The RSPBA has completed the draw for this year’s World Pipe Band Championships. Two hundred and ten bands will compete for the main titles at Glasgow Green on August 11th and 12th. Twelve bands will go through to the final from the 20 entered for the Qualifying Heats in Grade 1. For the Friday in Grade 1 the running order of these heats is as follows:
Qualifier 1 MSR
11:00 Shotts
11:10 Inveraray
11:20 Buchan Peterson
11:30 Toronto Police
11:40 Auckland & Dist.
11:50 Glasgow Police
12:00 Fife Police
12:10 Bleary
12:20 Dowco Triumph Street
12:30 PSNI
Qualifier 2 MSR
11:00 SLoT
11:10 Ravara
11:20 Vale of Atholl
11:30 Peel Police
11:40 78th Frasers
11:50 Johnstone
12:00 Boghall
12:10 FMM
12:20 SFU
12:30 Scottish Power
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Qualifier 1 Medley
14:10 Shotts
14:20 Inveraray
14:30 Buchan Peterson
14:40 Toronto Police
14:50 Auckland & Dist.
15:00 Glasgow Police
15:10 Fife Police
15:20 Bleary
15:30 Dowco Triumph Street
15:40 PSNI
Qualifier 2 Medley
14:10 SLoT
14:20 Ravara
14:30 Vale of Atholl
14:40 Peel Police
14:50 78th Frasers
15:00 Johnstone
15:10 Boghall
15:20 FMM
15:30 SFU
15:40 Scottish Power
Admission for the Friday is free and qualifiers for the Saturday are announced as soon as possible at the end of the day. Those who don’t make it through are given free admission to the competition on the Saturday. Check out the draw for all other grades on the Saturday here. The full list of judges on duty at the Worlds is: 
Get tickets for the Worlds here.
The annual pre-Worlds parade of bands will take place on the Friday 11th August (the same day as the Grade 1 qualifier) from Glasgow’s Blythswood Square to George Square where all overseas bands will be welcomed to join the Lord Provost and other officials in the City Chambers for refreshment.
The arena set up for the 2017 Worlds will be similar to last year though an additional ring may be sought. If you can’t make it to the Worlds you can enjoy the music on your computer screen. As before, the Friday events will be filmed by the BBC and broadcast via the Glasgow Life website with the main event on the Saturday livestreamed worldwide via the BBC Scotland website.
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Surely a seeded qualifying system would increase the probability of the best 12 bands qualifying, with the added benefit improving the overall quality of the G1 final? Just look at Wimbledon’s seeding system for inspiration!
The running order for the G1 grand final uses the same draw number that each band has in the qualifier. i.e. bands that play early in qualifier 1 also play early in the grand final. I do think this is unfair, as it is widely acknowledged that playing order is an important factor in the overall results. Why doesn’t the RSPBA make the grand final playing order based on position in the qualifier e.g. the 2 bands who win each of the qualifiers and thus stand the best chance of winning, would play last/2nd last in the grand final