Saturday 9th March
Sunday 10th March
Full details including draw and start times will be issued after entries close.
Chair John Woods acknowledged feedback from some bands regarding the Assembly rooms used earlier this year and added. “ We are delighted to have secured very suitable alternative additional accommodation very close to the RIC as it would be impossible to accommodate three sections at the RIC on one day. “
WEBBA has announced a change to the adjudication panel for the West of England Regional Championships on 11th & 12th March 2023.
Dr Howard J Evans will now be adjudicating section four with Morten E Hansen in place of Philip Harper.
John Woods, WEBBA Chairman said: "We are very sorry Philip Harper is not able to take part in the West of England Regional Championships as planned and thank Dr Howard Evans for stepping in at this late stage."
WEBBA are very much looking forward to returning to Torquay next month for the first time since 2020.
The Council of West of England Brass Band Associations is very sad to announce the death of their former secretary Brian Elliott, a much respected figure in the South West of England brass band movement, who passed away on 25th November 2022.
After relocating to Devon with his family in 1971, Brian and his late wife (Joyce) became involved with their local band in Plymouth - Joyce as player and Brian secretary. Brian through a variety of roles became an ambassador for the Brass Band movement for the South West of England for over 45 years. He also served nationally for the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain as section controller for 15 years before then becoming a vice-president.
Brian was an Executive member of the West of England BBA from 1998-2016 and held the role of Secretary from 2001-2013 and an Executive member of the South West BBA from 1972–2016 covering many different roles during that time.
Brian worked tirelessly for both Associations giving outstanding dedication to brass banding for many years and was a familiar, respected and much loved figure within the brass banding community in the South West of England and further afield. His passion and enthusiasm for developing and educating players of all ages resulted in annual events that continue to live on.
A funeral service for Brian will take place on Monday 19th December 2022 at 10.45am at Efford Crematorium, Plymouth. (The family have requested informal dress please).
A return to Torquay is confirmed for the 2023 West of England Regional Championships by WEBBA.
The Riviera International Centre and a nearby satellite site (Assembly Hall, Lymington Road, Torquay) for one section (yet to be determined) on the Saturday are now confirmed as the venues for the 2023 Regionals.
11th March 23 Sections 4, 3 & 1
12th March 23 Sections 2 and Championship
Band secretaries will be advised of further details later in the year.
Said John Woods, Chairman of WEBBA: “We know that bands are keen to commence their planning, so I’m thrilled to announce that the 2023 West of England Regional Championships will return to Torquay and its qualifying bands will represent our region at the 2023 National Finals.
We are grateful to Simon Jolly and Lex Leisure for their ongoing support and help in securing additional nearby facilities. Whilst changes have been made to facilities at the RIC since the 2020 Regionals, we remain confident that the excellent facilities for competing bands, supporters, traders and audiences alike are a platform for the enjoyment of live brass band music.”
WEBBA extends best wishes to bands representing the West of England who qualified for the 2022 National Finals – Sections 1- 4 at The Centaur on 17th and 18th September and the Championship Section at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 15th October.
The West of England Grading Tables for 2022 are now available on the Grading page.
For your information, the following grading rules have been implemented as appropriate:
Grading Rules are shown as Appendix 1 to The National Rules dated 1st January 2022 which can be downloaded from the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain website via the following link: www.nationalbrassbandchampionships.com.
PRESS RELEASE ISSUED 1 FEBRUARY 2022 - BY KAPITOL PROMOTIONS LTD. AND THE WEST OF ENGLAND BRASS BAND ASSOCIATION
Following cancellation a week ago, an alternative venue to the Riviera International Centre, Torquay, currently being used as a Covid vaccination centre, has been identified for the 72 bands entered into this year’s West of England Regional Championships.
