The Scottish Pipers’ Association committee meeting last week decided to go live with the online entry for both our SPA Professional (22nd April) and Juvenile competitions (18th March), writes President Logan Tannock.
Entries for the professional competition will be limited to 25 per grade on a first come first served basis. Entries £10 per event. SPA memberships (£20) required. The professional contests in all grades will be in the Piping Centre, McPhater Street, Glasgow. The venue for the Juvenile competition is yet to be decided.
Grades P/A
- Piobaireachd: Donald MacLeod Trophy and 3 prizes (5 places) £100, £70, £40; submit 4 tunes.
- March: Donald MacDougall Trophy and 3 prizes (5 places) £80, £60, £30
Previous winners excluded. Submit 4 tunes, one to be played. - Strathspey & Reel: Duncan MacIntyre Trophy and 3 prizes (5 places) £80, £60, £30
Previous winners excluded. Submit 4 of each, one of each to be played. - MSR for Former Winners of Events 2 or 3: Eachan Caimbeul Trophy and 3 prizes. £100, £70, £40
Submit 4 of each, two of each to be played once over. - 6/8 March: Duncan MacFadyen Memorial Trophy. One Prize of £50. Own choice 6/8 to be played during the tuning time for the Piobaireachd
Overall Winner: Donald MacLean Trophy. Entries close March 20, 2023. More information here. Last year’s winner of the P/A Piobaireachd, William Geddes, is pictured above. Check out last year’s SPA Professional results here.
Grades B/C
- B Piobaireachd: [5 places] 3 prizes £80, £50, £30; Submit 3 tunes, one to be played.
- B March: [5 places] 3 prizes £50, £30, £25; Submit 3 tunes, one to be played.
- B Strathspey & Reel: [5 places] 3 prizes. £50, £30, £25; Submit 3 of each, one of each to be played.
- C Piobaireachd: [5 places] 3 prizes £70, £40, £20 Submit 3 tunes; one to be played.
- C March: [5 places] 3 prizes £40, £25, £20 Submit 3 tunes; one to be played.
- C Strathspey & Reel: [5 places] 3 prizes. £40, £25, £20 Submit 3 of each;one of each to be played.
Entries close March 20, 2023. More information here.
Juvenile
In the Juvenile contest we have 12 events from 13 and Under Practice Chanter to 18 and Under Bagpipes, piobaireachd and light music. Entries close February 17, 2023
- The competition is open to all members of the SPA (membership £20 p.a.)
- Entry is confined to amateur juveniles who have never played in Open professional events
- Competitors will be confined to either Chanter or Bagpipe events and cannot enter both
- Bagpipe entrants can only play in one age group category – (13 & Under, 15 & Under or 18 & Under)
- Late entries cannot be accepted .
- Competitors in events 3-12 should wear full Highland dress.
More information here.
New Solo Contest
Eric Stein reports…..I would like to introduce a new premier solo piping invitational event that will take place in Ardmore, Waterford, Eire, on Saturday, February 25th, 2023. The contest will feature ten of the top pipers from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland: Glenn Brown, Kris Coyle, Julian Dorman, Chris Earls, Angus MacColl, William McCallum, Ashley McMichael, Fred Morrison, Connor Sinclair and Alen Tully. Judges are Ian Duncan, Ronan Maguire and Richard Parkes.
There are two events, an MSR (competitors will submit three sets) and a Medley that must include one Irish tune. The concept for this contest evolved in the aftermath of the SunBelt competition which took place in November in Orlando, Florida.
I was approached by Stephen Power. Stephen has a great love of piping and asked if I could put on an event similar to the SunBelt in Ardmore where his father emigrated from. Stephen wants the Ardmore Cup to inspire new pipers as is the mission of the SunBelt.
As the discussion continued I realised the timeline would be tight but that we could make it happen. We have received tremendous co-operation from the Irish Pipe Band Association President Brian MacMahon and Secretary Johnny Sheehan.
Terry Tully and I took a trip to Ardmore in late November to put all the pieces in place. The venue will be St Declan’s Village Hall, Ardmore, Waterford. A grand session will take place after the contest in McKeever’s Pub which is directly across the street from the Village Hall.
Tickets are €5 per adult and children are free. Tickets can be reserved via PayPal by sending admission fee to ericmstein53@gmail.com. (Please send as ‘Friends and Family’.) Tickets will be held in your name at the door. Doors open at 12:30pm; MSR 1pm; Medley 6pm.
RG Hardie& Company is donating a set of Peter Henderson Heritage pipes that will have the Ardmore Cup logo on the bass drone stock. The pipes will be auctioned off via Facebook prior to the event. We welcome any vendors who would like to donate product for the auction. Proceeds from this event will be donated to local pipers and pipe bands.
This is peanut comparing to the traveling cost to compete at the SPA event (lodging & airfare). Online competitions are much more affordable and draw many many more competitors. The World Online Piping & Drumming Championships in the US costs more to enter ($18 per event), but receives over 600 entries each time!
I hate to break it to SPA but at £10 per event plus £20 membership this is more expensive to enter than Oban or Inverness. And at £100 for the top prize it is easy to see that neither the financial reward nor the recognition justify the cost of entry for competitors.
This is a prestigious organisation and would be great to see it supported, but a rerun of last years low entry looks quite likely at this rate