The British Brass Band Registry (BBBR) has issued a strongly worded response to the recent press statement issued by Kapitol Promotions over the future registration requirements of bands for the 2013 National Championships of Great Britain.

Statement:

The statement reads:

On the 12th October the BBBR gave all English contesting bands the democratic right to vote in a ballot on the future of player registration in England. The BBBR can clearly see that this week’s press statement from Kapitol contains information that could have a significant effect on how bands decide to vote in the ballot.

Most notably:

1. The National Rules have been changed unilaterally by Kapitol and the Regional secretaries (N.B. the North West was not on the conference call) without any democratic consultation with their ‘customers’, the English contesting bands.

2. The registration of players for English bands is to be run from Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, Wales.

3. Only one year registrations will be honoured at no cost. If bands are already registered with BBBR until 2014 then they will have to pay again.

4. The new BBBR online tracker service, live since the beginning of October clearly demonstrates the high quality of the current service provision. If bands still have any concerns then they just need to contact the BBBR by phone or email for a response within 24 hours.

The BBBR has also been informed by some bands that they would like to hear the outcome of the Midlands Regional committee meeting on 3rd November before casting their vote in the ballot.

As a result of this new information the BBBR has decided to extend the closing date of the ballot to Friday 9th November 2012BBBR.

Extend closing date

As a result of this new information the BBBR has decided to extend the closing date of the ballot to Friday 9th November 2012.

This will ensure that all English Brass Bands have the opportunity to democratically express their opinion on this very important issue.

If any band has not received the ballot paper and information pack then please email registry@brassbandsengland.co.uk for a copy.

It has been well documented that the British Brass Band Registry encountered some internal difficulties in July/August which were caused primarily by the non-compliance of a Board Director.

The BBBR is pleased to confirm that from September all English brass bands have had a full set of registration cards when required for contesting, including for the recent National Finals at Cheltenham and London.

The BBBR now looks forward to providing an even quicker, more efficient service for bands in the future.