Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association
Class A champions, Southmoreland High School, preparing to perform in the 2021 PIMBA Championships.
Abbreviation	PIMBA
Founded	1996
Location	Greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Website	www.pimba.org
Remarks	PFCJ (Pennsylvania Federation of Contest Judges) division

PIMBA events provide both healthy competition and constructive feedback for performing bands. Directors pay membership dues in order for their ensemble to be classified as a member of the circuit. Classifications are broken down by the number of performing students in an ensemble. The current classifications are as follows:^[1]

Class A: 1–54 members
Class AA: 55– 74 members
Class AAA: 75–99 members
Class AAAA: 100+ members

Directors may also choose to have their ensemble perform in judged exhibition or Festival Class. These bands will not be placed but will still receive judges' commentary and an individual score. From 1997 to 2012, PIMBA also featured a National Class– qualifications for this class included placing in the top five at BOA Regional competitions for two consecutive years or by special request of the director. The final competition to take place for each season is the PIMBA Championships. At the championships, bands receive final scoring in their respective classes with the top scoring band from each class being crowned a PIMBA Class Champion. The championships has historically been held at the following locations:

Thumb — Connellsville Area Senior High School's Mighty Falcon Marching Band performing at a competition in 2022.

Elizabeth Forward High School– 3 times (2003, 2005, 2007)
Gateway High School– 8 times (2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2024)
Moon Area High School– 3 times (2016, 2018, and 2023)
North Allegheny Senior High School– 1 time (1996)
Norwin High School– 5 times (2000, 2002, 2006, 2011, and 2022)
Penn-Trafford High School– 6 times (1999, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2014)
South Park High School– 1 time (1998)^[2]

Scoring is based upon the same system used by Bands of America, featuring a Musical Performance category (worth 20 points), a Visual Performance category (worth 20 points), and a General Effect category (worth 60 points). Unlike BOA, the raw total from these three categories is divided by two and raised by 50 to establish an ensemble's final score.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Throughout PIMBA's history, there have been 28 Championship competitions. Several historical caveats should be noted:

1996: AAAA was referred to as Open Class
1997-2012: National Class was introduced and lasted for 15 seasons
1999: No Class AAA, AAAA, or National Class Champions (Field Washout)
2019: No Class AAA or AAAA Champions (Weather Cancellation)
2020: No PIMBA Festivals or Championships (COVID-19)

Below is a historical catalogue of each class champion band, including their respective scores and show titles if known. Next to the name of the champion in parentheses is the # of times that band has been crowned a class champion. Additional Note: the current scoring system for PIMBA was introduced in the 2004 season with revisions also being made for the 2013 and 2018 seasons, respectively.

More information Class A, Class AA ...

