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National Finals 2002:
Championship Section
Preview:
2002 has been the year of the pre ordained winner. Michael Schumacher,
Paula Ratcliffe, the Williams sisters, Rock of Gibraltar. They may
all be brilliant at what they do, but it don’t half make for
a boring competition, as so called rivals flatter to deceive and
end up on their backsides looking forlorn and wondering how on earth
they can ever muster a realistic challenge to their supremacy.
Over the years at the National Championships there has also been
the feeling that there is a name already engraved upon the big old
silver pot before the contest has started. Black Dyke in the 1970’s,
Desford in the late 1980’s and James Watson in the 1990’s
have all somehow seemed almost invincible for a period at the Albert
Hall; at the start of the new Millennium it could well be the turn
of the Childs brothers.
For the past three years there has been something of a Childs hegemony
at the Nationals, and just as you can look at the leading lights
in the sports we mentioned at the beginning, you can’t really
see someone else in 2002 coming along to upset their dominance.
It may not quite be pre ordained to such an extent of say Ferrari’s
or the Williams girls but the sharp money at the betting offices
would be firmly wedged on the seeing either the MD of Black Dyke
or Buy As You View Cory being crowned Champions once more on Saturday.
The evidence was made starkly clear at the Open in September when
BAYV Cory were more than comfortable winners. Black Dyke on that
day seemed psychologically hampered by their early draw, whilst
other fancied bands flattered to deceive to such an extent that
at the end of their performances they seemed resigned to their fate
of making up the numbers. If there isn’t to be a repeat of
the Open at the Albert Hall, the other bands will have to raise
their game to new heights, for Black Dyke and especially at this
moment in time, BAYV Cory are setting the new agenda - and it is
an agenda based on thorough comprehensive preperation.
Having the talent around the stands is no longer enough –
all the top bands have it in abundance and there are many who will
have better players, star soloists, bigger sounds and better technique,
but there are none at the moment who can match these two for sheer
professional preparation. Nothing is left to chance, no corner of
the score left unturned and the players spend more time in the bandrooms
in Treorchy and Queensbury than they possibly do in their own homes.
There is no secret formula, no hidden agenda, just hour upon hour
of hard work, sweat and sore lips. It is the unglamorous side of
banding – practice, practice and more practice until the finished
product is nigh on perfect.
Bands such as Fodens, YBS, Williams Fariey, Grimethorpe and Brighouse
are all more than capable of winning, and winning well, but they
all it seems have something of an Achilles heel that at one time
or another during a performance makes them vulnerable to the odd
costly mistake that undermines their chances of victory. Errors
at this level are invariably terminal and so even though they may
be more exciting, or more musical, the error count just kills them
off. It’s like watching those BMW cars of Pablo Montoya or
Ralf Schumacher, or Tim Henman or Llanelli in the European Rugby
Cup – good, brilliantly talented but not good enough to win.
2002 has been the year of the dead cert winner. Can you remember
who came runner up to Rock of Gibraltar in the 2,000 Guineas this
year, or who came third in the Formula One World Championship, or
who filled the podium rostrum behind Paula Radcliffe at the London
Marathon? No? That’s how good they are – and that is
why they now so dominate their competition that no one remembers
the names of the also-rans. The bands have been warned – if
you want to win, then you will have to match what the leaders are
doing. If not, then their names will already be engraved upon the
trophy.
© 4BarsRest
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