Judging And Awards

CATEGORIES & JUDGING CRITERIA

1. FLOATS:
   1. RULES:
      1. Floats may not exceed 50 foot in length including the tow vehicle.
      2. Towing vehicles must be decorated. Points will be deducted for undecorated towing vehicles.
      3. All floats shall have a skirt to cover the wheels within the bounds of safety.
      4. Because of City Code, no superstructure may exceed 14 feet from street level and must be wired or otherwise secured. It must be able to go under utility wires along the parade route.
   2. CATEGORIES:
      1. Novice Floats: for first time non-commercial entries.
      2. Non-commercial Floats: for non-commercial organizations.
      3. Youth: for nonprofit service organizations for youth.
      4. Commercial Floats: for commercial organizations.
      5. Professionally Built Floats: may be any business or non-commercial organization. Application shall be signed by a legal representative of the organization.
      6. Small Business Floats: any business with less than 25 employees.
   3. JUDGING CRITERIA FOR ALL FLOATS:
      1. Theme 1-20 points
      2. Overall appearance 1-30 points
      3. Originality & creativity 1-15 points
      4. Music-(Canned: 1-10 pts., Live 10-20 pts.) 1-20 points
      5. Crowd appeal 1-15 points
      6. Possible total points 100 points
      7. Note: 10 points deducted for undecorated tow vehicle
2. VEHICLES:
   1. CATEGORIES:
      1. Classic/Antique Car Clubs (25 years of age). Clubs only (8 cars per club maximum).
      2. Antique vehicle (Model 1941 or older) – Individual.
   2. JUDGING CRITERIA FOR ALL VEHICLES:
      1. Classic/Antique Vehicles will be prejudged at lineup area by highly qualified judges.
      2. Car club entries with less than 4 vehicles will not be judged.
3. CHEERLEADERS:
   1. JUDGING CRITERIA:
      1. Performance (partially prejudged at UTA lineup area) 1-60 points
      2. (Jumps-15 pt., motions-15 pt., spirit-15 pt., performance-15 pt.)
      3. Decorated vehicle 1-10 points
      4. Crowd appeal and marching routine 1-30 points
      5. Possible total points 100 points
4. DRILL TEAMS:
   1. JUDGING CRITERIA:
      1. Performance (partially prejudged at UTA lineup area) 1-50 points
      2. Overall appearance 1-20 points
      3. Crowd appeal and marching routine 1-30 points
      4. Possible total points 100 points
5. MARCHING UNITS: (Categories: Youth and Adult)
   1. JUDGING CRITERIA
      1. Overall appearance 1-30 points
      2. Precision 1-30 points
      3. Special effects 1-20 points
      4. Crowd appeal 1-20 points
      5. Possible total points 100 points
6. MARCHING BANDS:
   1. Judging criteria is established by experienced band judges.
7. MUSIC: (All other entries except marching bands)
   1. 10 extra points to be given for live music only.
8. CLOWNS:
   1. JUDGING CRITERIA:
      1. Overall appearance 1-30 points
      2. Performance 1-30 points
      3. Crowd Appeal 1-40 points
      4. Possible total points 100 points
9. MOUNTED UNITS:
   1. Judged by experienced Judges. (Judging rules are available from The Association.) Judging begins at lineup area at 8:00 A.M.
10. UNIQUE:
    1. Any entry that does not fit in any other category. Divided into commercial and non-commercial entries with trophies awarded in each category.
    2. JUDGING CRITERIA
       1. Overall appearance 1-40 points
       2. Crowd appeal 1-20 points
       3. Uniqueness and originality 1-40 points
       4. Possible total points 100 points
11. DIGNITARIES: (Not for judging)
    1. This category includes elected officials, sponsors of the 4th of July celebration, Grand Marshall, and invited dignitaries.
12. COMMUNITY SERVICE: (Not for Judging)
    1. This category is limited to the official vehicles of non-profit organizations (e.g. Red Cross, Handitran, etc.).
13. AWARDS:
    1. GRAND PRIZE WINNER: Trophy awarded for the best overall entry, commercial or non-commercial, selected following the parade. This entry must be of a patriotic nature.
    2. MAYOR’S AWARD: Non-commercial entry which best depicts the parade theme chosen before parade begins at the line-up area, between 8:00-8:45 AM. Winner will be placed behind Mayor’s car in the parade line-up. Mayor’s Award winner is not eligible for any other award.
    3. SPIRIT AWARD: Presented to the entry which best personifies a spirit of dedication, ingenuity, originality, and enthusiasm and brings the greatest pleasure to and response from the spectators. Awarded by a panel chosen by the Board of Directors of the Association. They shall be stationed along the route near the announcers stands.
    4. DIRECTORS AWARD: For an outstanding entry in any category. To be selected by 4th of July Directors.
    5. HONORABLE MENTION: May be selected by all judges or any 2 judges in their category. Head Judge must approve.
    6. FIRST, SECOND & THIRD PLACE: May be chosen in each category. All winners will receive awards