BOA Grand Nationals Guide: Format, Scoring, History & Records
Last updated: November 3, 2026
Every November, close to 100 of the best high school marching bands in the country head to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Bands of America Grand National Championships. It's the biggest event of the BOA season: three days, three rounds of competition, and only 12 spots in finals.
Whether you're new to Grand Nationals or a band parent trying to figure out why your kid's schedule looks the way it does, this guide covers it all: who can compete, how bands are judged, how they advance from prelims to semifinals to finals, every past champion, and the all-time records.
Already know the format and just want this year's storylines? Check out our 2026 Grand Nationals Preview: By the Numbers.
BOA Grand Nationals 2026: Quick Facts
Dates: Thursday–Saturday, November 12-14, 2026
Location: All performances take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN
Competing bands: 98 bands from 22 states as well as two collegiate bands and one high school ensemble performing in exhibition
Defending champion: Avon HS (IN)
How to watch: All performances can be streamed live via BOX5-TV, the official streaming partner of Bands of America
Please visit the official event page on the BOA website for full schedules for all rounds of competition (semifinals and finals schedules will be posted as they become available).
Competition results will also be posted on the event’s results page following the conclusion of semifinals and finals.
What is Bands of America?
Bands of America (BOA) is a national organization that runs marching band competitions for high school bands, and is a program of Music for All. Each fall, BOA hosts Regional and Super Regional championships around the country, and the season ends with the Grand National Championships in Indianapolis in mid-November.
In this guide:
How BOA Grand Nationals works
Who can compete at BOA Grand Nationals? Do bands have to qualify?
There is no formal qualification process for Grand Nationals. Any band can compete as long as they register by the enrollment deadline. Many bands that compete at Grand Nationals also compete at a BOA Regional or Super Regional earlier in the season, but it is not required.
Because the event is held in Indianapolis, most competing bands come from midwestern states. However, bands travel from all over the country to compete. To date, 40 of the 50 US states have been represented at Grand Nationals at least once, including Hawaii and Alaska.
How many bands compete at BOA Grand Nationals?
Grand Nationals is one of the largest marching band competitions in the United States, with over 90 competing bands most years. The event first topped 90 bands in 2004 and has hosted over 90 bands every year since 2013. It first hosted 100 bands in 2016, and the record is 112 bands, set in 2024.
How does BOA Grand Nationals work? Format & schedule
Grand Nationals is a tournament-style competition and has been held across three days and three rounds (prelims, semifinals, and finals) since 1996.
All bands compete in prelims, and a minimum of 30 bands advance to semifinals (with additional bands added to ensure every class is represented). The top 12 scoring bands in semifinals, regardless of class, advance to finals. The overall Grand National Champion is named based on the results of the finals competition.
The event is held over three days in mid-November and typically follows this schedule:
Thursday, all day: Prelims competition
Friday, all day: Prelims competition
Friday night: Prelims awards ceremony; semifinalists announced
Saturday morning/afternoon: Semifinals competition
Saturday afternoon: Semifinals awards ceremony; class champions and finalists announced
Saturday evening: Finals competition
Saturday night: Finals awards ceremony; final results and Grand National Champion announced
What are the BOA classes (A, AA, AAA, AAAA)?
Bands are grouped into one of four classes based on their school's enrollment in grades 10-12. Class A bands come from the smallest schools, and Class AAAA bands come from the largest. The same classes are used at Regional and Super Regional events, and bands almost always stay in the same class for the whole fall season. Classes are not formally posted or announced before the event. This helps keep an even playing field, since bands advance to finals regardless of class.
Class champions are named based on semifinals results. However, the top 12 bands advance to finals regardless of class. If a class champion is not among the 12 finalists, they are invited to perform in a special exhibition performance during finals that is not scored.
How is the BOA Grand Nationals prelims performance order set?
Because of the size of Grand Nationals, prelims is split into two rounds: Prelims 1 and Prelims 2. Each round has its own judging panel, which stays the same throughout Thursday and Friday. The round each band competes in is listed on the prelims schedule. Unlike DCI and WGI, which set championship prelims schedules based on results from earlier in the season, the Grand Nationals prelims schedule is set by random draw. There are two exceptions:
Bands that travel more than 325 miles to Grand Nationals may choose to be placed in a Friday morning performance time. This lets them use Thursday as a travel day to Indianapolis.
