Kevin can correct me here, but I believe it's still based on school size and it just happens that all the attending choirs are large schools. I think I've seen that "varsity/open" division title at other Iowa comps with just the big schools present or as an interchangeable term for 4A. I'm not sure if it still is, but I vaguely remember in Iowa the school size 4A class was 600+ enrollment in grades 9-11. All of the attending choirs here are well above that. And don't quote me on this, but I think Iowa competitions are required to operate by this 4A-3A-2A-1A system based on the state's music/activities governance. Jay, Ethan, or any of our other Iowa friends can certainly share more about their *unique* system there, but I think it's come up a few times in Iowa rules/regulations conversations. Probably most notably with Mundelein.
Jeff- I believe you are correct. If my memory serves me, Western Dubuque became the cutoff school for the largest division in football a few years back. So I think they are the smallest “large” school.
Update: looks like I am wrong and got it backwards. Western Dubuque was small for 4A and recently moved to 3A for football. They would be pretty large at 944 students. Xavier is known for being a large 3A, due to being a private school in the 2nd largest town in Iowa. They are about 664 students. Either way, I’ve been seeing Western Dubuque compete in the 4A division at competitions recently.
For a more in-depth look to help you all out who aren’t from Iowa. In fall 2018, the IHSAA decided to make the top division in Iowa (4A) the top 42 schools, by enrollment, down from 48. This dropped Lewis Central, Clinton, Waterloo East, North Scott, Western Dubuque, and Newton all down to 3A. 3A consists of the next 54 highest enrollments in Iowa. The next 54 go to 2A, the next 54 1A, and everyone else is in Class A. That 54 number is down from 56.
(And don’t bring up Mundelein... so triggering #GreatRiver05 #neverforget )
Jeff is correct; last year we did have some smaller schools join us, so we offered a 3A and 4A tier. This year, all registered schools would qualify for 4A status (or at least have elected to compete in that division), so we condensed it into one big Open Class...which in my opinion, is the better option anyway
Didn’t mean to poke the bear that much! My school is a border Division 1/Division 2 school depending on the year for the WIAA so that makes a lot more sense.
This is all correct. It's very confusing as well. Personally, I prefer the way the other states do it, yet here we are. My school is in the 2A division for mostly everything (we made the switch from 1A in 2018).
Hello everyone! We’re excited to announce our schedule!
9:45 AM - Mazzuchelli MS “Ignite” (exhibition)
PREP AND SINGLE GENDER
10:15 AM - Davenport North HS “Center Stage”
10:45 AM - CR Jefferson HS “Ovation”
11:15 AM - Bloomington Kennedy HS “East Side Swingers”
11:45 AM - Hastings HS “TBA”
VARSITY/OPEN CLASS
1:15 PM - Madison East HS “Encore”
1:45 PM - Western Dubuque HS “5th Avenue”
2:15 PM - Davenport North HS “Northside Establishment”
2:45 PM - Bloomington Kennedy HS “Rhythm in Gold”
3:30 PM - Holmen HS “Midwest Express”
4:00 PM - CR Jefferson HS “West Side Delegation”
4:30 PM - Hastings HS “Riverside Company”
Hope you’ve all had a rewarding and exciting season! We’re excited to host our second competition in 2020, and we hope you’ll consider joining us. This past season, we were thrilled to have so many amazing groups from around the Midwest join us, and we look forward to hosting some stellar groups again—so we hope to see you at the Key City Classic on January 25, 2020!
In addition to our high school show choir competition, we’re also hosting a separate solo voice competition throughout the day of the competition, and the top 3 singers will get the chance to perform for everyone before the start of finals. All soloists will receive feedback/ a short clinic with our solo judge, and any student from any high school group is eligible to participate!
Wahlert Catholic Key City Classic 2020
