Thursday 15-02-2018 - 09:00

With Bristol SU’s Best Society 2017, Gold Balloon accreditation and a BBC appearance under their belt in the last year, the University of Bristol A Cappella Society show no signs of slowing down.

On Saturday 10th February they headed to the University of Exeter for The South West UK Quarterfinal International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCAs). The competition was started in America in 1996 and has since grown to include the UK with over 600 groups competing for the top spot around the globe.

The University of Bristol A Cappella Society had three teams competing at Saturday’s event: The Bristol Suspensions, Pitch Fight, and Academy. Though The Bristol Suspensions and Pitch Fight had both competed in the ICCAs before (with the Suspensions winning the quarter final in 2017) this was Academy’s first time.

Despite the fact that the South West quarter final is always the most competitive in the UK, UoB managed to not only win the competition, but do so with a clean sweep.

Academy placed third, an incredible achievement in its own right but one made even more so by this being the team’s first year in the competition. In second were Pitch Fight with the group’s Ayanna Christie-Brown winning ‘Outstanding Soloist’ and Catt Hurman also winning ‘Outstanding Choreography’.

The Bristol Suspensions won the quarter finals for the second year in a row with the highest ever UK score of 433. On top of this group member James Dempsey came home with the ‘Outstanding Vocal Percussion’ award and ‘Outstanding Arrangement’ was won by as Jonny Simon, Dan Mailer, Eleanor Leaper and Rafaella Barratt.

Thanks to their incredible performances and well deserved victories the three teams will all be heading to the UK Semi Finals on the 31st of March to compete against six other groups from across the country at the New Wimbledon Theatre in London.

The highest scoring team at this event will then go on to the International Finals at The Beacon Theatre in New York in April.

A Cappella President Matthew Belsey said:

"As president of the society, I'm just so proud of the hard work that all the groups have put in individually to achieve this … members of Bristol groups not competing were in the audience supporting … the support and family-like nature that this demonstrates makes me beam with pride!"

We’d like to congratulate the University of Bristol’s A Cappella society on this phenomenal achievement and wish our three teams the best of luck in the semifinals!