United States Scholastic Band Association

The United States Scholastic Band Association (USSBA) was formed in the Fall of 1988 to provide high school band programs with a competitive circuit featuring top judges from across the continent and a world class venue for the US Scholastic Band Championship.

The USSBA membership consists of over 700 participating high school marching bands. Annually, bands are offered 150 festival opportunities and invitations to compete at major Regional Championships and the US Scholastic Band Championship. Bands are classified by size, with Class 1 being the smallest and Class 6 being the largest, and by skill level. The A Class is for inexperienced bands, new bands, and bands that have recently moved to a larger size group. The Open class for established programs. This results in eighteen classes ranging from Class I A to Class VI Open, performing and competing with other bands of like size and talent. The USSBA has started to support high school concert music programs as well.

Group Size

Bands are grouped by the number of members on the field. This includes playing members, guard, and drum majors. Groups sizes are as follows:
Group I 1 to 43 members
Group II 44 to 62 members
Group III 63 to 80 members
Group IV 81 to 100 members
Group V 101 to 125 members
Group VI 126 and more members

Classification

Bands will be further divided by class at Regional, Invitational, and Championship events. Bands will be assigned and compete within each group in either Open Class, A Class, or Festival Class. Non-competitive bands may compete in Festival Class in any event.

Open Class is for more seasoned or experienced bands.

A Class is for bands who are in the building years or are new to the competitive setting.

Festival Class allows bands to perform non-competitively at any of the USSBA-sanctioned shows, including the Regional and Championship events. Festival Class bands may or may not receive critique tapes and may or may not be awarded ratings of Superior (90-100), Excellent (80-89), Good (70-79), or Fair (69 & below).

National Champions (with scores)

(H) Hershey, PA
(A) Allentown, PA

External links

* [http://www.yea.org/site/PageServer?pagename=USSBA United States Scholastic Band Association]