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City of Oxford

Firstly, I will make it clear that I am writing of my own volition, and 
my views may not co-incide with those of the rest of the City of Oxford 
Band...

I was surprised that the appeal presented by the City of Oxford Band was 
rejected. There was an irrefutable body of evidence in our favour, and 
the committee did acknowledge that the band had not deliberately tried to 
cheat, nor had we gained anything by omitting one name from a signature 
form.

It seems surprising, then, that the committee should have chosen to 
re-inforce the strongest possible penalty. To my mind, it would have 
sufficed to remove our prize-money, or trophies, or even our place at the 
Royal Albert Hall. (This is an important point. We are not continuing the 
struggle because we want to play at the Royal Albert Hall (although, of 
course, we do!!!). We are still 
fighting because we feel that we have been dealt an unjustified blow by 
the L+SC committee. Had we finished seventh in the contest, we would 
be campaigning just as hard).

The punishment meted out by the committee was as harsh as it could have 
been.

Not only has the band lost its finals place, we have lost our position in 
the ranking tables (instead of third, we will now be placed second-last!) 
despite the fact that we have not lost to any other Championship Section 
band from this area (apart from Aveley) in the last 18 months!

If the tax disc on a car was found to bear the wrong registration plate 
number, the penalty would be a small one - perhaps a nominal fine. For a 
similar transgression, 
the members of the City of Oxford Band have been sentenced to ten years 
hard labour! (Well, at least three - we have to obtain good results at 
the areas for the next two years to stay in the Championship Section).

The "rule" we broke (if, indeed, the rules stipulate that all contesting 
players must appear on the signature form - I haven't read the rules) was 
a trivial one and completely irrelevant to our performance or the result 
of the contest. If we had broken the rule that makes it mandatory to wear 
black socks, would we have been disqualified? or the rule that stipulates 
that all bands must have a giraffe on stage?

I think it is sad that, if our disqualification is upheld by the NCC, the 
London and Southern Counties Area will not be represented at the finals by 
the best 
bands in the area. (It is worth re-stating that the adjudicator said that 
two bands stood out on the day, despite the fact that we played badly 
compared to our expectations).

As for the L+SC committee, I am still unconvinced that they provided an 
unbiased verdict. I know that I could not have made an unbiased decision 
in their shoes. The last time the topic was discussed, I was assured by 
members of the committee and others that they would maintain 
impartiality. Nevertheless, I find this difficult to believe, given the 
undoubted vested interests of several members of the committee. I firmly 
believe that the matter should have been resolved by another regional 
committee (e.g. the West of England) although I appreciate that this 
would be a new approach (though it would be valid in this rather unique 
case). I also find it strange that even the Oxfordshire Association's 
representatives did not support us!

I hope that readers of the British Bandsman will read the centre-page 
spread on the City of Oxford Band in this week's issue. It presents an 
accurate picture of the band's team spirit and commitment. It also 
re-iterates the fact that our disqualification was based upon a technical 
error rather than any deliberate attempt to cheat.

I appreciate that rules are necessary in band competitions. However, I 
think the rules need to be changed if a band like ours can be 
disqualified when we have acted only in the spirit of banding, with no 
intention of breaking the rules whatsoever. (As Alastair pointed 
out, the band members did not have to sign the form before the contest - 
if we had, then the error could never have arisen).

I should add that the band is considering taking legal advice, and that I 
think we have a very strong case to put before the NCC. It is a fact that 
the NCC does not generally overturn decisions made by its member 
associations. In this case, I think it would be entirely justified for 
them to do so. 

Finally, I would like to mention that, when the the band's 
disqualification was last discussed, I received between twenty and thirty 
personal email messages. Of these, the vast majority agreed that our 
disqualification was unfair. I know that there are many bandsmen across 
the country who share my sentiments, and I hope that they will make their 
views known by whatever means to aid not only the cause of the City 
of Oxford Band, but the cause of fair brass band contesting.

Once again, these are my own views. 

Thanks for reading such a long message, and I hope that you will see fit 
to make appropriate comment on it, before or after the band's official 
statement next week.

Regards,

Cameron

-- 
  Cameron Mabon (International Crusader)	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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