Traditional Youth Marching Bands Association

Rules Section Two
Category B Rules - Bands

1. Until such time as the Association rules otherwise: -

   1. The Classifications or Grading of bands shall be as defined by the Committee of the Association as from time to time.

   2. All bands entering TYMBA and those that have not competed in the previous 12 months must be assessed for classification prior to applying to enter contests.

   3. The “Place Points System” will be used to decide the winners and placing in Contests. The band with the lowest number of Place Points shall be deemed the winners of the class.

2. The size of the arena for all contests must be 100’ wide and 100’ deep, unless this is not possible. If this is not possible the Contest Organisers MUST inform participating bands on receipt of band entries. The Display Judge should be advised during the briefing if arena size is non standard, so bands are not penalised for poor use of the arena.

3. Timings for each class shall be
   
   Novice Class 6 - 8 Minutes
   Contest Class 8 - 10 Minutes
   Championship Class 10 - 12 Minutes
   National Class 12 - 14 Minutes
   
   For every 5 seconds or part thereof over or under these timings a penalty of ONE point will be deducted from the score given for the following aspects
   
   General Musical Effect
   Field Wind
   Field Percussion
   Drill
   Display
   
   I.e. For a band that goes over the time by 3 seconds, it will lose FIVE points, for a band that goes over by EIGHT seconds, that band will lose TEN points, this will be calculated prior to the place points being awarded.

4. Each band will be granted THREE minutes in which to complete the tasks of warming up, entering the arena and taking up a position ready to commence their display. This time will start from the moment that an Arena Marshall informs them. Penalties for going over this time will be calculated as in Rule 3.

5. A Contest official is then to ensure that the band is ready to start their performance and to signify this readiness by instructing the Drum Major or Lead Musician to salute the Senior Judge or nominated VIP.

6. Timing shall start from the First Note or Drum Beat sounded and shall terminate with the salute made by the Drum Major or Senior Bands person. If the performance has not started within 15 seconds then the Timekeepers will start timing.

7. Where possible a Turnout award shall be given following the inspection of NINE members of the band, selected on a random basis. Where the Drum Major is under the age of 25 that Drum Major shall be one of those selected. The tenth mark shall be for an overall appearance of the band. The marks for Turnout shall NOT contribute towards the overall score. The Turnout award should ideally be awarded in TWO sections. I.e. Military and Non Military, this is to be at the discretion of the Contest Organiser.

8. In the event of two bands achieving the same place points, the band with the most number of "Firsts" shall be the winner. If there is still a tie the General Musical Effect (GME) will decide the winner. The Drum Major will be decided on the control of the band element.

9. If the band arrives too late to participate in the class entered or the drawn order they shall be deemed to have withdrawn. Unless the late arrival has been caused by circumstances accepted to be beyond their control, and they have made every reasonable effort to notify the Contest Organiser of the expected delay. In this case they will be allowed to play in the correct section of their class. If they arrive too late to do so they may compete later but will be ineligible for awards unless the Contest Organiser determines otherwise, after consultation with the judges and other bands in the class. Alternatively they may be allowed to compete in the relevant section of a more senior class later in the day if time permits. If possible Contest Organisers are to give Emergency telephone numbers for bands to use in case of emergency.

These rules are Category B rules and are therefore for Guidance only.