This year’s West of England Regional Championships will be promoted and presented by Kapitol Promotions Ltd. on 2 and 3 April at the home of the Section 1- 4 National Finals, The Centaur, Cheltenham Racecourse, at which Kapitol Promotions and West of England Brass Band Associations (WEBBA) will jointly undertake the planning and delivery of the two-day event. The format for the Championships will remain as previously announced: Sections 4, 2 and 1 will compete on Saturday 2 April, and Sections 3 and Championship on Sunday 3 April. Band secretaries will be advised of timings and contact points for further details as soon as possible.
Said John Woods, Chairman of the WEBBA: “With the experience and influence of Kapitol Promotions Ltd., I am thrilled to announce that the 2022 West of England Regional Championships will now go ahead and its qualifying bands will be represented at the this year’s National Finals. Although this short period of uncertainty about the Championships, as the country emerges slowly from the pandemic, has been frustrating for everyone involved and WEBBA’s bands may have to alter their future plans, I hope that, we can now all pull together to stage this event for the competing bands and to give audiences the enjoyment of live brass band music.
“Our thanks to Kapitol Promotions for helping to find a way forward and we look forward to welcoming all of the West of England bands in Cheltenham on 2 and 3 April. We wish them all good luck with their preparations.”
Philip Morris, Managing Director, of Kapitol Promotions commented: “The strength of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain rests on its ‘first-past-the-post’ qualification system for the nation’s bands. Kapitol is therefore delighted to support WEBBA through these challenging times, to ensure that its Regional Championships can go ahead and that we can look forward to welcoming its qualifying bands to the 2022 National Finals – sections 1-4 at The Centaur on 17 and 18 September and the Championship Section at London’s Royal Albert Hall on the provisional date of 15 October.
We sincerely hope that bands and audiences support this all-important 2022 ‘Regional’ and are looking forward to working with the WEBBA team to present the Championships".
Due to circumstances beyond our control we have been forced to make the decision to cancel this year’s West of England Regional Championships.
As some of you may be aware, the Riviera Centre is currently hosting the vaccination centre for South Devon and as the original February closure date is now being extended until mid-summer, the Centre will not be available to us in March.
We have maintained regular contact with the Riviera Centre management throughout 2021 to understand availability of the centre, but they themselves only became aware of the situation mid-January.
Whilst very frustrating for our banding colleagues, WEBBA recognises the importance of the vaccination programme in keeping our communities safe during the ongoing pandemic.
Since first receiving this news, the WEBBA team have extensively explored many alternative venues. However, the reality is there are limited numbers of acceptable or comparable sites and in the short time frame available to us, any venue that may have suited our event is already booked or is simply not financially viable.
Multiple solutions were considered including the use of local schools in the Torbay area or splitting the contest itself over two separate weekends. However, after all options were fully explored, at this late stage with no acceptable resolution immediately available, the team was left with no option but to cancel.
We appreciate this will be disappointing for many bands and apologise for the inconvenience caused.
We would like to reassure everyone that WEBBA is committed to protecting the sustainability of the regional championships and will use the next few months to continue to explore other alternative avenues for March 2023.
If you require any further information please contact your local Brass Band Association WEBBA Representatives in the first instance...
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA - 25/01/22
Many congratulations to all of the Musical Directors and players who represented the West of England at the National Championships at Cheltenham recently.
Special congratulations to Nailsworth Silver Band crowned Section Four Champions - well done to you all!
The 2022 West of England Regional Championships will take place on Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th March at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.
The Fourth, Second and First Sections will be held on the Saturday and the Third and Championship Sections on the Sunday.
If you require any further information please contact our secretary Sue Oldfield via email at .
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
The Council of WEBBA acknowledge the many messages of thanks from bands and visitors to the Riviera Centre during a period of unprecedented and challenging circumstances arising from this National crisis and fluctuating and emerging Government advice.
The decision to proceed was based wholly on the facts available to us at the time and in difficult circumstances where a variety of related opinions and advice were never going to satisfy every individual view. However we adhered to the official advice given by the Government.
The decision of a very small percentage of bands to withdraw is fully understood and the underlying reasons may be unique to each individual band. However, it will have been unfortunate if their decision was based entirely on inaccurate information widely circulated via social media.
