Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association

The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Marching Band Association (P.I.M.B.A.) is a nonprofit organization that provides high school marching bands of western Pennsylvania with a chance to be adjudicated in either festival class or to compete in one of four classifications. Founded in 1996 from the P.F.C.J. marching band circuit, the organization now includes about 20 member bands and has become a well known program in the area, drawing hundreds of people to the festivals and ever-coveted P.I.M.B.A. Championships. Local bands are hosts to these numerous adjudications throughout the season, which run from the first weekend in September to the first weekend in November. These events not only provide healthy competition for those involved, but also include feedback for performing bands in order to help them improve and succeed later on in the season. The final competition to take place is P.I.M.B.A. Championships, which is often held at a neutral location with expansive seating. In the past 20 years, it has been most commonly held at Elizabeth Forward High School (2003, 2005, and 2007), Gateway High School (2008, 2009, 2013, 2015, and 2017), Moon Area High School (2016), North Allegheny Senior High School (1996), Norwin High School (2000, 2002, 2006, and 2011), Penn-Trafford High School (1999, 2001, 2004, 2010, 2012, and 2014), and South Park High School (1998). At these Championships, bands are judged in their respective classes, including A, AA, AAA, and AAAA. Other bands are given the opportunity to perform as Guest or Festival Class Bands for the season. The scores for the competitive classes are based upon a system that is broken up into the Outstanding Musical Performance Category (worth 20 points), the Outstanding Visual Performance Category (worth 20 points), and the Outstanding General Effect Category (worth 60 points). This raw total, which is the same as a Bands of America score, is then divided by two and combined with an addition 50 points to get the final score.