MAJOR CHANGES TO JOINT COMMITTEE FOR JUDGING (JCJ)
A new organisation, the Solo Piping Judges’ Association (SPJA), has been established to monitor and maintain a list of approved judges deemed capable of adjudicating major solo piping competitions.
The SPJA is run and managed exclusively by judges and will liaise closely with the Competing Pipers’ Association. Chairman is Andrew Wright with committee members comprising Dr Jack Taylor (Secretary), Colin MacLellan and Ronnie McShannon. A further member will be appointed in 2015.
Jack Taylor commented, “Discussing judging matters through the Joint Committee for Judging (JCJ) has become impractical as these are often not relevant to competition organisers. The previous situation with three judge representatives was rather informal, and the new arrangements aim to ensure that those best qualified are [easyrotator]erc_9_1417192041[/easyrotator]judging, and that judges have the chance to develop and update their knowledge and skills. The twice yearly judges’ seminars have been successful in doing that, and they will continue.”
The JCJ has now been renamed the Joint Committee for Solo Piping Competitions (JCSPC) and will refocus on providing a new, broader platform for competition organisers, judges and competitors to discuss issues arising in solo contests including maintaining standards and encouraging innovation.
Douglas Gardiner, Secretary of the JCSPC, said, “This is an invigorating change which allows us to manage a wider range of matters. As part of this, we are very pleased to announce that representatives from both Glenfiddich and the Piping Live Masters have agreed to join our committee.”
The JCJ was founded in 1993. One of its roles was to maintain a list of judges deemed suitable for judging major contests. This task will now be carried out by the new Solo Piping Judges’ Association (SPJA). The list grades judges at either Senior or Approved level for both Light Music and Piobaireachd. It contains 47 UK and 10 [easyrotator]erc_55_1416493860[/easyrotator]overseas based judges. It is updated annually and circulated to all the major UK competition organisers and, via the CPA, to minor contests. The new Joint Committee for Solo Piping Competitions (JCSPC) comprises representatives of the following organisations:
(i) The Northern Meeting,
(ii) The Argyllshire Gathering,
(iii) Isle of Skye Highland Games,
(iv) Scottish Piping Society of London,
(v) Scottish Pipers’ Association,
(vi) Inveraray Highland Games,
(vii) Glenfiddich Piping & Fiddle
(viii) Piping Live Masters Solo Competition
I am delighted to see this change in Scotland that will give more credibility to the Judges and the Competitions. I am sure Competitors will have more respect for the Judges sitting behind the table and that is very important. I think to accompany this change we must also make it mandatory that Competitors, at all levels, are given a written critique of their performance. None of us are above learning from each other and if some of us need some help in writing critiques then JUDGES MEETINGS are a good place to begin.
We are trying to go through the same process here in the EUSPBA for similar reasons, to reach higher standards, I repeat my congratulations for step forward.
Jimmy McIntosh MBE