Schedules may be adjusted so that an equal number of bands from each class compete in the two prelims rounds.
How many bands advance to BOA Grand Nationals semifinals?
A minimum of 30 bands advance to semifinals, regardless of class, under these criteria:
The top 11 scoring bands from each prelims round (22 total) advance.
The next 8 highest scoring bands not already in the top 22 advance, regardless of round.
An additional rule ensures that all four classes have at least four representatives in semifinals (two from each round). A band also advances if it is in the top 2 of its class within its round but is not part of the initial 30. Bands from the AAA and AAAA classes usually make up most of the initial 30, while bands that advance under this rule are usually from the A and AA classes.
Because of this rule, the number of semifinalists changes from year to year, since A and AA bands sometimes place inside the initial 30. Recent Grand Nationals have had 33-36 semifinalists. The record is 38, set in 2019.
How is the BOA Grand Nationals semifinals schedule set?
At every Bands of America event, including Grand Nationals, scores and placements for ALL rounds are not revealed until the event is over. That means bands don't know exactly where they stand heading into semifinals. Even so, the semifinals schedule is partly based on prelims results, so bands have a general idea of where they stand. The order is set like this:
The first 8 bands to perform are the ones that advanced under criteria 2 (the next 8 highest scoring bands outside the initial top 22).
The next 22 bands to perform are the ones that advanced under criteria 1 (the top 11 scoring bands from each prelims round).
The remaining spots go to any additional semifinalists who advanced under the class representation rule.
Performance spots within each of these three groups are set by random draw.
How are class placements and caption awards decided at BOA Grand Nationals?
An awards ceremony is held at the end of semifinals. For each of the four classes, BOA announces:
First, second, and third place
Caption awards for best music, visual, and general effect
These awards are based entirely on semifinals scores. A similar process is used for class awards after prelims at Regional and Super Regional events.
How many bands advance to BOA Grand Nationals finals?
The top 12 scoring bands in semifinals, regardless of class, advance to finals. Class champions who don't place in the top 12 are invited to perform in a special exhibition during finals (this performance is not judged or scored). If there is a tie for 12th place, every band tied for 12th advances. This is very rare, but it happened in 2016 and created a finals round of 13 bands.
How is the BOA Grand Nationals finals schedule set?
Just like semifinals, finalists don't know exactly where they stand heading into the final round, because scores aren't revealed until the end of the event. But the finals schedule is also partly based on results:
The first 6 bands to perform are the ones that placed 7th-12th in semifinals.
The last 6 bands to perform are the ones that placed 1st-6th in semifinals.
Performance spots within each group are set by random draw. Class champions who did not make finals perform in exhibition at either the beginning or end of the finals competition.
How is the BOA Grand National champion decided?
An awards ceremony is held at the end of finals, where BOA announces:
The final placement and score for every finalist
Caption awards for best music, visual, and general effect
These awards are based entirely on finals scores. Unlike semifinals, finals awards are not split by class, so any of the 12 finalists can win a caption award or the overall title regardless of class.
Since class champions come from semifinals and the overall champion comes from finals, the Grand National Champion is not always the champion of its own class. This last happened in 2023, when Avon HS (IN) won the Grand National title while Carmel HS (IN) had been named Class AAAA champion after semifinals.
How does BOA scoring work? Judges & captions explained
All rounds at Grand Nationals utilize a panel of seven total judges who each evaluate a certain area of band’s performance within a caption. All judge scores are out of 20 points though their values contribute differently to combine for a band’s total score out of 100 points. Here are the captions and judges within each:
Music Performance: two judges who evaluate the musical performance from an individual and ensemble perspective. Their scores are averaged for a Music caption score worth 20 points.
Visual Performance: two judges who evaluate the visual performance from an individual and ensemble perspective. Their scores are averaged for a Visual caption score worth 20 points.
General Effect: three total judges; two who evaluate from a musical perspective and one who evaluates from a visual perspective. All three General Effect scores are added for a General Effect caption score worth 60 points.
Bands may receive penalties (typically less than a point) for minor penalties, though penalties are rare. The same judging and scoring system is used across all rounds at all BOA events throughout the fall season.
For more details regarding adjudication, scoring, and competition rules, please see the BOA Adjudication Handbook which can be found here.
