{"id":4227,"date":"2026-04-15T20:15:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:15:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hoachoir.com\/blog\/?p=4227"},"modified":"2026-04-15T20:15:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T20:15:03","slug":"why-compete-the-fairness-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoachoir.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/15\/why-compete-the-fairness-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Compete? The Fairness Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIf you try to please all, you please none.\u201d – Aesop<\/em><\/h4>\n

I hear this every year: \u201cIt\u2019s not fair.\u201d From students. From parents. And if we\u2019re honest, from everyone. Heck, even I\u2019ve said it! And I get it. This time of year, coming out of March Madness, along with choir festivals and show choir contests, conversations surrounding fairness happen more and more.<\/p>\n

What Is Fair?<\/h3>\n

Merriam-Webster defines fairness as a \u201clack of favoritism toward one side or another.\u201d In the competitive arts, however, I\u2019ve come to understand it a little differently:<\/p>\n

Fair doesn\u2019t mean being identical. It means being intentional.<\/p>\n

Fairness at HOA<\/h3>\n

At Heart of America, one of our core values is to do the right thing. That includes how we treat every group that walks into our events. Through tools like our Director Portal, we work to communicate clearly. We build diverse panels with experience across choral music, choreography and instrumental performance. We respect the differences in style and expectations from programs across the country.<\/p>\n

Is it perfect? No. But it is intentional.<\/p>\n

Subjectivity Allows for Differences<\/h3>\n

In the competitive arts, we\u2019re not measuring something objective like time or distance. We\u2019re evaluating performance, interpretation and communication. No two panels will ever see things exactly the same way. Scores will never be identical. That\u2019s not a flaw – that\u2019s the nature of what we do.<\/p>\n

What Can You Do?<\/h3>\n

Of course, there are aspects no one can control, but there are things you can. You control how you:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Define success in your program<\/li>\n
  • Prepare your students in rehearsal<\/li>\n
  • Have your program represent\u00a0your school and community<\/li>\n
  • Respond when things don\u2019t go your way<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Your Students Are Listening<\/h3>\n

    I remember standing with my group after more than one awards ceremony where the results didn\u2019t go our way. You can feel it immediately: the heartbreak, confusion and frustration. In that moment, what you say next matters more than anything that just happened on stage.<\/p>\n

    That\u2019s the moment where you decide what this experience becomes: Do we focus on what we didn\u2019t get? Or do we remind them of what we did do?<\/p>\n

    How Do You Measure Success?<\/h3>\n

    For me, in both the good years and the hard ones, success is always measured by improvement. Did we do everything we could to get better, as students, performers and as a performance family? Did we take the feedback given and apply it? Were we good to ourselves and to each other? Did we represent who we are?<\/p>\n

    When those answers are yes, the results become part of the journey, not the definition of it. Students learn from how we handle the results. They can use that example as a model for how to respond in their own lives, or how not to. That\u2019s a far bigger lesson than any number, score, medallion, trophy or placement.<\/p>\n

    Shifting Focus<\/h3>\n

    Perfect fairness in the arts does not exist. Focusing solely on the results, whether they go your way or not, doesn\u2019t move your program forward. What it does is being intentional\u00a0about how you define success. When you do that, competition becomes less about \u201cbeating\u201d another group and more about lifting each up, both on and offstage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    \u201cIf you try to please all, you please none.\u201d – Aesop I hear this every year: \u201cIt\u2019s not fair.\u201d From students. From parents. And if we\u2019re honest, from everyone. Heck, even I\u2019ve said it! And I get it. This time of year, coming out of March Madness, along with choir festivals and show choir contests, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4335,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,52,96],"tags":[128,110],"class_list":["post-4227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-educational-series","category-heart-of-america","category-music-education","tag-fairness","tag-why-compete"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Compete? 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