A beauty of a band STAFF PHOTO BY DAN PARKER The Port Aransas High School Band recently won the sweepstakes award at the University Interscholastic League Region Concert and Sight-Reading Contest held at Sinton High School on Wednesday, March 12. The Port Aransas High School Band has won the sweepstakes award.

Again.

The band got first-division ratings in concert and sight-reading performances in the University Interscholastic League Region Concert and Sight Reading Contest in Sinton on Wednesday, March 12.

A one is the highest score a band can get from the UIL judges. Getting a one in both the concert and sightreading portions of the contest got the band the sweepstakes award.

This is the second year in a row that the PAHS band has won sweepstakes. Band director Jim Cole said he is proud of his 73 musicians.

"They just did a tremendous job," Cole said.

The PAHS band was the only one of six bands from Class A high schools to get ones in either the concert or sight-reading parts of the competition.

The competition involved high schools from throughout UIL Region 14, which takes in the central part of South Texas.

In the concert part of the competition, a band plays three songs that the band already has rehearsed at length for days at its home band hall. In the sight-reading part of the contest, band members are given new sheet music and are allowed only seven minutes to look at it with the director before performing it on the spot and being judged.