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RE: New Grading System

To: "Brass Band list postings" <brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: RE: New Grading System
From: "Judith Hayes" <judith.hayes@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 20:27:02 +0100

Colin Knowles wrote:
"Why attend a contest for 200 or so prize money if there is no need to gain
points for grading purposes?   By the time a band has paid an entry fee,
paid the conductor and possibly paid for a coach it just doesn't make
economic sense. "

Who enters contests for economic reasons?? (and incidentally, who pays their
conductors - oh now I've gone and done it!!)

Area contest: score full of errors that you'll never use again - 30 quid;
entry fee - 50 quid; coach - 250 quid; rehearsal room hire - 2 lots of 10-15
quid; bottle for any deps you happen to have had (well deny it if you can!)
Prize money: diddly squat if you come 14th!

The sums just *can't* come into it.

When we contest (and it's not often thankfully) we do it to improve the
band's playing, to give us incentive to try hard at a piece harder than we
would normally play, and sometimes (if it's not the area contest) for FUN.
Or something like it.

As far as I know, we don't have a local grading system in the West Midlands
but the West Midlands association contest at Leamington is an enjoyable,
well-organised contest, and it is always well attended, despite it having
(thankfully) nothing to do with grading.

So no, it doesn't signal the end of the local contest.

Jud


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