The Association of Brass Band Adjudicators has raised concerns over what they feel is the appointment by some contest organisers of judges who have 'little or no experience' of judging a brass band contest.

It follows a recent meeting of the Association where the topic was discussed at length.

Concern expressed

A spokesperson told 4BR: "There was concern expressed with regard to the appointment, by some contest organisers, of adjudicators who have little or no experience of adjudicating brass band contests."

4BR was informed that the Association had undertaken numerous initiatives over the last few years to improve selection procedures and training for new member adjudicators along with the introduction of ongoing Continuous Professional Development (CPD) sessions for existing colleagues and establishing standardised criteria of performance assessment.

Confidence

They added: "We are always conscious that players and conductors invest huge amounts of time, effort and money in preparing for contest performances and we are concerned that they should have confidence in the dedication, ability and experience of the adjudicator.

At AoBBA we thoroughly understand that contest organisers are free to choose the adjudicators they feel most appropriate and are not in any way insisting that our members should always be their preference."

There was concern expressed with regard to the appointment, by some contest organisers, of adjudicators who have little or no experience of adjudicating brass band contestsAoBBA spokesperson

Expectations

The concluded: "However, in times of increasing accountability we feel that, in the interests of the competing bands, performers at every level should expect no less than a highly qualified and committed adjudicator in respect of the time and preparation given by each and every band."