Champion by Year and Classification^[7]
	Class A	Class AA	Class AAA	Class AAAA	National Class
1996	North Catholic⁽¹⁾	Mars Area⁽¹⁾ The Beatles 87.10	East Allegheny⁽¹⁾	Kiski Area⁽¹⁾ The Music of Gershwin
1997	Serra Catholic⁽¹⁾	Beaver Area⁽¹⁾ Damn Yankees	Gateway⁽¹⁾ Slavonic Dances	West Allegheny⁽¹⁾	Norwin⁽¹⁾ Hollywood Classics
1998^[8]	No Participants in Class	Mars Area⁽²⁾ The Music of Buddy Rich 87.70	Gateway⁽²⁾ Emotions of the Soul 92.45	McKeesport⁽¹⁾ Earth, Wind, and Fire 89.40	Norwin⁽²⁾ Kozhevnikov's "Symphony #3" 96.60
1999	South Park⁽¹⁾	Mars Area⁽³⁾ Swingin' into the Next Millennium	Cancelled: No Champion
2000	South Park⁽²⁾	Mars Area⁽⁴⁾ Lucy's Back with an Attitude 86.00	West Allegheny⁽²⁾ Jesus Christ Superstar	Gateway⁽³⁾ The Odyssey	Norwin⁽³⁾ Reflections of Earth
2001^[9]	Beaver Area⁽²⁾ Les Misérables 81.75	Southmoreland⁽¹⁾ The Jackson Five 87.90	Deer Lakes⁽¹⁾ Fiddler on the Roof 89.80	Trinity⁽¹⁾ 92.85	Norwin⁽⁴⁾ Knights of Honour 94.95
2002^[10]	Beaver Area⁽³⁾ 82.70	Elizabeth Forward⁽¹⁾ Pianoforte 81.60	Mars Area⁽⁵⁾ City of Angels 91.15	Trinity⁽²⁾ 88.65	Kiski Area⁽²⁾ Route 66: Enjoy the Ride 96.15
2003^[11]	Cochranton⁽¹⁾ 82.35	East Allegheny⁽²⁾ The Music of Gershwin 81.20	Mars Area⁽⁶⁾ Going Slightly Insane 91.00	Trinity⁽³⁾ The Music of Chase 88.35	Kiski Area⁽³⁾ Head, Hands, and Feet 95.80
2004^[12]	Quaker Valley⁽¹⁾ Cirque du Soleil 84.83	Blackhawk⁽¹⁾ 90.03	Gateway⁽⁴⁾ Locomotion 92.50	Trinity⁽⁴⁾ Once Upon A Time 90.03	Norwin⁽⁵⁾ Fiesta! 96.48
2005^[13]	Beaver Area⁽⁴⁾ 83.30	Fox Chapel⁽¹⁾ 89.13	Gateway⁽⁵⁾ Reflections 91.68	Trinity⁽⁵⁾ Wicked 89.95	Norwin⁽⁶⁾ Grooves in Motion 94.35
2006^[14]	Deer Lakes⁽²⁾ Cirque du Soleil 83.53	Fox Chapel⁽²⁾ Paint Me a Picture 86.65	West Allegheny⁽³⁾ Black, White, and Red All Over 88.23	Trinity⁽⁶⁾ 89.43	Kiski Area⁽⁴⁾ Viva Las Vegas 94.63
2007^[15]	Beaver Area⁽⁵⁾ 82.88	Blackhawk⁽²⁾ Sesame Street 89.10	Gateway⁽⁶⁾ From the New World 90.98	Trinity⁽⁷⁾ 90.58	Kiski Area⁽⁵⁾ The Rhythm of Life 94.45
2008^[16]	Fox Chapel⁽³⁾ Out of the Box 85.65	Mars Area⁽⁷⁾ Songs of the Beatles 87.80	Trinity⁽⁸⁾ Cloudburst 90.30	Gateway⁽⁷⁾ Canon 92.20	Kiski Area⁽⁶⁾ Click 95.45
2009^[17]	Cochranton⁽²⁾ Clockworks 86.40	Mars Area⁽⁸⁾ Blood, Sweat, and Tears 86.45	Trinity⁽⁹⁾ Frequency 85.33	Gateway⁽⁸⁾ Winter Sketches 88.83	Kiski Area⁽⁷⁾ Pursuit 94.55
2010^[18]	Fox Chapel⁽⁴⁾ Rebound 84.83	Blackhawk⁽³⁾ This is Halloween 86.48	Mars Area⁽⁹⁾ The Music of Kansas 86.15	Moon Area⁽¹⁾ Renaissance 88.80	Kiski Area⁽⁸⁾ Imaginarium 93.35
2011^[19]	Deer Lakes⁽³⁾ Rivers 79.53	Blackhawk⁽⁴⁾ The Wicked Wiz of Oz 86.35	Trinity⁽¹⁰⁾ Kaleidoscope 85.63	Moon Area⁽²⁾ To the Top 89.58	Norwin⁽⁷⁾ Salvation 93.30
