USBands
| Public | |
| Founded | 1988 |
| Headquarters | Allentown, Pennsylvania, U.S |
| Parent |
Independent (1988-1990) YEA (1990-present) |
USBands (formally United States Scholastic Band Association[1] or 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 venue for the US Scholastic Band Championship. It is currently owned by Youth Education in the Arts.
USBands 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 Group 1 being the smallest and Group 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 twelve groups ranging from Group I A to Group VI Open, performing and competing with other bands of like size and talent. USBands has started to support competitive indoor events as well as cooperative fundraising opportunities. In the winter of 2012, USSBA changed their name to USBands.
Classifications
The USBands allows their bands to classify themselves into three groups:
- A Class - Ensembles who demonstrate a basic to intermediate skill set (may be building/rebuilding their program) and are adjudicated on a scale representing fundamental to intermediate skills.
- Open Class - Seasoned ensembles that demonstrate expanded skill sets and are adjudicated on a scale supporting intermediate to advanced skills.
- Festival Class - Ensembles who prefer a non-=competitive experience at any USBands sanctioned event.
Group Size
Bands are grouped by the number of members on the field. This count includes playing members, auxiliary, and command personnel drum majors. Group sizes are as follows (new class size breaks for 2016):
- Group I 1 to 38 members (Texas: 1-45)
- Group II 39 to 53 members (Texas:46-80)
- Group III 54 to 70 members (Texas:81-115)
- Group IV 71 to 95 members (Texas:116-160)
- Group V 96 to 130 members (Texas:161-200)
- Group VI 131 and more members (Texas:201+)[2]