As revised during 1998 and approved at the Annual General Meeting on 12 September 1998.

1 NAME

That this association be called the "Durham County Brass Band Association", here-in-after called the Association.

2 OBJECT

The object of the Association is to help in any way the advancement of Brass Banding. The Association may co-operate with others for the purpose of furthering this aim.

3 OFFICERS

The Officers of the Association shall consist of The President, Vice Presidents, Chairperson, Vice Chair, Secretary and Treasurer, to be elected at the Annual General Meeting.

4 COMMITTEE

A committee of 7 member bands, one from each contest section plus 3 others, (NOT more than 2 bands from any one contest section) shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting. These together with the Officers shall have power to deal with urgent matters arising between Delegate Meetings. The committee shall have power to co-opt replacements or additional members when necessary.

5 QUORUM

The quorum necessary for the transaction of business at a Delegate Meeting shall be not less than ONE TENTH OF THE MEMBER BANDS and for a meeting of the committee the quorum shall be FOUR.

6 TRUSTEES

Three trustees being the appointed Secretary, Treasurer and Chairperson, shall be confirmed at the Annual General Meeting. The Trustees shall be indemnified by the Association against loss or expense arising out of the proper discharge of their duties.

7 DISSOLUTION

In the event of dissolution, the trustees shall receive all properties belonging to the Association and shall discharge any outstanding debts by disposal of so much of the property as shall be necessary for this purpose. If after the discharge of all debts there remains any property or money belonging to the Association, such property or money shall be held by the trustees for a period of ONE YEAR from the date of dissolution of the Association. After the expiration of one year the officers and committee in office at the date of dissolution shall disperse the remaining assets equally amongst the member bands.

8 MEMBERSHIP

a)     The Association shall decide upon the eligibility of any brass band wishing to become a member and shall have the power to
        reprimand or expel any member band violating the rules of the Association. Applications for membership shall be made in writing via
        the secretary.

b)    Member bands shall be comprised of recognised classification, namely Eb Soprano Cornet, Bb Cornets, Bb Flugal Horn,
        Eb Tenor Horn, Bb Baritone, Bb Euphonium, Slide Trombones, Eb and EEb Bass, Bb and BBb Bass, (Eb trumpets are not permitted)
        plus Percussion as required.

9 ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS

Each band may send two representatives to the monthly meeting, but only one of these may vote. Every band should send a representative to the monthly meeting and those attending shall be recorded.

10 FINANCE

a)    The financial year shall be the period between two consecutive Annual General Meetings and in no case shall exceed 12 months.

b)    The Annual General Meeting shall be held in September of each year and all member bands shall receive fourteen days notice of the
        date and the agenda details.

c)    The annual subscription shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall be paid by the 31st December of that year.

d)    All monies shall be deposited as decided by the Annual General Meeting.

e)    Cheques to be drawn against two of three signatures. The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer to act as signatories for the signing of
       cheques.

f)    All accounts shall be kept in a proper commercial manner and audited by an Auditor appointed by the Association.

g)   The funds of the Association will be applied solely to its’ stated aims. The Treasurer shall be empowered to pay reasonable expenses
       to any persons engaged in Association duties. The Annual General Meeting shall be empowered to pay honoraria where it agrees fit.

11 TROPHIES

All trophies that the Association do now or at any time possess shall be the responsibility of the Association and under the sole control of the Association. A band winning an Association Trophy must give an undertaking signed by a responsible member of the band to keep the trophy in question in good and safe condition, and to protect it against fire or loss or any damage whatsoever. Upon instructions from the secretary to return the trophy in the same condition as received.

12 ALTERATIONS TO THE RULES

Alterations or amendments to the rules shall be made at a Delegate or Annual General Meeting only. Notice of proposal of any alteration or amendments of Rules shall be given to the secretary in writing not later than 28 days prior to the Delegate or Annual General Meeting. The secretary shall then give a minimum of 14 days notice and inform all Delegates in writing with details of the proposal or amendment.

13 INFRINGEMENT OF RULES

Any infringement of these rules shall be considered by the committee and the recommendations shall be reported to the next quorate Delegates’ Meeting for endorsement. Any complaint regarding the infringement shall be sent in writing to the Association Secretary.

14 STANDING ORDERS

a)    The Chairman shall preside at all meetings and his decision on the conduct of the meeting shall be final.

b)    All members shall address the meeting through the chair and give the name of their band.

c)    Meetings will normally be held on the 3rd Saturday of every month (except July, August and December) and subject to review when
       the 3rd Saturday falls on a Bank Holiday. Written notice will be given for any other changes in meeting dates.

15 GRADING CONTEST

G1) The Association shall be divided into four approximately equal sections, A,B,C,D [+ or (-) two bands per section]. A contest shall be         promoted for each section each year. These contests shall be held separately or jointly as the Annual General Meeting may
       decide. At every grading contest the music shall be a test piece chosen at the Annual General Meeting. Test pieces chosen must not
       have been used in the previous TWO Association Grading Contests, and must be in print. When a test piece has been chosen for
       the section for which it has been proposed, it shall remain and no band shall play any other.

G2) The contest is open to any association member band, consisting of a maximum of 25 brass players plus percussionists as required.

G3) Every Bandsman/woman shall be registered with an Accredited Registry, and his/her registration card will show the name of the
       band with which he/she is a bone fide member. Every Bandsman/woman must sign his/her registration card. Bandsman/woman
       cannot be registered with more than one band at any one time.

G4) No brass player shall be allowed to play more than one brass instrument. It will be permissible for a brass player to play a brass
       instrument and also percussion instruments, when the test piece requires it.

