Most "Field Tournaments", even if they have "Invitational" in their name, take any school group that meets their application deadline and pays the entry fee (usually between $100 and $200) For more information on what a field tournament is, see the FAQ What happens at a Field Tournament? The SCSBOA Championship is different.

The Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association is the professional group for Southern California Music Teachers. Among other things, it provides professional judges and adjudicators for Band & Orchestra Festivals, Solo & Ensemble Festivals, Jazz Festivals, Parades, and Field Tournaments.

In 2002, they began sponsoring the SCSBOA Field Championship to showcase the best band & auxiliary groups in the area stretching from Oxnard down to San Diego. Much like the National Championship in College Football was set up to allow the best college teams to compete against each other at the end of the year, the hope was for the best groups in Southern California to compete at the end of the year.

Groups that compete in the SCSBOA Championships must:

• have directors that are members of the SCSBOA
• apply at the beginning of the fall
• have all the music that they play comply with US Copyright regulations

and (the hard part)

• be in the top 10 in their division when their two highest scores from SCSBOA Field Tournaments in October and November are totaled.