Yorkshire and Humberside Brass Band Association
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Easingwold Annual March and Deportment Contest
Promoted by The Easingwold District Lions' Club
The End of the Road
Sadly, the contest due to have taken place on 30th June this year will now not be held.
At
the last delegates meeting of the Yorkshire & Humberside Brass Band
Association, representatives of the Easingwold Lions informed them that the
Easingwold March Contest will cease after 30 years.
The YHBBA has organised the contest on behalf of the Easingwold Lions who have
funded the contest since its inception, but with ever falling entries from bands
(down to 7 competing bands in 2011) the event is no longer financially viable.
YHBBA Chairman Peter Gilby comments: "The economics of attending the event
for bands and the plethora of similar marching contests that have started up
within the past few years has meant the event is no longer viable."
The
inaugural contest was held on Saturday 11th September 1982 as a
Standing March contest for Grade 1 and 2 bands with the grade 1 bands required
to play ”a march circuit of the Market Place” before performing the contest
march. Grade 2 bands were excused marching with the added performance of a hymn
tune to their contest march – in the event only one band figured in Grade 2.
The contest concluded with massed bands playing for community hymn singing,
which has been a regular feature of all the Easingwold contests to date.
1983
was to see the start of a June date, which is now traditionally the last
Saturday in the month, and remarkably few have suffered through inclement
weather.
The
contest band entry fee in 1982 was 50p., doubled the following year and with a
marked increase to £5.00 for 1984. It
reached £15.00 in 1994 and is currently £25.00.
The
prizes have progressively increased from a modest start to reach £1,000.00
in 2006, which marked the 25th contest.
The contest has enjoyed very good support from many local sources, not
least from the Town Council whose assistance has been continuous from the start,
and in appreciation the overall winner’s trophy bears the name of Easingwold
Town Council and was initially awarded to the Fishburn Band in 2000.
Subsequently it has been held by Marsden Silver (2001 & 2004), Holme Silver
(2002), Kirkbymoorside Town (2003) AND Marsden Riverhead Brewery (2005 &
2006)
Over the
years a great number of bands have competed at Easingwold.
Many of these have changed their names over the years and some, alas, are
no more. Click
here for a list recording them in Chronological order of first entry,
together with the number of times they have competed and with any subsequent
name changes.
Initially
one adjudicator was appointed as only the performances on the stand were judged,
but after two years the contest took its current format and all bands were
required to march around the Market Place playing a road march before they
played a contest march on the stand. As it was now necessary to judge
bands on their deportment as well as their playing a second adjudicator was
appointed.
Yorkshire & Humberside Brass Band Association
For more information, please contact the Hon. Secretary:
Mrs M. Williams 7 The Lea, Garforth, Leeds, LS25 2BT
Tel: (+44) 0113 2860005
This page was last updated 17/01/2012
Yorkshire & Humberside Brass Band Association
This page was last updated 17/01/2012