2012^[20]	East Allegheny⁽³⁾ Only the Good Die Young 77.78	McGuffey⁽¹⁾ New Orleans Sketches 80.18	West Allegheny⁽⁴⁾ Brazil 83.43	Gateway⁽⁹⁾ Beyond the Forest's Edge 87.68	Norwin⁽⁸⁾ The Road to You 93.20
2013^[21]	Blackhawk⁽⁵⁾ Les Misérables 83.73	Mars Area⁽¹⁰⁾ A Night in the City 86.73	Gateway⁽¹⁰⁾ It Just Ain't Right 90.00	Norwin⁽⁹⁾ The Rise of the Knight 93.60
2014^[22]	Blackhawk⁽⁶⁾ Mirage 80.85	Mars Area⁽¹¹⁾ Phantom of the Opera 86.00	Gateway⁽¹¹⁾ Flashback 88.78	Norwin⁽¹⁰⁾ When Worlds Collide 92.80
2015^[23]	Blackhawk⁽⁷⁾ Through the Window 78.23	Deer Lakes⁽⁴⁾ The Hero in Us All 80.73	Gateway⁽¹²⁾ Egyptian Impressions 86.88	Kiski Area⁽⁹⁾ Origins 90.98
2016^[24]	Leechburg⁽¹⁾ The Drake Equation 77.75	Deer Lakes⁽⁵⁾ MI-6: The 007 Archives 80.48	Gateway⁽¹³⁾ Puppet Master 84.75	Norwin⁽¹¹⁾ Con4mity 89.78
2017	Leechburg⁽²⁾ Connected 80.13	Southmoreland⁽²⁾ I am... 83.83	Mars Area⁽¹²⁾ Beethoven: Artistry in Motion 85.40	Norwin⁽¹²⁾ RunAway 92.35
2018	Blackhawk⁽⁸⁾ A Darkness Beckons 76.325	Deer Lakes⁽⁶⁾ Stories from the West Side 80.710	Gateway⁽¹⁴⁾ Enigma 86.710	Kiski Area⁽¹⁰⁾ Out of the Blue 92.790
2019	Leechburg⁽³⁾ 77.15	Fox Chapel Area⁽⁵⁾ Conquest 81.075	Cancelled: No Champion
2021	Southmoreland⁽³⁾ Through the Dark 81.400	Mars Area⁽¹³⁾ Missing U 87.15	Moon Area⁽³⁾ On the Edge 89.25	Kiski Area⁽¹¹⁾ Beneath the Shifting Sands 93.05
2022	Southmoreland⁽⁴⁾ Pieces of One 85.675	Mars Area⁽¹⁴⁾ A World up in Flames 89.675	Moon Area⁽⁴⁾ Look at the Stars 91.575	Kiski Area⁽¹²⁾ Corners of My Mind 94.90
2023	Southmoreland⁽⁵⁾ Rise and Shine 85.58	Mars Area⁽¹⁵⁾ Oh, What Tangled Webs We Weave 86.55	Mt. Lebanon⁽¹⁾ Blackbird Set Free 90.68	Kiski Area⁽¹³⁾ Hidden Within 95.73
2024	Deer Lakes⁽⁷⁾ Shine Through 87.825	Gateway⁽¹⁵⁾ Breaking Darkness 86.175	Mt. Lebanon⁽²⁾ Ladies of the Eighties 88.35	Kiski Area⁽¹⁴⁾ On Gossamer Wings 94.40
2025	Mars Area⁽¹⁶⁾ Let It Be 83.10	Fox Chapel Area⁽⁶⁾ From the Ashes 86.375	Moon Area⁽⁵⁾ It Starts with a Spark 91.00	Kiski Area⁽¹⁵⁾ Strings Attached 94.35

The five winningest class champion bands include Mars Area High School (16 times; A/AA/AAA), Gateway High School (15 times; AA/AAA/AAAA), Kiski Area High School (15 times; AAAA/National), Norwin Senior High School (12 times; AAAA/National), and Trinity High School (10 times; AAA/AAAA). Kiski Area is the most winningest overall champion (regardless of class) with 15 titles.

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association

Background

PIMBA Championship Results: 1996-2025

References

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