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 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 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 eighteen groups ranging from Group I A to Group VI Open, performing and competing with other bands of like size and talent. The USSBA has started to support competitive indoor events as well as cooperative fundraising opportunities.
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The USSBA allows their bands to classify themselves into two groups:
A Class - Defined as inexperienced bands, new bands, and bands that have recently moved to a larger size group.
Open Class - Established programs
Bands are grouped by the number of members on the field. This includes playing members, colorguard, and drum majors. Groups sizes are as follows:
Group I 20 to 43 members
Group II 44 to 58 members (Texas:44-69)
Group III 59 to 77 members (Texas:70-99)
Group IV 78 to 103 members (Texas:100-139)
Group V 104 to 140 members (Texas:140-189)
Group VI 141 and more members (Texas:190+)[1]
(H) Hershey, PA
(A) Allentown, PA