For 26 years, the Fairfield Crystal Classic has served as the big end-of-season competition in Ohio. While it’s not fulfilling the same role this year, it will still be an exciting competition spread across two venues, featuring a large amount of groups across divisions.
Auditorium Competition
Small Mixed - Sheridan “Northern Stars,” Whitehall-Yearling “Music Unlimited,” South Dearborn “Opening Knight,” Edgewood “Choraliers,” Ross “Legacy”
Small Womens - Mt. Notre Dame “Jubilation,” Clover Hill “Iridescence”
Middle School - Edgewood (OH) “Overtures,” Ross “Next Generation,” South Dearborn “Showcase,” Bunsold “Mini Swingers,” Edgewood (IN) “Sophisticates,” Loveland “Revolution,” Edgewood (IN) “Mini Warehouse”
The auditorium at Fairfield has traditionally featured a variety of small groups from Ohio and surrounding states, and this year is no different. Sheridan has been steadily improving throughout this year, placing second in the Small Mixed finals last weekend at Teays Valley, and will look to finish on the podium here. They will face stiff competition from Indiana Small Mixed titan South Dearborn, who have three finals placements to their name so far this season, and have placed on the podium in their division at each of their competitions so far this season. Ross has the potential to have a good showing here, continuing their first year in Small Mixed, having had weeks to improve their show since their last competitive outing at Pendleton Heights. Edgewood is also a group to watch here, having won Small Mixed finals at Homestead, a very tough feat, as is Whitehall-Yearling, who placed on the podium in their division at their last competitive outing at Grove City.
The Small Womens Division features only two groups. Clover Hill has a win and 2nd place finish in their division so far this season, while Mt. Notre Dame hasn’t competed and could potentially make a good showing.
Finally, the massive Middle School division also looks to be quite exciting. Bunsold enters as a favorite, having three wins in the Middle School division so far this season, as does Edgewood (IN) Mini Warehouse, who also have three wins in the tough Indiana middle school scene. Loveland is also a contender, having two wins in the Middle School division so far this season. Ross hasn’t had the same success this season that they have in the past, but they do have two 2nd places to their name and could make a strong showing here. Edgewood (OH) Overtures hasn’t competed much, but they do have a podium placement at Ross to their name, while South Dearborn only has one placement so far this season. Edgewood (IN) Sophisticates also has the potential to do well here, with two podium finishes and a Best Vocals award at Bishop Luers to their name. All in all, this division looks to be one to watch, and should be very exciting.
Arena Competition
Large Mixed - Robert C. Byrd “Vocal Intensity,” Marysville “Swingers Unlimited,” Olentangy “Keynotes,” Loveland “By Request”
Medium Mixed - Clover Hill “New Dimensions,” Kenton “Top Twenty,” Twinsburg “Great Expectations,” Musselman “Kaleidoscope”
Large Womens’ - Olentangy “She-Notes,” Loveland “Allure”
The Large Mixed division at Fairfield has often functioned as a de facto Ohio state championship, and this year seems no different. Marysville has had a great season up to this point, only losing to Carmel and Brandon at Chesterton and winning every other competition they’ve been to. Still, they have had some close calls, dropping captions to groups like Olentangy, Naperville North, and Findlay, so they will have to be on their best here to win. Their biggest competition will be Loveland, who only have one win so far this season (at Beavercreek), but have remained close to groups like ETC and Homewood at their other competitions. They will look to at least take a caption award off of Marysville, if not the whole competition. The other Ohio group in Large Mixed is Olentangy, who came close to Marysville at Winfield but since then haven’t replicated that success, coming in fifth at their last competition at Grove City. One West Virginia group, Robert C. Byrd, is joining the Ohio fray, who has two podium placements to their name - look for them to pull an upset and make a podium finish here.
The Medium Mixed division is a bit more diverse than Large Mixed, with groups coming in from three states. The first group representing Ohio is Kenton, coming off of a third-place finish at Teays Valley, as well as several other finals placements this season. The other Ohio group is Twinsburg, who have seen success in their division this season, placing on the podium in their division at each of their competitions, as well as making finals at Hurricane and Solon. Joining the competition from West Virginia is Musselman, who only have two competitive outings to their name so far this season; one of those, however, was a third place finish at Alliance over Kenton. Finally, Clover Hill will be coming to compete in Medium Mixed from Virginia. Clover Hill is undefeated so far this season, taking home a sweep at Cabell Midland and a win at Manchester; they will look to place highly overall here, as well as win Medium Mixed.
Finally, there’s the Large Womens division, which only features two groups. Olentangy’s womens’ group, the She-Notes, has a win in their division at Winfield and a second-place finish in Single-Gender at Grove City to their name, and they will look to do well at this competition. They will go up against Loveland’s womens group, Allure, who has placed on the podium in their division at each of their competitions, including in tough single gender fields at Olentangy and Ross. They will look to win the division and potentially take a spot in finals.
Two competitions under one roof. Six finals spots in each competition. One epic weekend of show choir. Fairfield’s competition is one to watch this season - make sure to keep your eye on HomeRoom Show Choir for coverage and analysis of this competition, as well as several others around the nation. And whatever you do, have a great weekend of show choir!
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