NATIONAL CALL CHANGE COMPETITON

Date: Saturday 7th June 2025
Place: Coaley, Gloucestershire

The purpose of this national open call change competition is to widen the appreciation of and participation in competition call change ringing in the style practised in Devon and the south west of England.

The competition aims to mix bands from Devon and the South West who regularly compete in such competitions with traditional method ringing bands from further afield interested in practising this particular style.

Entries

Entries are now closed and there are 14 teams competing.

  • Corneeesh Creeeem
  • South Brent
  • Kenton, Exeter
  • Bow
  • Broadhempston
  • Tiverton St Paul
  • Bisley
  • St Paul’s Birmingham
  • Kingsteignton
  • Cheltenham St Mark
  • Anstey
  • Moseley
  • Bristol
  • Stoke Gabriel

The Day and Programme

The programme for the day is as follows:

  • Refreshments and toilets available in the Church and the Community shop from 9.30
  • 10.45 welcome and draw in Coaley Church
  • 11.15 to 4.45 competition ringing
  • Other local towers available for ringing during the afternoon
  • Lunch available in the village hall between 12 and 2
  • Bar open in Coaley village hall opens at 3 - drinks and snacks available to purchase.
  • Fish and Chips available to collect from Coaley Village Hall at 5.30
  • Results at 6pm in the church
  • Bar closes at 8

Full details of the day along with the arrangements for open tower can be found here.

Test Piece and Judging

Central to the test piece will be the call change sequence that is used in Devon Association competitions called “60 on 3rds”. This is a sequence of 60 changes that is fully explained in the eBook on call change ringing callchanges.cccbr.org.uk. The sequence is printed in the Ringing World diary and easily found with a Google search such as this on the Devon Association website.

As in Devon Association competitions, the test piece will include the raise and lower, with all of the ringing judged. This is the format of Devon Association competitions.

The Judges are hoping to hear closed handstroke leads, which is the style practiced in Devon, but open handstroke leads will not be penalised provided they are consistent.

In order to enable as many bands to compete as possible in the time available there will be no practising on the bells, which is how Devon Association competitions are run.

Judging

Matthew Hilling (Exeter)
Chris Poole (Stonehouse)

Best Ringing

Another feature of Devon Association competitions that will be replicated is the awarding of a trophy for “Best Ringing” which is the test piece which, in the opinion of the judges, had the best ringing in it for a sustained period of time. This will not necessarily be the team that has the top score but is a more subjective award maybe for the band whose ringing has the most panache.

Learning about call change ringing

The Central Council has published an eBook called ‘Devon Call Changes’, written by Simon Linford with help from representatives of the Devon Association. It uses linked YouTube videos to explain the principles and details of the Devon call change ringing style, including a step by step video guide to ringing 60 on 3rds, based on an excellent performance by the Shaugh Prior band. It can be found here callchanges.cccbr.org.uk

The Association of Ringing Teachers has recently launched its ‘Advanced Call Change Ringing’ scheme, which introduces Devon call change ringing and includes tools and resources for aspiring call change bands. A toolkit can be found here ringingteachers.org/advanced-call-change-toolbox