Since the beginning of this week we have remained in close contact with Philip Morris, Managing Director of Kapitol Promotions and the management team of the Riviera Centre to ensure additional measures were put in place for bands, their supporters and any guests.
It is extremely disappointing that a number of anonymous and inappropriate comments have been directed at the WEBBA team via the secretary's email and also her mobile telephone and as a consequence no response will be generated. We always value feedback but we would remind originators that we are all volunteers.
Equally, whilst we acknowledge all of the feedback we have received whether negative or positive, owing to the current volume, we are unable to acknowledge individually but please be assured all will be considered at our next Council meeting as an overall review of these championships.
The extremely positive atmosphere from the bands attending and audiences at the five presentation ceremonies together with feedback from public areas and exhibitors supports our decision to continue.
There is no doubt that the coming weeks will be challenging for all communities. Nevertheless, our planning for the 2021 Regional Championships will commence very shortly.
Dates: Course from Saturday 4th April - Saturday 11th April 2020
Venue: Taunton School, Staplegrove Road, Taunton TA2 6AD
Concert venues:
Open Day - Tuesday 7th April 2020 - Taunton School, Taunton, Somerset, TA2 6AD
Auditions see NYBBGB web site: https://www.nybbgb.com/how-to-join.html
Following our recent WEBBA planning meeting, we are pleased to confirm details of the allocation of adjudicators, draw and start times for each section as follows;
Saturday 14th March
Sunday 15th March
Admission Prices
All tickets available for purchase on the day (no advance ticket sales)
Card payments accepted
WEBBA are pleased to announce the panel of adjudicators for the 2020 West of England Regional Championships are Gary Davies, Dr Chris Davis OBE, Jacob (Jappie) Dijkstra, Nicholas Garman, Chris King and John Winterflood.
The Championships will take place on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March 2020 at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.
Saturday 14th March:
Sunday 15th March
All further details will be confirmed after the WEBBA meeting in January 2020.
Fran Calver from St Breward in Cornwall has recently stepped down from West of England Brass Band Association (WEBBA) after 23 years dedicated service. Fran was recently presented with an engraved posy bowl by WEBBA Chairman John Woods.
At the recent Regional Championships in Torquay John paid tribute to Fran who has been an important member of the WEBBA team since 1996, and was Chair from 2002 to 2013 when she adopted Registrar duties.
The 2020 West of England Regional Championships will take place on Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.
The Fourth, Second and First Sections will be held on the Saturday and the Third and Championship Sections on the Sunday.
If you require any further information please contact our secretary Sue Oldfield via email at .
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
The WEBBA team look forward to seeing you at the West of England Regional Championships at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay on 9th & 10th March.
Saturday 9th March
Sunday 10th March
General Admission
No advance ticket sales - all tickets available to purchase at the door on the day (card payments accepted).
If you require any further information please contact the secretary Sue Oldfield on 01392 660904 or 07768 973095 or email .
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
The following PROVISIONAL dates have been set for future West of England Regional Finals. Until finalised by the Council, these are subject to change.
2020: 14th & 15th March
2021: 13th & 14th March
2022: 12th & 13th March
2023: 11th & 12th March
2024: 9th & 10th March
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
WEBBA are pleased to announce the panel of adjudicators for the 2019 West of England Regional Championships are Major David Barringer MBE, Alan Bourne, Dr Nick Grace OBE, Ludovic Neurohr & Brian Rostron.
The schedule for the weekend is as follows:
Saturday 9th March - The Forum
Saturday 9th March - The Arena
Sunday 10th March - The Forum
All further details will be confirmed after the WEBBA meeting in January 2019 and all future updates will be added to the website
A reminder that the closing date for receipt of entries is Saturday 12th January 2019.
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
Many congratulations to all of the Musical Directors and players who represented the West of England at the National Championships at London or Cheltenham recently. Well done to you all!
Special congratulations to Gosport Solent Brass who were awarded fourth place in the 4th section.
