North West Twelve-Bell Striking Competition
for the Westminster Shield
2019 competition
The 2019 competition was held on Saturday 26th January at Our lady and St Nicholas Pierhead, Liverpool.
Six bands took part ringing 220 Grandsire Cinques (SSSSB x2)
The competition was won by Liverpool.
1st - 85% Liverpool (rung 5th)2nd - 79% North-West ASCY (rung 6th)3rd - 70% Chester Devas (rung 4th)4th - 63% Manchester (rung 1st)5th - 62% Macclesfield (rung 3rd)6th - 56% Chester Festerers (rung 2nd)
Congratulations Liverpool and everyone else who took part.
Chief judge: Peter HughesAssistant judges: Alice Etherington and Nathan Cox
Judges comments
Band A: This piece benefited from a long stretch of rounds at the start which gave the band a good chance to settle. Some more consistent bell control would have greatly improved this piece. The handstrokes tended to be more consistent but the backstrokes came across as too quick rather than being deliberately placed. The second half of the course did improve in confidence and minor inconsistencies did not affect the overall structure. Peal speed 3h39.
Band B: A quick and jumbled start which later settled to a stronger finish with some head nodding rhythm. These bells do need to be given time and space and clearer handstroke leads to improve the clarity of the rows. There were no major errors but in the second half it became the quickest ringing of the day and steadily accumulated faults. Peal speed 3h31.
Band C: Some of the bells in this tower are definitely harder work due to their position in the frame and this did come through in the piece. Starting quickly the band later settled to a consistent speed with the last few leads having a more consistent rhythm. This band used the preliminary rounds to enable the ringers to give themselves the best chance of settling down before going into changes. Peal speed 3h37.
Band D: This band had a promising start but when the changes became unfamiliar they started to accrue faults. There was some good front bell work which faltered somewhat when the big bells were mixed in. The first and last leads were the best. Peal speed 3h30.
Band E: In general this was the most consistent piece of the day with only minor patches of unsettled ringing. The tenor set a strict pace – it was a pleasant piece to listen to. This band established a speed straightaway and stuck to it. The double roll up change (890E4567312) was particularly lovely. Peal speed 3h40.
Band F: This band might have benefited from using more of the practice time, starting the test piece ten minutes earlier than we expected! It was a decent piece of ringing with a steady tenor and it got better as it went along. Peal speed 3h35.