator David Trussell said. “It’s a new type of activity for our academic program, and it can provide an avenue for students who have not previously participated in UIL competitions.”
Tips for the Introduction of Computers into Extemp
By Kristi Hodgkiss, Member of the Extemporaneous Speaking State Advisory Committee | Thursday, September 29, 2011 2:15 PM
(This is the first in a series of columns introducing computers into the Extemporaneous Speaking contests.)
Alan Cohen, author of “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” wrote, "It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power."
Nowhere is this truer than in the educational community, where we are often guilty of doing something just because that's the way it has always been done. However, the University Interscholastic League community has never hesitated to embrace change when it is in the best interests of our students. The time has now come to make a change in extemporaneous speaking that will certainly benefit students.
UIL Medical Advisory Committee To Meet
By Stephanie Ramirez, Communications Officer | Wednesday, September 28, 2011 5:04 PM
The UIL Medical Advisory Committee will meet this weekend in Austin at the AT&T Executive Conference Center. The committee serves as a permanent advisory committee to the UIL Legislative Council.
The Medical Advisory Committee was formed in 2001 to address student-athlete’s health and safety issues.
The committee will discuss various topics including the UIL concussion management protocol and practice regulations, as well as give updates on steroid testing and any other pending items.
The Legislative Council and the Commissioner of Education must approve all recommendations from the Medical Advisory Committee before becoming policy.
SAC Adviser’s Meeting Comes to the Leaguer
By Jeanne Acton, UIL Journalism Director | Monday, September 26, 2011 2:51 PM
The fall rush has begun.
No, I didn’t join a sorority (don’t think they would really take a 40-something mother of two), but I have begun the fall frenzy of travelling across the state presenting at Student Activity Conferences (SAC).
During each SAC, I end the conference with an adviser’s meeting where I highlight some of the upcoming changes, issues and events.
Since many journalism teachers are unable to attend the SACs, I thought I would review what I say in those adviser’s meetings for everyone.
UIL Official Calendar Changes for 2011-12 School Year
By | Thursday, September 22, 2011 9:10 AM
UIL is officially announcing the following changes to the Official Calendar for the 2011-12 school year.
Golf and Tennis
1A District Certification for Golf and Tennis: Change from Wednesday April 11 to Thursday, April 12.
Baseball Playoffs (all conferences)
*Area Deadline – change from Saturday, May 19 to Saturday, May 12
Regional Quarterfinal Deadline – change from Tuesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 19
*No games in this series shall be played prior to Friday of that week due to STAAR tests. No travel is allowed in association with this series until at least the end of the school day on Friday, May 11. If there are any conflicts between an Area baseball series and the State Track Meet, it is recommended that schools schedule only a one-game series.
Softball Playoffs (all conferences)
*Regional Quarterfinal Deadline – change from Saturday, May 19 to Saturday, May 12
Regional Semifinal Deadline – change from Tuesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 19
*No games in this series shall be played prior to Friday of that week due to STAAR tests. No travel is allowed in association with this series until at least the end of the school day Friday, May 11. If there are any conflicts between a regional quarterfinal softball series and the State Track Meet, it is recommended that schools schedule only a one-game series.