G5) A band will properly complete and return to the secretary an official entry form together with the appropriate entry fee before the
       stated closing date for entries. In the case of withdrawal, the fee will not be returned.

G6) The responsibility for the bona fides of the bandsmen/women included in the personnel on the day of the contest will rest with the
       band’s Secretary and where applicable the Bandmaster. In the case of a transfer/new registration and the registration card not being
       available on the day of the contest photo copies of applications must be produced at the pre-contest briefing.

G7) A band may borrow up to three players for an Association Contest. The borrowed player shall be from a member band in the same or
       a lower section and shall play in the same position as he/she plays in their own band, i.e. tutti plays tutti, solo plays solo, 2nd horn
       plays 2nd horn etc. The borrowed players own band need not be playing at that particular contest. Registration cards must be
       produced by borrowed players at the registration table.

G8) A player or a secretary or any official or a member of the band who submits a false registration or countenances a false signature
       shall be referred to the Association Committee.

G9) The adjudicator at an Association contest shall be chosen at a Delegates’ Meeting, but such meetings may delegate this
       responsibility to a sub-committee or an official of the Association. This is necessary to ensure the confidentiality of adjudicators
       prior to the contest. Closed Adjudication shall be used.

16 GRADING

The following system of grading is adopted by the Durham County Brass Band Association:

a) Grading will be carried out annually, immediately following the Grading Contest, the new grading to be effective from 1st January the
    following year.

b) The Association Secretary will maintain a grading register; grading will be based on annual contest results and subject to rule (f).

c) Bands affected by promotion or relegation will be notified by the secretary as soon as possible after grading has been completed.

d) In Sections B, C and D the two bands with the best aggregate placing over the previous three years will be promoted. In Sections of
    10 or less bands on the grading register only ONE band will be promoted.

e) In sections A, B and C the two bands with the poorest aggregate placing over the previous three years will be relegated. In Sections
    of 10 or less bands on the grading register only ONE band will be relegated.

f) A band entering the grading contest for the first time will be allocated to the appropriate grading section by the Committee Bands. On
    its first grading a band will be given an average placing for the previous two years for that section. The average position will be
    calculated by totalling the placing awarded and dividing by the number of bands competing in the section that year.

g) In the event of one or more bands having equal placing affecting promotion or relegation then all bands so affected will be re-graded.

h) Any band failing to compete will be considered to be one place lower than any competing band in that section.

i)  Any band failing to enter and/or compete in the grading contest for TWO consecutive years WILL BE DELETED from the grading
    register. The committee will be empowered to consider appeals under this ruling provided that a written appeal is received by the
    association secretary within one calendar month of the date of notification.

j) Bands promoted or relegated for grading purposes will be given an average position for the two years prior to their promotion or
    relegation for the appropriate section.

k) Any band whether or not affected by promotion or relegation, which considers it has special reasons to be considered must, within
    one calendar month of the grading contest, submit their appeal for consideration by the Association Committee.

l) All bands will have an overall right of appeal to a delegate’s meeting of the association. The decision of the delegate’s meeting is
    FINAL.

m) In addition to the above, the committee convened to assess the grading shall have the power to make other recommendations
    regarding grading as it sees fit in the interests of the association.

17 SOLOS, DUETS AND QUARTET COMPETITION.

a)     This competition shall only be open to the bona fide membership of all association bands playing brass or percussion instruments
        plus accompanists as required. Brass instruments shall be as listed in the Constitutional Rules.

b)     The competition shall comprise the following classes:
        (age limits by birth date on the day of the competition apply)

Class No. Description Test Piece

1 Junior Solos up to and including 11 years.                     Slow Melody

2 Junior Solos 12 yr. & over up to and inc. 14 years. Slow Melody

3 Junior Solos 15 yr. & over up to and inc. 17 years. Slow Melody

4 Junior Duet up to and including 17 years.                 Own choice

5 Junior Quartet up to and including 17 years.             Own choice    

6 Open Solo 16 years and over.                                            Own choice

7 Open Duet 16 years and over.                                     Own choice

8 Open Quartet 16 years and over.                                 Own choice

9 Veteran Solos 50 years and over.                                 Own choice

c) The responsibility for the bona fides of the Bandsman/women included in the personnel of a band, on the day of the contest will rest
    with band secretary and where applicable the Bandmaster.

d) The full names of all players must be entered on the entry form. The entry form must be returned to the association secretary
     together with the appropriate entry fees before the stated closing date. Entries submitted after the closing date will be rejected. In the
    case of withdrawal entry fees will not be returned.

e) Any player, secretary or official of a member band who submits a false registration shall be referred to the association committee.

f) The adjudicator at an Association contest shall be chosen at a Delegates’ Meeting, but such meetings may delegate this
    responsibility to a sub-committee or an official of the Association. This is necessary to ensure the confidentiality of adjudicators
    prior to the contest. Closed Adjudication shall be used.

g)    1. Solo players shall represent the band with which they are registered/bona fide members. No substitutions shall be allowed.

        2. Duet players shall represent the band(s) with which they are registered/bona fide members. No substitutions shall be allowed.

        3. Open Quartet players shall represent the band with which the majority of players are registered/bona fide members. i.e. no more
            than one substitute player shall be allowed and he/she must be named at registration and substitution must not contravene the   
            substitute Player Rule. In addition a band may be allowed to play one player under the age of 16, who is a registered/bona fide
            member of the band and where ALL players are registered/bona fide members with the band.

        4. Entrants must supply additional musical parts for use by the adjudicators.

        5. To assist in the smooth running of the competition a maximum of three entries from any one individual player will be allowed.