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City of Oxford Travesty

Cameron,

WOW......and I thought there was lots of political BULL#@$% here in
Australia!!!!!!!

Give the band my best.......I hope it works out ok for you.  You all
> deserve
it.  The injustice of being disqualified for such a silly thing, far out
> ways
the crime!!!!!!!!


Tony Lashmar
Solo Cornet, Brisbane Excelsior Band
Queensland, Australia
cornet@xxxxxxxxxxx

Cameron Mabon wrote:

> Dear list-members
>
> This is a long post. I would be grateful if you would read it all and
> reply
> with your thoughts. In writing this post, I think I can speak on behalf
> of all of the members of the City of Oxford Band (Alastair is currently
> on holiday and therefore does not have access to an email account),
> although I have not been asked by them to write it.
>
> Somewhat ironically, given the jubilant demeanour of my recent posts
> and
> the nature of the contributions from Andy Wooler regarding
> registration, the
> City of Oxford band has been provisionally disqualified from Sunday's
> Regional Championships in Basildon, pending an appeal to the regional
> committee and, if necessary, the NCC.
>
> The reason for the disqualification was that the band's principal
> percussionist's name did not appear on the contest signature form. This
> was simply an oversight on the part of our contest secretary (who,
> incidentally, won the best cornet award on Sunday). When she drew up
> the
> list, our percussionist's card was at the registry being re-done (after
> having been lost by the authorities at the Leamington Spa contest in
> December). Consequently, our contest secretary ommitted his name from
> the
> list by mistake.
>
> The player in question has been the principal percussionist with the
> band
> for five years, and has not missed a contest in that time. His
> membership
> of the band extends further back than most in the band. This was not a
> case of cheating or abusing the system. It was a simple and honest
> clerical error. If our disqualification is upheld, we will lose our
> place
> at the Royal Albert Hall because of the smallest, most trivial of
> errors.
>
> I accept that laws are there to be adhered to. The members of Rhos
> Silver
> Band, whose second section national title was taken last year, know all
> too well that fielding unsigned players is a costly mistake (whether
> deliberate or not). However, the error in the case of the City of
> Oxford
> is insignificant compared to that of using unsigned players. Though we
> may have inadvertedly broken a (rather pointless) rule when our
> percussionist played on Sunday, I fervently hope
> that the regional committee abide by the spirit of the law rather than
> the letter of the law when they consider our appeal. It is a spirit
> exemplified by the City of Oxford Band. How many other bands could
> boast
> full attendance at all practices up to six weeks before a contest?
>
> It goes without saying that I cannot provide an unbiased opinion, as I
> am a member of the affected band, but it seems totally unfair that such
> a
> small mistake should cost us our life's ambition.
>
> It would be a travesty if we
> were to be disqualified, especially as James Scott (the adjudicator on
> Sunday) said that the top two bands were well clear of the field. In
> short, we thoroughly deserve our place at the RAH.
>
> As I understand it, an appeal has been lodged with the regional
> committee. Unfortunately, two members of that body are members of the
> Morrells (Kidlington) band. This band is the traditional rival of the
> City of Oxford, and may take a delight in seeing us disqualified. (A
> few
> members of that band even said so at the contest on Sunday). We at City
> of Oxford have no quarrel with the Morrells band (aside from a healthy
> local rivalry) and it would be extremely mean spirited of the
> Kidlington
> committee members to vote to uphold the disqualification out of spite.
> In
> addition, I am led to believe that at least one member of the committee
> is from Redbridge Brass, who came third in the competition and would
> therefore be given a place at the Royal Albert Hall if the decision is
> upheld. Surely, a committee (at least partially) composed of people
> with
> vested interests such as these cannot consider our appeal impartially?
>
> If the appeal is unsuccessful at regional level, we will lodge an
> appeal
> with the National Contesting Council. I am confident that we should
> win,
> given the paltry reason behind our disqualification.
>
> In conclusion, I should like to say that words cannot adequately
> express
> how frustrated the rest of the band and I are. To qualify for the Royal
> Albert Hall has been our long-term ambition for years, and it now
> appears
> that our efforts may be rewarded with a slap in the face from band
> beaurocracy. I think our appeal is a strong one, given the player's
> long
> record with the band, the nature of our performance (earning two points
> more than Redbridge Brass, last years Champions), the fact that we may
> be
> demoted if we are disqualified (see below!), and the fact that the
> mistake
> made was an insignificant and honest one.
>
> I would be grateful for your opinions on this matter. Thank you for
> taking
> the time to read this long message.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> A very sober and frustrated,
>
> Cameron Mabon
> 2nd cornet, City of Oxford Band
>
> P.S. There is a danger that, if we are disqualified permanently, the
> band
> will be demoted to the first section (because of some 'unusual' contest
> results last year)!! This would result in the bizarre
> situation of the other first section bands competing against arguably
> the best Championship Section Band in the region (as we will be if we
> continue to improve at the rate at which we have done so for the last
> few
> years)!!! The first section
> areas would be a farce, and all because one trivial rule was broken
> inadvertedly.
>
> --
>   Cameron Mabon				 cmabon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>   Piano, cornet and duck-call
>   Fundamental Brass	       http://users.ox.ac.uk/~newc0349/fun
>   City of Oxford Band     http://www.jesus.ox.ac.uk/~cmabon/COSB.html
>
> --
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