I came from a high school program that was less than stellar.
Earning a trip to TSSEC was the highlight of my year.

At that time, TSSEC had judges from all over the country. My senior year I performed for Harvey Phillips of Indiana University (made a 1).

It looks like they've gone local for the most part. It's interesting that in my day the medals had the seal of the University of Texas. Now it's "UIL" with a more UT/local area based judging pool.

I did not require or pressure my students to play their Class 1 solos by memory to advance. Playing that level solo was an expectation for those in my Varsity group. I left it to them to decide, however I always informed them that a typical first division at the regional level was a three at TSSEC.

There are many opinions of TSSEC. It depends on each individual's experiences that determines their outlook on the event.