Brass Bands England (BBE) has announced a temporary rule change to cover the 2021 National Youth Brass Band Championships of Great Britain.

In light of the cancellation of the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BBE has listened to requests that players who missed out on what would have been their final appearance at the event this year can still have the opportunity to participate in 2021.

Consideration

After careful consideration given the exceptional circumstances it has been agreed that bands that entered the 2020 Championship Section would be allowed to use players up to the age of 19 at the 2021 competition, subject to the following conditions:

1. Bands entered in the 2020 Championship Section must provide the names and dates of births of the players concerned by 30th June 2020. This can be done by emailing an appropriate list to alex@bbe.org.uk (all information will be stored in accordance with BBE's GDPR policy).

2. Only these players will be covered by the temporary exemption.

3. This will apply for one year only and will be dependent on the 2021 Championships running as planned.

4. In order to maintain the competition's ethos, these players must not play a prominent role in the performance.

Discretion

This will be at the discretion of the contest manager and any questions on what this entails should be checked in advance of the contest. In general, this means not playing in principal seats and not playing solo lines where there is the opportunity for a younger player to play the line.

Speaking about the change, BBE's Partnership & Development Manager, Alex Parker told 4BR: "A major part of our thinking in redesigning the format of the Youth Championships for 2019 was to maximise opportunities for as many young players as possible.

The lowering of the maximum age to 18 was perhaps the most obvious aspect of this, meaning that the 'importing' of players, possibly at conservatoire level, for competitions only, thus depriving regular soloists of the opportunity to shine on the National stage, could no longer happen."

We would like those who contacted us over this important issue and reiterate that we are very happy to consider any constructive suggestions that any stakeholders may have in the futureAlex Parker

Not disadvantaged

He added: "Given the current situation, we would like to make sure that no one from the following year group is similarly disadvantaged and request that, where possible, the players involved do not play a prominent role in bands' performances.

Alex Parker concluded: "We understand there may be some players in other sections who will have been affected by this year's cancellation, but they will obviously still have the opportunity to compete next year and beyond in the category appropriate to their age.

We would like those who contacted us over this important issue and reiterate that we are very happy to consider any constructive suggestions that any stakeholders may have in the future."

Further information:

Any further enquiries concerning these issues can be addressed to Alex at: alex@bbe.org.uk