Welcome to the Dobcross Band Contest
- Start Time: 4pm
- Last Booking In: 10pm
- Registration form (for multiple contests)
- Registration Fee: £5
- Location: The Square, Dobcross OL3 5AA
- Adjudicator: Stephen Tighe
- Bands Waiting: Number of bands waiting
- Contact: Dobcross Contest
- Disabled Access:Parking for Blue Badge holders is available at the Vicarage on Woods Lane
Your coach will be met at the Meet and Greet point by a steward who will give you information about band waiting times and facilities within the village. You will be given a playing order number and your band members will get off the coach here. Please note that Dobcross is set on a steep hill and the contest performance area is on a sloping village green. If your band has any players with mobility issues, please inform the Meet and Greet steward who will make arrangements for them to access the performance area safely.
At the Booking In tent, we will take your playing order number, a copy of your music if we don’t already have it, and your registration fee. If you have completed the pre-registration form, we will already have all your contact details and won’t neeed to ask you for them again.
If, after booking in, you then decide not to play you must let the Booking In Secretary know because the adjudicator will have been told which piece of music each band is playing, in the allocated playing order, and we will need to let them know of the change.
When you are waiting for your turn to play, there are plenty of refreshments to be had in Dobcross (see Fact Sheet). You must make sure your band is fully assembled and ready to play when it is your turn though, or you may be sent to the back of the queue!
Sometimes, it can seem like you are waiting to set off on your march longer than is necessary. This is because we have to make sure the road ahead is clear of other bands and coaches. We are in constant radio contact with the stewards in the centre of the village and we will send you off as soon as it is safe to do so. We are very proud of the fact that as one band leaves the performance area on Churchfields, the following band will be able to go on immediately afterwards. We need you ready and waiting to set off on your street march so that we can achieve this.
The short Dobcross street march is 80 metres long and will be lined with an enthusiastic audience. The board carrier will indicate for you to stop playing at the bottom of Platt Lane. This is important, as beyond that point you may be heard at the performance area on Churchfields.
The steward will then walk your band to the green on Churchfields where you will play your contest piece. When your band is ready to play, the Churchfields steward will blow a whistle to let the adjudicator know. When a returning whistle is heard, you can start your contest piece.
The first band will open the contest by playing the first verse of the National Anthem. The last band to play is asked to close the Dobcross contest by playing the hymn, ‘The Day Thou Gavest’. The music for both pieces will be available from the Booking in Tent. Each band will be awarded £50 for playing for us. The audience around Churchfields will be encouraged to join in.
If your band has any players with mobility issues that could impede them getting around the cobbled lanes of Dobcross, please inform the Meet and Greet steward who will make arrangements for them to access the performance area safely.
Coach drivers are asked to switch off coach engines while waiting on Woods Lane for the benefit of the environment and the neighbours
The results of the Dobcross contest will be announced in Dobcross Band Club at the end of the night and broadcast through social media the following morning. The results will then be published on the 4barsrest website together with the Area Prize results as soon as those have been confirmed. The adjudicator’s feedback is available by request. Please contact dobxwhitfriday@gmail.com if you would like a copy emailed to you.
Prize Schedule
Prize money will be transferred by BACS during the week following Whit Friday and our treasurer will be in touch to arrange the transfer. Please make sure you have put up to date contact information on your pre-registration form.
We have a joint prize presentation with the Uppermill contest. All our prizes are sponsored by local communities and businesses and it is important to us that a representative from each of the prize winning bands attends the event, which is also attended by members of Oldham Council who are the sponsors for the whole of the Saddleworth and Oldham Whit Friday contests.
We look forward to welcoming you to Dobcross Whit Friday Band Contest and wish you the very best of luck on the evening!