"When the band came off stage last night, the result hardly mattered, the performance was so exhilarating," musical director Graham Hickman said yesterday.
Twenty-seven bands took part in the five-day competition in Dunedin, which finished yesterday.
Woolston, from Christchurch, won the A-Grade competitionand the Band of the Year.
The 35 members of the band had put in a couple of months of very hard work and it was "fantastic" it paid off, he said.
It came down to playing consistently through the competition.
"They're very passionate about what they do, so it's really nice it all came together, given we were defending the title we won last year," Mr Hickman said.
National management committee member Cathy Bennett, of Dunedin, said it was unfortunate three host Dunedin bands did not do so well.
Overall the championships had been a success, with the only disappointment having to cancel the street march due to bad weather, she said.
"The bands love coming to Dunedin."
Results.-A Grade: Woolston Brass 1, North Shore Brass 2, Dalewool Auckland Brass 3; B Grade: Brass Wanganui 1, Trust Porirua City Brass 2, Addington Brass 3; C Grade: Auckland City Brass 1, Ascot Park Hotel Auxiliary Brass 2, Papakura RSA Brass 3; D Grade: Roxburgh Pioneer Generation Brass 1, Rangiora Brass 2, Oamaru Garrison Band 3; Youth Grade: Nelson Vivace Youth Band; Champion of Champions: Riki McDonnell (euphonium), Marlborough District Brass; Band of Year soloist: Matthew Dick, Ascot Park Hotel Auxiliary Brass.
