Downunder Rankings - December 2005 / January 2006

5-Jan-2006

For the first time, Australian and New Zealand bands have been ranked on the basis of National, State and District contest results.

4BRDU has undertaken an extensive analysis of band contesting as at the end of the 2005 year, incorporating results from the Australian and New Zealand National Championships, together with Australian State and NZ District contest results.

Here are the 4BRDU final rankings for 2005:

Band	Rank	Points
NZ Community Trust Woolston Brass	1	565.5
Brisbane Excelsior	2	525.5
The "Trusts" Waitakere Brass	3	511.3
Dalewool Auckland Brass	4	509.0
Waratah Brass Newcastle	5	497.0
St Kilda Brass	6	487.6
K&N Brass	7	471.1
Ascot Park Hotel Brass of Invercargill	8	433.7
St Mary's Band Club Brass	9	429.9
Hawthorn Band	10	419.8
Canterbury Foundation Brass	11	419.6
Glenorchy City Concert Brass	12	390.0
Kew Band Melbourne	13	370.9
Marlborough District Brass	14	346.3
City of Holroyd Brass	15	335.1
Brass Wanganui	16	317.0
Willoughby City Band	17	315.4
Brisbane Brass	18	295.2
South Brisbane Federal	19	291.0
Tanunda Town Band	20	278.0
Darebin City Brass - Preston Band	21	240.4
Rotorua Brass	22	221.4
Footscray-Yarraville City Band	23	219.4
Pelorus Trust Wellington Brass	24	190.4
Midland Brick Brass	25	188.0
Castle Trust Hamilton Brass	26	181.0
Moreland City Band	27	175.4
Trust Porirua City Brass	28	167.7
Capricornia Silver	29	151.0
Titan Hutt City Brass	30	150.9
Nelson City Brass	31	137.3
Canning City Brass	32	124.0
Tauranga City Silver	33	110.0
North Shore Brass	34	105.6
Gunnedah Shire Band	35	66.7
Port of Napier Brass	36	63.3
Westport Municipal	37	55.0
Tasman Eastern Bay of Plenty Brass	38	45.0
Smiths Locksmiths Manukau City	39	36.0
Te Awamutu Brass	40	27.0
Auckland City Brass	41	18.0
Townsville Brass	42	13.5

Results are based on the most recent five years. The result from each preceding year is discounted by 20% (ie, 2005 receives 100% of points awarded, 2004 gets 80%, 2003 gets 60%, 2002 earns 40% and 2001 receives 20% of awarded points). The formula is based on attendance at major contests for the year. Bands that have not attended eligible contests have not earned points for those contests.

Points for contests are based on the number of bands that compete in those contests, therefore a win in a field of, say five bands (eg NSW), is worth more points than winning a contest with only one or two entries (ie, Tasmania, Western Australia, South Australia).

Bands have also earned points for contests outside their home region. The most notable inclusion is the success of Dalewool Auckland Brass achieving 10th place in the British Open in 2004. Bands crossing "the ditch" have also earned points for attending each other's National Championships.

Here is our analysis of the final results:

Our top band for 2005 is NZ Community Trust Woolston Brass. This band has consistently placed 1st and 2nd in the NZ Nationals over the last five years, a 1st place in the Canterbury District contest in 2005 and a creditable placing in the Australian Nationals in 2004.

The No 2 rank - and the highest placed Australian band - is Brisbane Excelsior. This result is a reflection of their 2005 Australian Championship win, together with 2nd place in 2004 and 4th place in 2003. Excelsior also achieved three 1st places in the Queensland State contest over the last five years, 1st place in NSW in 2003 and a 2nd place in NSW in 2002.

Waitakere is ahead of Dalewool despite Dalewool's 10th place in the British Open, because Waitakere won the Australian National Championship in 2003 and have successfully competed more often in the Auckland District contest.

Next of the Australian bands is Waratah Brass Newcastle. Waratah has achieved three 2nd placings at the Australian Nationals in the last three years, together with 1st placings in the NSW State contest in 2002 and 2004. Third of the Australian bands is K&N Brass from Adelaide. K&N won the 2002 Australian Nationals, together with 3rd place in 2005 and 4th place in 2004. K&N has also won the SA State contest every year.

Brisbane Excelsior, Waratah and K&N have been the consistently high performers on the Australian scene over the last few years.

The Victorian State contest was a contentious event in 2005, with no A Grade bands attending. As such, no bands earned points for this contest.

Newcomer - Gunnedah Shire Band under Jason Katsikaris - achieved a win in the NSW State contest on their first outing. Whilst this is a great result, their newcomer status has left them towards the bottom of the 2005 rankings. North Shore Brass, New Zealand's newest A Grade band, has also just entered the table, but we expect big things in the future.

Unfortunately, bands that tend not not to travel to major contests don't enjoy the opportunity to earn as many points as those who do travel. This is shown in the ranking of bands such as Midland Brick and Canning from Western Australia.

As we move forward, we hope to include other competitions run under the rules of State and District associations, eg Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod, NSW Battle of Bands, etc.

No doubt these results will not please everyone, and we would like to receive your feedback. Please send your comments to downunder@4barsrest.com

Good luck to all bands in the 2006 contesting season.

(This article was updated 10 Jan 2006 because of two data errors - refer to the news item: http://www.4barsrest.com/news/du_detail.asp?id=2353)