Band & Guard Stats

Marching band is commonly viewed as a pasttime or recreation, but hardly ever called a sport. Despite this, bands often train rigorously for, and participate in, several competitions during the fall season.

This season is called field season, and competitions are scored by judges based on a variety of factors.

There are three main categories that bands are scored in: Overall, Auxiliary, and Percussion.

Overall is calculated based off of 3 subscores: Music Performance, General Effect (GE), and Visual Performance. Penalties, which are rare, are deducted directly from the final Overall score.

Auxiliary, based on visual groups accompanying the band, and Percussion, the drumline and pit, do not affect the Overall score.

Overall score determines placement within each division, after deduction of penalties.

The graphic displays schools ordered by total score for division 3A in the 2026 season, in which El Camino Real HS Royal Regiment is first place followed by Valencia HS.

Data derived from SCSBOA CompetitionSuite.

Since Auxiliary and Percussion are often trained separately, their scores and placement may differ drastically from the overall placement. For example, El Camino HS Golden Pride has a very high Auxiliary score (69.00) that places them within the top 10 when ordered by Auxiliary, but 21st when ranked by overall.

As the years go on, one may be able to predict who makes it to championships and ultimately champions the season. From past years, as shown from the 2024 season when Valencia HS placed first and El Camino Real HS Royal Regiment placed second, it is likely that they will place high again this year given their high scores already. Generally, high scorers retain their places in the following years, and it can sometimes be difficult to break in.