The North of England Regional Championship has confirmed the reasons behind Reg Vardy's disqualification from the 2018 Regional Championship held in Durham in March.

Press statement

In a press release they state:

"Due to a contravention of National Rule 8 (a) at the recent North of England Brass Band Championships in Durham concerning one of their players, the Reg Vardy Band, were disqualified from the contest.

The Reg Vardy Band subsequently appealed against the NOEBBC decision.

The regional Committee of the NOEBBC convened on the 21st April 2018 where the Reg Vardy Band presented their appeal to the full committee.

Information from BBP confirmed that registration documentation for the player was not completed correctly.

Therefore the registration was deemed null and void as the player was registered with another accredited registry.

No new evidence was presented by the band, during the appeal and after a comprehensive appraisal of all the information; the NOEBBC committee were unanimous in upholding their original
decision.

The Reg Vardy Band subsequently appealed the NOEBBC decision to the Kapitol independent appeals procedure and the Kapitol independent appeal panel upheld the original decision of the NOEBBC.

The regional committee stands by its original unanimous decision and the subsequent decision of the national appeal process.

Rule 8 (a) of the National Championships of Great Britain states:

"All players taking part in the Contest must be registered with only ONE accredited Registry at least 7 days before the Friday of the contest weekend and may only compete with the band that holds their Registration.

It is the responsibility of the band secretary to apply to the relevant registry for the necessary registration documentation and to comply with the Registry Rules and procedures."

I can only hope that this serves as a reminder to bands once again to double check player registrations, making sure they are in orderRegional Secretary, Tony Griffiths

Reminder

Regional Secretary, Tony Griffiths told 4BR: "I can only hope that this serves as a reminder to bands once again to double check player registrations, making sure they are in order.

It is the responsibility of the band management to do so.

The regional committee would like to thank everyone for the many messages of support and good wishes during this difficult time. We are committed to present the regional contest in a fair and professional manner, with respect for all competing bands and their supporters.

Now this matter is concluded, all matters outstanding will be concluded as soon as possible."