Scottish Open Continues With New Format
The SBBA is pleased to announce a revised format for the Scottish Open and associated contests scheduled to take place in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on Sunday 27 November 2005. The main changes involve dispensing with the evening Gala Concert and creating two new contests, the Scottish Shield and the Scottish Challenge Cup.
In arriving at the revised format for the event, the SBBA executive has taken into account the poor response at the box office for both the Scottish Open and the Gala Concert in both 2003 and 2004 which has resulted in substantial financial losses being incurred. The executive is also conscious of the fact that some elements of the Scottish banding community have regarded the event as elitist.
The principles underpinning the proposed changes are firstly, to allow for the continued use of the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall as a prestige venue but to make the event financially viable without the possibility of an income stream from an evening concert and secondly, to broaden the concept of the Scottish Open into a genuinely inclusive event for the whole of the Scottish banding community.
Bands are asked to accept the general principle that contests are events run for the competing bands as opposed to being events staged for the benefit of spectators. Income from ticket sales is always going to be rather limited and if bands wish to participate in quality contests inprestigious venues, a realistic financial contribution from the competing bands is required. The proposed costings do not allow for a substantial prize fund, although past experience suggests that a substantial prize fund does not necessarily attract any of the big name bands from south of the border.
The revised format is:-
| • | The Scottish Open, with 16 bands, to include the top 6 in the Scottish Championship Section plus the top 2 in the Scottish Championships Section 1, plus 8 others from those applying for an invitation (including bands guaranteed an invitation due to a top 6 placing in last year’s Scottish Open – being Hepworth, Freckleton, Tredegar & Wingates). The remainder of the places will be allocated to bands that apply to enter on the basis of their positions in the World of Brass rankings which appear in British Bandsman/4BarsRest (listing due to appear in Mid May incorporating updates to and including the Spring Festival contests). Other bands seeking invitations should contact the SBBA President by 30 April and it is confirmed that other Scottish bands may also apply for these places. |
| • | The Scottish Youth Championships, in a 3-section format as in 2003 and 2004. |
| • | The new Scottish Shield Contest, with the bands placed 3-6 in the Scottish Championships Section 1 plus the top 2 in the Scottish Championships Section 2 (all the bands being Section 1 bands at the time of the contest). |
| • | The new Scottish Challenge Cup contest, with 12 bands, to include the bands placed 3-6 in the Scottish Championships Section 2, the bands placed 1-6 in the Scottish Championships Section 3 plus the top 2 bands in the Scottish Championships Section 4 (all being Section 2 or 3 bands at the time of the contest). |
In any case where a band does not take up an invitation to the Scottish Shield or the Scottish Challenge Cup the place will then be offered to the next band as per the Scottish Championship results (i.e. for the Scottish Shield the bands placed 7-9 in Section 1 and for the Challenge Cup the bands placed 7-12 in Section 2 and then the bands placed 7-12 in Section 3 and then the bands placed 3 and below in Section 4).
All of the competing bands in each of the senior contests will perform an own-choice test-piece and there will be two adjudicators for each contest.
There will be a prize fund of £2,500, with £1,000 going to the winner of the Open contest, £500 to the runners up in the Open ,£300 to the winners of the Shield and Challenge Cup contests and £200 to the runners up in the Shield and Challenge Cup contests.
Each competing band (with the exception of the bands in the youth contests) will require to pay an entry fee of £50 and to purchase a minimum of 30 tickets for band members at £4 each, being a total payment of £170 from each band. Bands in the Youth Contests will be able to purchase tickets for their members at £3 each. All tickets will give access to both halls and all contests on the day.
The timetable for the day will be:-
Main Auditorium
9.30 am – 11.30 am – Scottish Shield Contest
12 noon – 5.30 pm – Scottish Open
5.45 pm – 6.45 pm – Youth Championships Premier Section
Strathclyde Suite
10 am – 2 pm Scottish Challenge Cup Contest
2.30 pm – 6 pm Youth Championships Development and Community Sections
There will be a combined results and awards ceremony for all contests in the main auditorium at approximately 7 pm. As the Shield and Challenge Cup contests will have relatively early starts, these two contests will be pre-drawn (but with adjudication remaining closed).
The SBBA executive wish to stress that the support of the Scottish banding community is crucial to the event and every effort should be made by people involved in bands, including bands which are not competing, to attend this Scottish Band Festival. Competing bands will be able to buy more than their required minimum of 30 tickets at the discounted prices available to bands in order to encourage friends and supporters to attend. Box Office ticket prices on the day will be £7 (concessions £5). In a very real sense, this is a flagship event, unique in British banding, and an indicator of the health of Scottish banding.
