The annual contest at Stevenage attracts bands from all over the South East of England and from as far afield as Norfolk and the Channel Islands. Beating off some stiff competition, the band gave a great performance of Gilbert Vinter's challenging brass band classic "James Cook - Circumnavigator", a musical depiction of James Cook's epic sea voyage to Australia composed by Vinter for the bicentennial celebrations of this event in 1970.
 
The adjudicator was impressed by the band's controlled and very musical rendition which captured the essence of the piece and contained a number of great individual performances. Euphonium soloist Steve W.Cook was praised for his refined playing whilst principal cornet of the band, Nick Garman won the "Best Soloist" prize for his bravura playing of the cornet cadenza in the slow movement.
 
This represents the best contest result in the band's recent history and reflects the hard work done put in by the players and current Musical Director David Shead. It also shows the strong development that the band enjoyed under former Musical Director Stuart Garman who retired in 2007. The players are now looking forward to another year of hard work and enjoyment as they aim to build upon this success.