When did BOA Grand Nationals start? A brief history
The Bands of America organization was initially founded as Marching Bands of America by Larry McCormick in 1975. The first Grand National Championships were held in June 1976 the following summer. The event, named the Summer National Championships, were held at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and were part of the organization’s Summer Workshop and Festival. Live Oak HS from California won the first Summer National Championships, as well as the third championship in 1978. The Summer National Championships was a continuous annual event at UW-Whitewater through the summer of 1989.
In 1980, the premiere Grand National Championships event was transitioned to the fall and held in mid-November at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. 22 bands competed and Tate HS from Florida was named the champion. The following year in 1981, the event was moved to the Mini Dome in Johnson City, Tennessee on the campus of Eastern Tennessee State University. Grand National Championships has continued to be held every November since (with the exception of 2020 when the entire Bands of America season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Grand National Championships were held in Johnson City, TN for three years until 1983. The event moved to the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, IN (then named the Hoosier Dome) for three years (1984-1986) before relocating to the Silverdome in Pontiac, MI for two years (1987 & 1988). The event finally returned to Indianapolis in 1989 where it has been held since. In 2008, Grand Nationals moved into the city’s newly constructed Lucas Oil Stadium.
Full results, including every finals placement, second and third place in each class, and class caption awards, are on the 2025 Grand Nationals results page on the Bands of America website.
BOA Grand Nationals 2025 results & winners
Which bands have won the most BOA Grand National Championships?
BOA Grand Nationals champions: every winner & most titles
In 2025, Avon HS (IN) won its third straight Grand National Championship and its sixth overall.
Every BOA Grand National champion by year:
Dobyns-Bennett is the only band to win 3 Class AAA titles since Class AAAA was added in 2009.
Class history: from 1976 to 1985, BOA used three classes: Open, AA, and A. In 1986, Open Class was replaced by Class AAA. Class AAAA was added in 2009, creating the four-class structure used today.
Marian Catholic also holds the record for most Summer National Championships, including five straight from 1984 to 1988.
Which bands have won the most BOA class championships?
BOA Grand Nationals finals appearances & streaks
Which bands have made BOA Grand Nationals finals the most?
Ten bands have advanced to Grand Nationals finals at least 15 times:
What are the longest BOA Grand Nationals finals streaks?
These bands have made finals more than 10 straight times. Some did not attend Grand Nationals every year during their streak, so a streak counts consecutive finals appearances in the years a band competed.
What is the highest score in BOA history?
The highest score ever at BOA Grand Nationals is a 98.250, set by Broken Arrow HS (OK) in 2021 finals. Here are the 12 highest Grand Nationals scores of all time:
Want to dig deeper into any of these numbers? Every Grand Nationals score from every round is on the bandScores BOA Historic Scores page.
How has the BOA record score changed over time?
The progression of the all-time Grand Nationals record score since 1980:
What are the highest scores by class?
The scores in the all time top 12 table above all came from Class AAA bands (for those score before 2009) or Class AAAA bands (since 2009). Here are the top 3 scores in Class AA, Class A, and Class AAA since 2009:
Frequently asked questions
How can I watch BOA Grand Nationals?
All performances can be streamed live via BOX5-TV, the official streaming partner of Bands of America
When in BOA Grand Nationals 2026?
The 2026 Bands of America Grand National Championships are November 12-14, 2026, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Where is BOA Grand Nationals held?
Grand Nationals is held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event has been in Indianapolis every year since 1989.
Do bands have to qualify for BOA Grand Nationals?
No. Any band can compete as long as it registers by the enrollment deadline.
How many bands make finals at BOA Grand Nationals
The top 12 bands from semifinals advance to finals, regardless of class. If there is a tie for 12th, all tied bands advance.
Who won BOA Grand Nationals in 2025?
Avon HS (IN) won the 2025 Grand National Championship with a score of 97.825 in finals for their third straight title and sixth overall.
Who has won the most BOA Grand Nationals Championships?
Marian Catholic HS (IL), with 7 titles. Avon HS (IN) and Carmel HS (IN) are next with 6 each.
What is the highest score ever at BOA Grand Nationals Championships?
98.250, by Broken Arrow HS (OK) in the finals round at the 2021 Grand Nationals.
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