Preparations for our 2019 Regional Championships are already well underway and entry forms will be available in just a few weeks' time. If your band has appointed a new contest secretary in recent months, please make sure you have notified our secretary accordingly.
WEBBA's new Privacy Statement has now been published on our website and will remain accessible from the bottom of each page.
The 2019 West of England Regional Championships will take place on Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th March at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.
The Fourth, Third and First Sections will be held on the Saturday and the Second and Championship Sections on the Sunday.
If you require any further information please contact our secretary Sue Oldfield via email at .
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
Kapitol Promotions Ltd, the organisers of the National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain, are delighted to announce a fabulous musical concert that will be taking place on Saturday 19th May 2018 in Gloucester. As the first of their new "Cathedral Series" of concerts, and surrounded by the wonderful architecture of Gloucester Cathedral, two ensembles will perform in a Spring Concert featuring a diverse range of music to suit all tastes.
Flowers Brass Band, who were recently crowned "West of England" Regional Champions - for the 7th time in the last 9 years - and who will be representing the "West of England" at the National Finals in October, will be showcasing their dazzling talents at this concert as they perform a wide range of entertaining pieces throughout the evening. Flowers Band are one of the highest ranked brass bands in the world, so under the direction of Musical Director, David Childs (who is regarded as the finest euphonium player of his generation), their appearance at this concert is not to be missed!
Also performing during this terrific evening of music-making will be ReChoir, a contemporary chamber group based in South Wales. They describe themselves as a "function choir with a unique take on modern choral music", and have performed extensively all over the country including on the 2013 UK tour of Godspell and bizarrely for Domino's Pizza's 20 year celebrations!
The concert will be expertly compered by the engaging David Hayward, and tickets are available right now. Tickets are priced at £20.00 (Front Nave) and £15.00 (Rear Nave) for adults, and £10.00 (Front Nave) and £7.50 (Rear Nave) for children ages 5-16, so please contact the Gloucester Cathedral Box Office on 01452 768928 for more information and to book your tickets.
The WEBBA team look forward to seeing you at the West of England Regional Championships at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay on 10th & 11th March.
Saturday 10th March
Sunday 11th March
General Admission
No advance ticket sales - all tickets available to purchase at the door on the day.
If you require any further information please contact the secretary Sue Oldfield on 01392 660904 or 07768 973095 or email .
Happy New Year from all at WEBBA!
Please review our 2018 website page for further guidance regarding the new electronic entry process. If you require any additional information please contact Sue Oldfield at .
We can also announce that Adjudicators have now been assigned to sections as follows:
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
WEBBA are pleased to announce the panel of adjudicators for the 2018 West of England Regional Championships are Brett Baker, Stan Lippeatt, Alan Morrison, David Roberts, Duncan Stubbs OBE and John Winterflood.
The Championships will take place on Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th March 2018 at the Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay.
To enable the fourth section bands to play in the Forum for the first time, the format for the 2018 Championships has been altered from previous years and will run as follows:
Saturday 10th March
Sunday 11th March
Additionally, guidance for the grading of new bands has been provided and can be found on the 2018 page.
All further details will be confirmed after the WEBBA meeting in January 2018. Any future updates will be added to our website.
Sue Oldfield - Secretary - WEBBA
Many congratulations to the musical directors and players of all the bands who represented WEBBA at the National Finals at Cheltenham last weekend.
Special congratulations to the following bands:
Very well done to you all!
Two local contests are taking place over the next few months.
On 2nd September the SWBBA's Exmouth Brass Band Festival is being held at the Exmouth Pavilion.
Cheltenham will play host to the GBBA's Own Choice Contest, taking place on 19th November.
Click the images to visit the contest websites and find out more...
Many congratulations to all of the Musical Directors and players who took part in the National Championships at London or Cheltenham recently. Our representatives in the finals clearly demonstrated that Brass Banding continues to thrive in the West of England with all of our bands competing in the Championship, First and Second sections finishing in the top ten!
Special congratulations to the following bands:
Very well done to you all from WEBBA.