Ouse Valley Sounds Confirms Date Change

A number of weeks ago we were advised by our venue, Bedford International Athletics Stadium, of a clash of dates between our contest and an athletics event. We were offered a number of alternatives around the original date, however due to other BYBA contests the only suitable alternative open to us was Saturday 13th September.

Following notification from the stadium, our organising committee spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to secure an alternative site for the Sunday date that offered the same level amenities for both bands and spectators alike but unfortunately we were not been able to do so. We were therefore left with no alternative but to approach the Performance Committee, persuade them of our efforts, and seek their approval to change the date from Sunday 14th September to Saturday 13th September.

Having been granted approval, we have been in discussion with those Corps’ who have entered Ouse Valley Sounds this year to inform them of the enforced change and seek confirmation of their intentions in light of the change of date. Very regrettably 1 Corps, 6th Hove Scouts, has been unable to change its plans and has had to withdraw, and for that I apologise.

As we have been left with no alternative but to change the day from Sunday to Saturday we have also considered what we could do to enhance the day still further. To this end we have decided to try and implement one of the recent BYBA Task Force recommendations to promote evening performances by starting the performance day around 1pm with the Junior Division, to run through into the evening to try and take advantage of the stadium’s flood lights. The Corps registered to compete were consulted on the later start and I am happy to say that this has been widely supported.

I am also delighted it has been agreed with BYBA and DCE that this contest will be subject to the DCE judging system for those Corps wanting to register a DCE accredited score for seeding purposes at this year’s DCE European Championships and we remain open to other Corps that may still want to enter. This applies to all Division I and Associates Class Competing Corps

Despite the sad withdrawal of 6th Hove we are excited to be able to offer a high quality experience at an excellent venue and what should be a great showcase for our activity.